What advice would u give yourself when u first started trucking

Hey I’m not that old, just rode hard and put away wet. And not in a good way. More like the I worked to #### hard for to little and it’s made me grumpy.

 

At first I was going to say "don't do it", but I have good memories so that's a bit of a stretch. Here are the things that I would fix.

#1. Slow down. No load is worth your life and you can repower if need be. Getting in a hurry has harmed me more that it's ever helped me. Hard heads make soft ##### and you can bet I have a bloody bottom.

#2. Check your attitude at the door. This has gone a long way and I have Stoic Principles to thank for helping me look back at myself and REALLY assess where I went wrong and how to improve it. This way when I was at Stevens Transport and I was dealing with that yakadoodle I called and driver manager, I probably could have literally handled his idiocy better. That goes for my time at CTG, A&A Express and even Vista.

#3. Get your X, Doubles/Triples and Twic early. This made me a ton of money at SRT and I loved going into the ports all over this country. Hauling hazardous materials brought me several kinds of joy too.

#4. Pay your own way. As much as I LOVED the training program at Stevens, the contractual obligations were and still are really ####ty. I'd go to Stevens all over again, but I'd get my CDL before going. The schools around me weren't that expensive.

#5. Buy a refridgerator. My Stevens truck came with an APU. Then I could've had better food options because I was a lot less sick when I cooked on the truck. A smokeless grill was also cheap.

#6. Put a mountain bike on the top bunk. After I ended up in Pasco, WA and saw the lovely scenery, I wished I'd brought along a bicycle. That little town and its little district were so lovely and the weather was perfect. Also, the health benefits of exercise.

That's all I could think of.

 

I would of told myself to look at the average profit margins in a bad economy then decide if its worth being an Owner Operator. When a trucker brags about how much their earning, always ask to see legitimate receipts and pay settlement stubs. Never jump on the so called 'best paying loads' before gathering all the info. There is always a catch.

 

I’m still a rookie but my best advice is slow down.

 

Get in....& first get some real experience in trucking (AT LEAST 2 - 3 years....but preferably more)....& THEN get married (if you still want/need to).

During that time -- try your best to keep a great safety record (no DOT-reportable accidents, or citations; no run-ins with DOT).

Doing it the other way around (marriage 1st, & then get into trucking) is much harder on a marriage, the family....& of course, the driver.

-- L

 

I would have told myself to marry rich
Not beautiful