I'm a Long Logger Truck Driver. AMA

I'm in my 30's and still like to do the "Honk Honk" gesture to truckers, and most honk back. Annoying, or does it break up some monotony of the day?

Don't honk at us. It stresses us out. That's my opinion on that at least.

I believe he was referring to the arm pumping gesture that implies we want the truck driver to honk their horn, not actually honking at you guys.

In that case then I totally honk for anyone who does that. :)

But if someone just honks at me expecting a response then it will make me think something is wrong.

Have you ever partook of the services of a lot lizard?

Not even once.

So, how often does this happen?

I've never seen a log truck with no solid load protectors.

Yeah, I noticed that everyone think they just bundle it up top and that's it. We have thick stake pipes holding the wood from falling sideways off the load like in the Final Destination scene. That would never happen. Then we wrap the bundles in at least 3 Cables that can hold a shit of weight.

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They are. We replant teenage trees in place of what we cut down.

Ever have a load of logs break free?

No, thank goodness. We throw cables over the top and tighten them as much as possible. So far so good.

So far so good...

"Knock on wood"?

All the time

Good good, I was watching the log truckers tv show so I have a fairly limited understanding of your career (computer nerd, not a trucker by any means). My father (retired police officer) had the unpleasant job of dealing with a truck hauling steel re-bar that had to stop suddenly and his load shifted.

I wish you all the best with your career, and thank you for doing a job that may be ignored by the masses, but is extremely important!

I've seen my fair share of fatalities. I appreciate the kind words. :)

Are you honest in your logbook?

Yes I am :)

Do you still use paper logs or have you (or your company) switched to electronic logs? What do you think about the electronic logs?

Paper or nothing!

So, when it's mandated are you going to stop driving or will you go with the change?

I'll do what I have to to provide for my family.

How long and luscious is your beard?

Selfie!

Good lookin beard

Good lookin Man.

FTFY

How did you get into the driving business? How long have you been driving for? And thanks for doing this AMA!

Googled nearest trucking school, graduated, and started driving for CR England. Been in a truck for over 2 years.

CR England.

Which route did you have?

I did my training with the "Trainer" for 2 months then left them. Didn't have a route of my own but my trainer was on Wal-Mart fleet.

(EDIT) SPOILERS FOR DEXTER SORRY

What was it like to kill your sister Deb? Have you been in contact with Harrison or Hannah? Do you feel like you made the right decision becoming a lumber-jack? Whats it like going from being a blood spatter analyst in a lab to working with wood in the wilderness?

Thanks!

I'm not stuck in Florida anymore. Fuck the rest.

What advise would you recommend to somebody trying to get into the industry?

Don't eat fast food. Microwave is your best friend.

how much do you make a year?

$50k

How close is this game to the real deal?

I might buy that game! I drive through much thicker woods than that.

I was driving in Mississippi a few weeks ago and I saw a log truck that definitely had a police escort, any idea what this might be about?

Could be lots of reasons.

Like?

A police escort is only when it's a legal safety issue. If the load is over width or length or height then it will be escorted by a pilot car team. If this officer was escorting him he had something wrong with his truck like a missing tire. Or he's being escorted down a road that's not meant for trucks, or he's being escorted to the local station where they will do inspections on him. Like I said. There's a lot that this could be.

What is the scariest logger related story you've heard?

Rolling off a cliff. Pretty much our nightmare.

2 questions: 1) I've traveled a lot and something I've started doing is letting trucks in during traffic by slowing down and turning my lights off and back on to signal they're good to move over. 99% of the time the trucks flash their lights back at me to thank me for helping them out. What are some other things normal drivers can do to make things a little easier and safer for you?

2) I grew up here in Western WA and we 4 wheel/camp a lot out on the logging roads, what are your views on us? I know a lot of us tear the shit out of the gates and roads. Are we seen as a nuisance or do you guys not care much?

Thanks for all the work you guys do, I know it's dangerous and tough!

Just give us space really. You're already helping out a lot and I thank you for that :)

Just pick up your trash and try to not tear up the roads.

Are you still in WA?

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Yeah still call em that. And yes I have. For speeding....allegedly ;P

Would you consider this as a permanent career? Would you consider going OTR full-time? Any fallback careers you have planned or you are planning to do (You mentioned getting a GED)? Thanks a lot!

