New owner-operator

Discussion in 'The Welcome Wagon' started by Eltigre363, Aug 14, 2019.

  1. Eltigre363

    Eltigre363 Bobtail Member

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    Aug 14, 2019
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    Greetings my fellow drivers, I followed the footsteps of my father who is also a trucker and I'm now one of us. I'm a local driver with about 5 years of experience and accident free so far thankfully. While I was taught to drive a class A in my father's rig, I drive class B trucks hauling gravel locally. My original goal was to become an OTR driver like my father, I decided I liked working locally better once I first started driving as a rookie on a Kenworth T800 tri axle dump truck back in the summer of 2014. As the years went buy, I gradually moved up to larger dump trucks and now, I recently became an owner-operator with my own 7 axle super dump truck. I'm still learning new things everyday as my father of over 35 years of trucking says that's even true for him too. Now, I'm beginning to learn how to maintain and even repair small things on my truck since that will help keep cost down such as lights, oil changes, coolant flushes, filter changes and that sort of thing at first. A friend of mine who is a diesel mechanic will begin showing me how to tackle more complex repairs and troubleshooting on the weekends since I only work Monday through Friday.

    Even though I'm a local driver, I drive around the insanity that is the DMV region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) from the crowded streets of DC to the rural regions such as Warrenton, VA. So I have experienced all types of roads including going to West Virginia a few times and have tackled the mountains there. I feel confident in my driving but I'm also a cautious driver too. I take my time because I'm honestly comfortable with what I'm making and that also has helped keep the company trucks I've driven easy for the company mechanics to maintain. It's more so now that I'm an owner operator as I typically hang out in the right lane and don't mind the super truckers blowing past me in the hammer lanes doing 20 over the speed limit. My father taught me that it's better to get to your destination late than never, so that's how I drive in general and that's also kept me out of any legal trouble on the road as I have never got a single speeding ticket in my life and I've been driving since 2002 when I was 15.



    So here I am joining these forums as I will have questions on truck maintenance and such since I'm a new owner-operator and there are many gurus here with great advice. I'll be posting pictures of my truck tomorrow since I don't have any on hand at the moment that are good enough since they are shots from inside the cab.
     
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  3. pavrom

    pavrom Road Train Member

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    Apr 29, 2012
    NE illinois
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    .Such as lights , oil changes, coolant flushes, filter changes and that sort of thing ....and you said your dad 35 years in trucking ? Where did he land his carrier ? ....maybe grand theft auto video games ...
     
  4. Westdude

    Westdude Bobtail Member

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    Mar 7, 2019
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    Welcome. Good to know that you are accident free. This is good for your insurance rates. Be careful driving out there hauling gravel. There is sure always more to learn.
     
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