You get to see the country, from the Interstate, at 75 MPH in the middle of the night. You can make a decent living, but you have to work A LOT. A lot of companies only give you 34 hours off at a time. I stopped driving in 2008, but what I hear from my buddies that still do, a lot of companies now have electronic logbooks, so no cheating, which means a lot more time in the truck stops playing hooker run around. It is hard on your body, all that sitting, and hard on your relationships. It is hard on your self esteem, because everyone, and I mean everyone, now looks at you like you are a left lane driving, meth using, hooker killing brainless idiot that couldn't get another job. You will get yelled at by shippers. You will get treated like shit by receivers. God help you if you go to a Walmart distribution center. If you go to work for a company like Werner or Swift, you might see your front door once every 2 months. Your boss and dispatchers will lie to you. If you have a paper logbook, your day will go like this. Wake up at 4 am. Stumble your ass into the truckstop for a cup of their shitty coffee, and hit the road. Drive to your receiver, however far it may be. If you slept in Vegas, for instance, and you are going to L.A., 5-6 hours. Arrive at receiver, don't be late for your appointment! On time, wait anyway. Have plenty of cash, you might have to hire lumpers ( unloaders). One of the biggest rackets in the business. Ok, you are empty! Call your dispatcher, and hope he has a load booked for you. Oh, you are in L.A,on a friday afternoon? Good fucking luck. Either way, wait for the phone to ring. IF your dispatcher finds you a load, haul ass over there, and wait to get loaded. Then, fight rush hour traffic out of whatever city you are in, and get to steppin. Find a truck stop, fuel, weigh your truck, and don't be heavy, and get a shower, and a fatty meal prepared by someone who clearly has other things on his mind. Drive till midnight. Rinse, and repeat. All the while worrying about the wife, did little Bobby get in trouble at school, I know the house needs a new water heater, ect, all the shit you would have to worry about anyway, but if you drive a truck, you aren't there to fix the problems that inevitably arise. It's a lot harder than it looks. Shippers and receivers are never in nice parts of town. Everybody wants something from you. Beggars and tweakers looking for rides and change, or trying to break into your truck. Hookers, Cops. Did you know that having a firearm in your truck is really, really frowned upon?Commercial vehicle, crossing state lines. As a truck driver, you are not protected against illegal search and seizure. Probable cause, PUH-leaze! Self incrimination? Logbook! That right is out the window. You don't get paid to sit. You get paid by the mile. Its not driving around, playing tourist. Cops prey on you. They LOVE pulling you over, because they KNOW that you won't be around to fight whatever ticket they give you, you will just pay.
All that said, I do sometimes miss it. My last company, I had a beautiful Pete 379, it's always nice having a sweet ride. I got used to the life. I like waking up in different states. I miss central California in the springtime. I miss Portland and Seattle.I miss Florida, and the gulf coast. I miss Texas. I miss being alone, just me and the dog. I miss stopping at a Walmart at 3AM just to buy him a football.
SmuzzlesDaFuq11 karma
You get to see the country, from the Interstate, at 75 MPH in the middle of the night. You can make a decent living, but you have to work A LOT. A lot of companies only give you 34 hours off at a time. I stopped driving in 2008, but what I hear from my buddies that still do, a lot of companies now have electronic logbooks, so no cheating, which means a lot more time in the truck stops playing hooker run around. It is hard on your body, all that sitting, and hard on your relationships. It is hard on your self esteem, because everyone, and I mean everyone, now looks at you like you are a left lane driving, meth using, hooker killing brainless idiot that couldn't get another job. You will get yelled at by shippers. You will get treated like shit by receivers. God help you if you go to a Walmart distribution center. If you go to work for a company like Werner or Swift, you might see your front door once every 2 months. Your boss and dispatchers will lie to you. If you have a paper logbook, your day will go like this. Wake up at 4 am. Stumble your ass into the truckstop for a cup of their shitty coffee, and hit the road. Drive to your receiver, however far it may be. If you slept in Vegas, for instance, and you are going to L.A., 5-6 hours. Arrive at receiver, don't be late for your appointment! On time, wait anyway. Have plenty of cash, you might have to hire lumpers ( unloaders). One of the biggest rackets in the business. Ok, you are empty! Call your dispatcher, and hope he has a load booked for you. Oh, you are in L.A,on a friday afternoon? Good fucking luck. Either way, wait for the phone to ring. IF your dispatcher finds you a load, haul ass over there, and wait to get loaded. Then, fight rush hour traffic out of whatever city you are in, and get to steppin. Find a truck stop, fuel, weigh your truck, and don't be heavy, and get a shower, and a fatty meal prepared by someone who clearly has other things on his mind. Drive till midnight. Rinse, and repeat. All the while worrying about the wife, did little Bobby get in trouble at school, I know the house needs a new water heater, ect, all the shit you would have to worry about anyway, but if you drive a truck, you aren't there to fix the problems that inevitably arise. It's a lot harder than it looks. Shippers and receivers are never in nice parts of town. Everybody wants something from you. Beggars and tweakers looking for rides and change, or trying to break into your truck. Hookers, Cops. Did you know that having a firearm in your truck is really, really frowned upon?Commercial vehicle, crossing state lines. As a truck driver, you are not protected against illegal search and seizure. Probable cause, PUH-leaze! Self incrimination? Logbook! That right is out the window. You don't get paid to sit. You get paid by the mile. Its not driving around, playing tourist. Cops prey on you. They LOVE pulling you over, because they KNOW that you won't be around to fight whatever ticket they give you, you will just pay.
All that said, I do sometimes miss it. My last company, I had a beautiful Pete 379, it's always nice having a sweet ride. I got used to the life. I like waking up in different states. I miss central California in the springtime. I miss Portland and Seattle.I miss Florida, and the gulf coast. I miss Texas. I miss being alone, just me and the dog. I miss stopping at a Walmart at 3AM just to buy him a football.
Sorry bout the wall of text.
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