If you could do it over again, would you be a trucker

[Fast Freddy]

What if you could go back in time and have a conversation with your younger self right before you went to Trucking School ; would you say go for it? Or would you say Noooooo don’t do it.

For me it would have to be the later. When I got in this business in the 90s we had cell phones and some had laptops with internet sometimes avail at truck stops. Looking back that was the perfect amount of technology. Now technology is being used against us. Not only GPS, but driver facing camera’s, and sensors that tell your boss if it thinks you took a turn too fast or was following too close.

I feel more monitored than a lab rat. More monitored than Jeffrey Epstein. More monitored than the southern border.

I also notice because the company treats us like this many in the office and other non driving jobs don’t seem to think they have to treat us well either. In fact one lady in the office who is a friend that I knew before I worked here told me that in their meetings they are instructed to keep a good eye on the drivers and encouraged to take pictures of any driver violating a company policy such as not chocking their wheels.

So if I had to do it over again I’d not be a driver, I’d be an electrician or even a plumber as I’m a hands on guy who would find traditional college boring and prefer a mix of hands on and classroom job training.

I know some of you OO guys don’t have the same issues, but I’m sure it comes with other issues. Many OOs I’ve known seem to never have a day off as when their off they are doing tax paperwork or chasing business or repairing their truck.

So what would you do if you could do it all over.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Yeah I'd do it. I just would have given up on that one landing gear that f*cked me and not taken the load.

 

[GAnthony]

nope..i'd have stayed in the auto repair business, having regular lunch breaks, work all the hours i want with no worries about breaking any laws, and hurry home for a hot bowl of raviolis........

then, have ALL holidays off, full benefits, regular work hours, regular home hours, regular toilet time, and a partridge in a pear tree.......

 

[Fageol]

Great time truckin' from 1965 through 1976 (moonlighted from 72 - 76). Would not have traded it for any of my other careers (banker, firefighter, city/county manager, et al.). Pretty good truckin' from 2007 to 2013 in Alaska especially before I had to line drive. Nowadays from what I've seen, I'm not sure at least about truckin' in America. So many truckers look beat up and beadraggled. I think Alaska is still pretty good.

 

[Fast Freddy]

nope..i'd have stayed in the auto repair business, having regular lunch breaks, work all the hours i want with no worries about breaking any laws, and hurry home for a hot bowl of raviolis........

then, have ALL holidays off, full benefits, regular work hours, regular home hours, regular toilet time, and a partridge in a pear tree.......

You know I have a friend that’s a car salesman for BMW and he tells me the master mechanics make 150k. Seems the kind of profession where you have mechanics at the quickly lube making little money, but the top best of the best mechanics at the right place make bank.

I’m not sure how much the top mechanics make at Peterbilt,Freightliner etc.

 

[Oxbow]

I know some of you OO guys don’t have the same issues, but I’m sure it comes with other issues. Many OOs I’ve known seem to never have a day off as when their off they are doing tax paperwork or chasing business or repairing their truck.

This really isn't any different than owning any small business.

 

[Fast Freddy]

Great time truckin' from 1965 through 1976 (moonlighted from 72 - 76). Would not have traded it for any of my other careers (banker, firefighter, city/county manager, et al.). Pretty good truckin' from 2007 to 2013 in Alaska especially before I had to line drive. Nowadays from what I've seen, I'm not sure at least about truckin' in America. So many truckers look beat up and beadraggled. I think Alaska is still pretty good.

Good Points. So many truckers look beat up and beadraggled because of the ever increasing rules and regulations and technology, It pushes out the good respectable drivers and replaces them with low forms of life.

 

[Fast Freddy]

This really isn't any different than owning any small business.

True, but most small business owners aren’t driving 60-70 hours a week. I mean that’s why I never went for OO. When I’m off I wanna know I’m off and can do what I want. I need my time on my Jet Ski. I need my time to grab my guns and shoot something. I need my down time, my vacation time, my road trips to the mountains like I’m going to do here in a few weeks.

And many OOs don’t make it or make less than me as a company driver.

 

[mndriver]

Doesn’t matter if you drive 70-80-90 hours a week or if you are self employed.

Either way you work stupid long hours giving up family/home time by being at work and not home.

 

[Sinister]

I was all set to go to college and major in communications and hopefully some day have my own crazy radio show.

I'm glad I didn't. Terrestrial radio is all but intolerable to me. Around here there is a guy well into his 50s with the stupid stage name Balkie. You can tell it pains him to be that age and play teenage bubble gum pop in hot rotation. I'm glad I didn't get into radio.

I've always made a good living where many people who looked down on my job had to start over and over again because their factory closed or whatever. "Oh my God how can you work that much?" Or "No way in hell I would want to deal with that."

Yeah well. Being comfortable all the time creates soft people.

Another thing I like is that I've always thought driving gives me a wider perspective of the world than people who stay in one tiny town and do one tiny job forever. Interaction with people whose whole life and realm of thinking can fit in a gold fish bowl is wildly frustrating to me. I find them small and sad most of the time. It's beyond me to be content in one tiny place. I've always wanted to get up and move around.

One summer in heavy haul we had two 19 year old guys sign on as a summer job. I explained to them that even the next three months gone from home is going to totally change their perspective on things and the tiny town they came from is going to seem like a speck of nothing and the people in it just dust.

