New Forum Member!

Thanks for the warm welcome, "semi" retired and F150Jim!

I like Star Cars, too. My Dad has been an Owner Operator for (30?) or so years. Throughout those years, he's owned four trucks. His first O/O truck was a 1977 Peterbilt 359 with a Big Cam 3 Cummins engine and a 13 speed. That truck was pretty basic, no power steering, no a/c and it had what old school truckers call a "coffin" for a sleeper. I never saw that truck because he sold it before I was born. His next truck was a 1985 Peterbilt 359 with a 3406B Caterpillar and also a 13 speed. It had a 63" sleeper and it was built from Peterbilt for an O/O, meaning it had every gauge possible on the dash and all the bells and whistles. He put over 950,000 miles on that truck and sold it shortly after he overhauled it. Towards the end of him owning this truck was when he started to haul heavy equipment. He purchased a tandem axle Dynaweld lowboy and started to haul equipment. A few years into equipment hauling, he really started to enjoy the work. He decided it was time to upgrade the small lowboy and get into a heavy duty truck, since his Pete was pretty much an OTR truck. Next up, his 1995 Western Star 4964S Heritage Cab (my profile picture to the left). This truck was spec'd correctly. 3406E Caterpillar 500HP engine, 18 speed, 20,000lb front axles and 48,000lb rear axles. He added a lift axle so he could haul more weight. Then he purchased a tri-axle Fontaine 55 ton lowboy and had a custom "flip" axle made for it to make it into a quad axle. Now he was set up heavy, he had 8 heavy axles on the ground that he could use to haul anything that could gross him up to 160,000lbs (that's what his truck is licensed for). He also bought a step deck trailer and started hauling some specialized freight with that, and then last year bought a damaged flat bed for $3,000 and had it repaired and now it's road legal. Anyways, he drove the crap out of that truck, and when the engine crossed 28,000 hours, she pitted the liner packings and needed an overhaul. So he overhauled it, put about 200,000 more miles on it and he just purchased his new baby. A 2005 Western Star 4900SA, spec'd heavy like his 95, but this truck has a C-15 ACERT Caterpillar 550HP engine with just over 525,000 on the clock. Just recently he purchased a drop-side tandem axle lowboy to haul rubber tire equipment at a lower height. So basically, to take out of this huge paragraph, he has the 2005 Star Car now and 4 trailers. Two lowboys, a step deck, and flatbed. I'll include some pictures of his stuff at the end of this post!

But anyways, yes, I do have a leg up. I applied at three other companies before the one I am with now. They all called me and wanted to interview me before I told them I was only 20... The company I am with now interviewed me and liked what they heard, they didn't care that I was only 20 because they have so much local work. They took me for a road test, they were very impressed with my driving, and they hired me. So I am very grateful that they are taking a chance on me because I really need the job to survive (I wouldn't want to do anything else!). I told them about all my past experience, like learning how to drive when I was 9, so on and so forth, and they said the same thing as you.. that I was more than qualified for this job. And actually a lot of drivers have noticed how I drive and act and how professional I am, that I have also heard the phrase "it's rare that you know this much for how young you are" quite a few times!

And that story about Holland is quite funny! I am not from Holland, I am actually from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company I work for is based out of Holland, and I actually live a little North up in Big Rapids, because this is where I went to school and I have a year long lease for my apartment.

Pics of my dad's rigs:

 

We live in Gladstone, right by Escanaba! My dad hauls equipment for the Nortrax dealer so he is constantly in Wisconsin delivering equipment. Along with working for Nortrax, he hauls stuff for Payne and Dolan (Northeast Asphalt in your neck of the woods) so they also bring him into Wisconsin quite often, too. That's basically the jist of where my dad drives, the U.P. and Wisconsin. He's in Wisconsin a thousand times more than he is ever in the Lower Peninsula.

And it's kind of funny, actually, I am a native Yooper and I have never been to the tourist trap! I've driven by it numerous times, never stopped in! I should and I want to sometime though. Looks really interesting!

Ever since I have been living down state, I have really enjoyed life down here much better. My dad really wants me to come back home and work for him, but I am here until July so hopefully by then I can make a decision. I hate the town where I am from more than anything, but I love the rest of the U.P.