Total newb with a question.

Well not to be mean to any truckers but when you weigh 300lbs back problems are inevitable. Two years ago I got out of the Air Force for the Air Guard and starting driving truck. Its not a bad job if you can find a carrier that pays you for what you do. I have found many of he common carries do not. People told me I would gain weight driving trucks which never happened. I drive 5 days a week and have the weekends off and I do situps, push ups and I run on my treadmill which takes me about an hour from start to finish. Also changing your diet around helps a lot. Staying away from all the starchy, sugary foods, and switching to wheat bread instead of white and eating something like turkey and chicken instead of beef will make a big difference. Many drivers live off truck stops and can be seen passing you eating hand fulls of cheese puffs, while drinking a 32oz soda. Many drivers have Diabetes Type I and later Type II and have truckers leg with knee and back problems. So if you want to start driving safeguard your health you do not want to be the guy who has to ride the Wal-Mart disabled persons cart because you decided eat 11 hours a day while sitting down.

 

way you lift. Lift with your legs and not your back. Squat with your back straight and head up and lift with the object close to your body. Most people don't lift that way. There are lots of jobs that don't require loading or unloading. Many companies have a drop and hook operation.....all you do is switch trailers and be on your way. There are also tanker jobs, dump trailers, flatbeds ( you'll obviously have to secure the load and tarp it ), auto carriers and what else.... cattle and bull haulers, don't know much about that though. Oh yeah, and trash haulers.. similar to dump operations but many of the trailers have moving floors that just convey the stinkin' garbage right off the trailer. I almost forgot intermodal.....a real pain in the ##### if you ask me. Then you have the mail carriers who most likely just dock it and roll the carts of mail off the trailer. At least that's what I did when I did that for a short period.

 

I believe a lot of people used to get back trouble because of the old seats in trucks, too. Today's newer air seats are much nicer to the body as are the air ride tractors.

As far as lifting, there are lots of places where you're never required to lift or unload your truck. Most places don't require you to lift more than 100 pounds max and oftentimes you have a cart or forklift to help you unload, it really depends on what you're moving and unloading.

 

help somewhat. When people are in a hurry to get the job done, it's natural to forget how to lift safely, but if you're concsious about it you can most likely avoid a major injury while lifting. I personally will not handle freight. I've been there, done that. Never again.

 

I have a "bad" back two of my discs are nearly closed. after 6 months behind the wheel it isn't any worse then when I started.

I've lost about 12 lbs so far and walk as much as I can when not rolling.

I see some drivers try to park as close as possible to the T/S so they don't have to walk, some of these guys are really, really, large and could benefit from some exercise.

my back is bad from 20+ years of hard labor jobs, I drive now and I've yet to unload a single trailer.

 

99% of driver dont unload there own trucks

 

as one of the people above said, not to be mean, but weight really seems to be an issue for all the 'complaints' drivers have. stay active, park as far as u can from the truck stop(unless you get that PERFECT spot up front thats a pull-thru, lol). watch what you eat because your metabolism will slow down for sure sitting in that truck for extended periods. that being said, stop every 2-3 hours, get out and walk. alot of drivers i know out here, drive for 6hrs at a time without stopping, NOT GOOD!

 

I think the regional drivers that deliver to grocery warehouse have to unload their truck. That's how it was years ago when I lived back east. OTR drivers are probably not required to do that as much due to the longer hours behind the wheel, I would imagine ? Not sure. All the regional drivers from the various companies had to unload I remember. That was a nightmare . Dealing with those bums at those places was half the problem. The recievers didn't care if you waited 3 hours AFTER you unloaded just to count the crap and sign you out. That's how I remember it.

 

is that all? lol, I've driven 9, 10 ,11.. sometimes ! The right thing to do is stop for breaks. There, I corrected it so it sounds more logical.