They came back that winter for a bit and told me that's exactly how they felt when we got done hauling wind stuff that summer and they went home.

Since then one of them has even moved out of town because he realized how tiny these people were and grew to dislike it.

To turn back the clock I would get more business education and work toward getting my own company up and running rather than getting married then realizing there's no support for that idea when I thought there was. In fact I'm pretty sure there was.

The thing I dislike most is having to live by other people's decisions. To turn the clock back I'd set myself up so that's not the case. I'd set myself up so I wouldn't have to be in a truck full time.

But I can't picture myself in any other industry either.

 

[Shreck]

I was all set to go to college and major in communications and hopefully some day have my own crazy radio show.

I'm glad I didn't. Terrestrial radio is all but intolerable to me. Around here there is a guy well into his 50s with the stupid stage name Balkie. You can tell it pains him to be that age and play teenage bubble gum pop in hot rotation. I'm glad I didn't get into radio.

I've always made a good living where many people who looked down on my job had to start over and over again because their factory closed or whatever. "Oh my God how can you work that much?" Or "No way in hell I would want to deal with that."

Yeah well. Being comfortable all the time creates soft people.

Another thing I like is that I've always thought driving gives me a wider perspective of the world than people who stay in one tiny town and do one tiny job forever. Interaction with people whose whole life and realm of thinking can fit in a gold fish bowl is wildly frustrating to me. I find them small and sad most of the time. It's beyond me to be content in one tiny place. I've always wanted to get up and move around.

One summer in heavy haul we had two 19 year old guys sign on as a summer job. I explained to them that even the next three months gone from home is going to totally change their perspective on things and the tiny town they came from is going to seem like a speck of nothing and the people in it just dust.

They came back that winter for a bit and told me that's exactly how they felt when we got done hauling wind stuff that summer and they went home.

Since then one of them has even moved out of town because he realized how tiny these people were and grew to dislike it.

To turn back the clock I would get more business education and work toward getting my own company up and running rather than getting married then realizing there's no support for that idea when I thought there was. In fact I'm pretty sure there was.

The thing I dislike most is having to live by other people's decisions. To turn the clock back I'd set myself up so that's not the case. I'd set myself up so I wouldn't have to be in a truck full time.

But I can't picture myself in any other industry either.

I can’t imagine doing anything else it’s all I’ve done for the last 46 years and I still enjoy what I do.

 

[mndriver]

I was 22 and having breakfast in Ontario 76.

Four guys all told me to buy the truck, even leased on, take care of it and make sure you do good maintenance. Couple accountants, an engineer and a lawyer. All left their profession and became drivers.

By the time I was 45, I’d be able to retire from life.

I wished I would have listened to them.

 

[stwik]

Id do it again but I’m still a dumbass 25 year old. Not like rewinding the last 4 years on the road would change much...

 

[Sinister]

@Fast Freddy great thread by the way. I've had the idea to start something like this on this forum but never did.

 

[Oxbow]

Doesn’t matter if you drive 70-80-90 hours a week or if you are self employed.

Either way you work stupid long hours giving up family/home time by being at work and not home.

Or, in my case, working on bid proposals, accounting, maintenance, etc. etc. while home.

 

[mndriver]

Or, in my case, working on bid proposals, accounting, maintenance, etc. etc. while home.

I gave up my authority and life is much more relaxed.


The ability to just come home is so nice to just relax and have my time home.

 

[Fageol]

Good Points. So many truckers look beat up and beadraggled because of the ever increasing rules and regulations and technology, It pushes out the good respectable drivers and replaces them with low forms of life.

You're right. The cascade of rules promotes a don't give a crap attitude. Congress fails to control federal agencies. Our elected officials are too busy dialing for dollars. Short of a revolution, I doubt that things will change. Sorry I misspelt "bedraggled."

 

[Humble pie]

Trucking has been good to me. I’m not beat up and look a hobo. That’s a personal choice that people allow. I just took a week off to build a field fence, so I’m not working myself to death owing a truck.

I will say when I had 8 trucks running it wasn’t what I had envisioned and glad I got rid of them. It’s currently 7:30 in the morning and I can’t wait to find a load and get to trucking. Sure, some days suck ass but overall I still enjoy it after 20 years.

 

[mndriver]

Trucking has been good to me. I’m not beat up and look a hobo. That’s a personal choice that people allow. I just took a week off to build a field fence, so I’m not working myself to death owing a truck.

I will say when I had 8 trucks running it wasn’t what I had envisioned and glad I got rid of them. It’s currently 7:30 in the morning and I can’t wait to find a load and get to trucking. Sure, some days suck ass but overall I still enjoy it after 20 years.

Getting rid of the other drivers here too was heaven.

 

[Mike]

I know some of you OO guys don’t have the same issues, but I’m sure it comes with other issues. Many OOs I’ve known seem to never have a day off as when their off they are doing tax paperwork or chasing business or repairing their truck.

This is why I don't work on my truck, and why I have everything I need to run the business inside my truck. It's why I steered myself toward a Cascadia when I got a new truck so I could more easily work inside the truck.

None of it comes home with me, other than when it is time to work again and I begin searching for loads. Searching for loads is the only thing I do from home.

Even the time and effort spent gathering up all the information needed to tax season gets done from the truck.