Is there any trucking companies out there that treat you different like the old days where you were

Now I’m laying that a commercial truck stop, havent showered in a week, out of food, out of money, and I made 147 bucks running for a full week.


I never knew the good old days but Jesus I wish I did

 

And if you didn't want to run that hard, you got fired. Simple as that.
When I first started I drove for a guy who gave us plenty of horsepower, a good radio, and the most comfortable seat he could find Paid by the mile and you could have every mile you wanted.
The sleeper was a 36" box with a mattress as thin as paper. The message was clear, he wanted you in that seat, going down the road, and not back in the sleeper where nobody was making any money.

 

I delivered candy wrappers to the candy factory and the shipping clerk gave me 2 bags of Kit Kat’s.

 

MM Mars Waco and New Jersey (Menlo Park?) used to give us buckets of candy. They were extremely particular about the trailers, but sometimes if you are lucky to drop and hook between the two plants (???? isnt this counter productive???) it can turn into a real boost to income for us a team.

I know the teeth had sustained damages over the years but that candy would not be a big part of it. Other shippers occasionally tossed a case of whatever into our cab and told us to enjoy. If it's a good food item etc. Nothing but generous.

 

My old days started back in the early to mid-1990s. I can assure you I never heard even one driver claiming "man things sure are good right now." My dad was in the industry in the late 70s until 2012. 20 years from now THIS will be the "good ol days" we wish we had. BTW, everyone was younger and healthier, and less divorced in the good ol days.

 

When drivers speak of "the old days" I assume they mean pre-1980, before deregulation. In addition to the other things mentioned in this thread, trucker wages were much better back then.

"trucker wages averaged $38,618 annually in 1980. If adjusted to 2015 dollars, that would be over $111,000 a year" Trucker pay has plummeted in the last 30 years, analyst says

 

Wow that is crazy. The money has only marginally increased since then. It's hard for companies to really pay drivers big bucks. It's too many hands in the cookie jar

 

You can say that about every middle class job.

 

"things" being better or not so good are mostly up to that person's perception of their work environment. While I am only 61 I am the son of a trucker and I have memories of this industry, the drivers and their equipment going back to the 60s. I have also have good memories of those drivers from the 30s and 40s who told me many stories from those days. Just as I caution today's kids to not Judge another era with today's morality, don't do this with trucking. I could maybe list 20 or so things that were wrong way back when I can also list 20 things wrong today. I lost my father in 1997. I still to this day blame his lifestyle of taking legally prescribed "diet pills" and running nonstop for hours and hours for contributing to his bad health his last 10 years alive.

In the 1950s a business warehoused more then they do today. Because of things like inventory taxes and businesses not wanting to tie up their capital in inventory they have moved more to a "just in time" concept with inbound freight. This means the carriers are more closely watched and in some cases have to give 2 sometimes 3 reports a day of the location of that business's freight. Guess what? this also means a driver almost has a probe up their rear when it comes to tracking as well as Federal and State regulatory compliance. Talk to @brian991219 on how much that costs!

Most of the mega carriers because of necessity are self underwriting their liability insurance, this means they take the hit when freight is lost, and when one of their trucks are the main cause of a serious accident/incident on the highway. These carriers have to be tight. Ask @Ridgeline how much his insurance cost to do both these. Ask him how tight he has to be with his drivers.

If you are looking for the good old days in this business, I highly recommend you keep moving and find another line of work. You are NEVER going to find any reputable carrier with a Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm business model! They simply can't afford it, plus taking the chance with their DOT operating authority!

 

Ocasional is the word. Truckers back then used to run on 3 different log books, extra caffeinated coffee and wake up pills just to keep going.