I already drove OTR for a while. Saw the whole country. I'm over it. I'd rather be home with my family. Washington is hiring like crazy for State Patrolman. It's kind of a dream of mine to become a law enforcement officer. So I'm going to get my ged and go for that and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out I'll stick with this possibly.

Good to know. Good luck with becoming an officer!

Thanks you! I'm not sure why someone downvoted your question but i saved you. Haha

How is our forest doing?

It's abundant. Don't worry. :)

Why do y'all drive so fast? I feel like the fastest vehicles on the road are logging trucks.

We get paid by the load.

Are you aware that Final Destination 2 made driving behind you a common nightmare of the masses?

Yes I am. That's the typical joke I get.

How do you, or other truck drivers in general, know what weigh stations you have to hit and what ones you can skip by?

CB Radios. We keep each other up to date. Plus there's an app for that.

What's the craziest thing you've seen on the road? Do you think being a trucker is a dangerous profession?

It's definitely dangerous. I've got stories of fatalities for days. I once saw a trucker hit a person on the hwy at 70mph. All I can say is SPLAAAAAAAT.....LITERALLY like a balloon.

Oh my god, really?

Yup. Pretty gruesome.

What is the "Ferrari Enzo" of trucks? Meaning, what's the hottest most badass awesome truck out there.

Peterbuilt 379's and Kenworth W900's

I see you are a man of good taste. Former log hauler here from NorCal.

Edit: Drove a T800 and loved it!

I drove a T-800 at one point! I ran multiaxle flatbed. 98k lbs gross.

What stations do you listen to while on the road? Recommend any internet stations?

I use Spotify and listen to Thrash Metal. I pick up and deliver 3 loads a day so I'm go go go.

Why do you like this type of work? How do you feel about backing up and parallel parking your rig? Got my CDL Class A today! Man is that an intimidating test! I have never driven anything bigger than a pick up truck and have never pulled a trailer of any sort, 8 hours of 1:1 training and I managed to pass.

I like it because it's outside of the norm for a truck driver. I like dangerous work as well. Backing up is a cake walk once you have years of experience. You'll get it eventually. Congrats by the way!

Where was the prettiest view that you've ever seen while driving?

I've always loved Pennsylvania. :) especially in the Fall.

These trucks are one of my fears. I never follow behind and always pass as soon as possible. Ever drop anything?

Never dropped a one. Sometimes bark flies off but that's it. It's just as scary for us as it is for you believe me.

If you could pick a stereotypical driver to be awarded the title of "Stupidest driver on the road", what would that stereotype be?

Anyone behind the wheel of a Swift Truck.

stereotypical drivers are the disgusting ones that refuse to shower or brush their teeth. I hate them.

What is the longest you have ever had to drive in one go?

A little over 700 in 11 hours.

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That was my best day and I didn't stop once for the entire 11 hours. And yes I pee's in a cup.

How much is the log cost per ton at that range? In the south east you won't find a wood basket much larger than 75 miles. Current price of sawtimber in this area is around $50 a ton.

We charge $6/1 k lbs

Have you had any Bigfoot sightings?

Not yet. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll hit him with my truck and then I'll sell his rare meat for his weight in gold and retire....yeah...that's a good plan.

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Nope. Just driving.

Do you always have to drive in the fast lane? You'd think they were paid by the load...

We are paid by the load.

You look familiar, but can't put a name on it. R u from longview/Kelso?

I'm not. I live in Tahuya,Wa.

Have any friends of the road? How about some ladies of the evening?

My Wife is my only lady. I have no time for girlfriends..no patience either. Plus I'd have to retrain a new girl how to curl my toes properly.

So, I am always VERY cautious when neer log trucks, because I am afraid that they will break and I will impale my car (and myself) on the logs.

Have you ever heard of this happening?

It's never happened around me and I've never heard of it happening to anyone I know.

I run a log yard. Why can't your people load them straight??? Any idea how much of a pain it is when y'all are rushing us to unload and they are all off balanced. Only through luck have I not sent one through a cab.

They're not my people. They're contracted.

You drive a '72 KW still? Holy shit, how many mile does that thing have on it officially now (yes, I know it's probably had it's engine rebuilt 100 times by now, but still)? I drove OTR for several years starting in the mid 80's, and those things were crap then. Oh well, at least it isn't a cab over! Stay safe out there.

It stopped counting at 500k so who knows. Lol

How accurate is SPINTIRES?

I haven't played it. Real life has better graphics though.

So I was driving around the Olympic Peninsula this past Summer. A fully loaded logging truck was tailing me pretty close. I approach a steep hill, thinking this is where I lose this guy. No dice. As soon as I get to a passing lane I let this guy by. He was also taking sharp turns at probably double the suggested speed. My question is: What kind of engines/other performance specs do logging trucks have in that part of the country? I've driven on less steep highways in WV and you see trucks going 40 mph on the highway just struggling to get up the hill. Thanks.

Every truck is different. The drivers make a difference too. If the guy tailing you had a Cat C-15 under the hood then chances are he can pass you fully loaded. Stock trucks cannot do that when their empty.

Where I live all the truckers are immigrant from asia. Is it the same where you are? If so, why so many immigrant drivers?

No Asian truckers in Wa

what are your thoughts on trucker bombs?

Disgusting...

I'm out in Grays Harbor County. I'm guessing you're not that far from me.

Did you see the TopGear USA episode on log trucks that was filmed in Western Washington?

I'm in Belfair. I don't watch TV

I live in Washington, and often make the drive to Oregon where there are plenty of logging sites. One thing I notice while on I-5 is seemingly the same types of trucks, with the same types of logs, going in the opposite directions of each other.

Why is this? Wouldn't it be easier to just leave them where they were?

This came up on a delirious road trip from Redding, CA to Seattle, WA.

We take the logs to multiple mills and there are multiple companies working multiple job sites. Different types of wood goes to different mills.

how do you deal with the insane boredom of long drives?

also, does it pay well enough to make up for the boredom of driving for hours on end?

You get used to it. It helps to have other friends on the road to chat with on the phone. I listen to a lot of Heavy Metal. ALOT of Heavy Metal. Haha

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Thrash mostly.

Thanks for doing this AMA!

Got any tips/tricks for staying awake and alert on long drives?

Get plenty of rest the night before.

What do you do on the road? Listen to radio, audiobook, or nothing?

I listen to music and chat on the CB with the other Loggers.

How much time do you usually get off? Holidays? Personal days? Any of the sort. A regular work week for you?

3am to 18:30 Monday through Friday. Weekends off

Hey Onthegokindadude, thank you for doing this AMA! Was trucking school expensive; including the whole CDL process? How long did it take before you were on the road on your own?

$4k school. Was on the road in two weeks.

$4K investment to make $50k/yr is really not bad at all.

If you put that up against a 4-yr engineering degree like mine, you'd have already made $200K in the time that I spent $40k on school, and I make less than $20k/yr more than you. That puts you $240K ahead, and it'll be about 12 years before we match up.

And people say you need a STEM degree to make money...

I didn't even finish High school. :P

Did you/do you plan to ever do your GED or any sort of college, or are you pretty happy with what you're doing?

Studying for my GED now. :)

Is the school mandatory? Or can you be trained by a driver and pass the CDL exam?

School is necessary for most.

1. What do you do while they load or unload the truck?

2. Are you a fan of the TV show Twin Peaks?

I watch them to make sure they don't load me too close to my headache rack.

Do you find yourself mostly hauling poles, logs or pulpwood?

Did you always work for a hauling company? Do they only do timber hauling or do they also operate harvesting machinery?

What was your closest call with injury on site?

I worked for a timber company in the southeast pine woods for a couple summers, and i got to see some of what y'all do hauling logs. My experience was more on the side of timber cruising and marking though.

Yeah all I haul is logs and pulp. I haven't been in logging forever but I've been doing it for a while. I started out in Van and then moved to flatbed and then logging.

Haven't had any close calls doing logging but I did nose dive off a flatbed once while I was tarping. Busted my nose. That wasn't fun.

How did the new HOS regulations effect your work schedule? Were there loads you were able to complete in 1 day under the previous regulations, that now you need to break down into 2 days because it takes 8.5 hours from origin to destination?

Just curious. Also, what made you decide to start running strictly log loads after CR England?

I'm under 150 miles from my yard so it didn't affect me. I wanted to haul logs all along.

1) what do you hate most about foresters? 2) what's the largest diameter (DBH) tree you've had on your truck?

This is typical for me.

Have you seen Bobo?

Who?

thank you for supporting killing trees i hope you know youre contributing to global warming?

Would it make you feel better if I told you that we replant teenage trees in their place? Because that's federal law.