Why do you do this?

[Broompilot]

Passion? What would make someone want to spend weeks at a time away from loved ones and family, dealing with smell in truck stops, lousey food, not knowing how much your gona make?

Now the positive side, the love of the highway? Travel, new people to meet, help others out in the business/industry. Pride of ownership? Why, why do you do this?

I love the Trucking Industry, and all of the second paragraph, so whats in it for you or not?

 

[Moot]

I love the Trucking Industry, and all of the second paragraph, so whats in it for you or not?

Broom, you pretty well covered it for me in your second paragraph. I've been at it for 30 years and still enjoy it. That and the fact that I can steal loads from big trucks.

 

[cheri1122]

Because I made up my mind in 2000 to find a 'job' that I love, and this is it.
It's even better when I can steal not just a load, but a parking space too, from a pest in a van, lol.

 

[CharlesD]

There's only one reason I do this. So I can steal three skid loads from all those small straight trucks. I take great pleasure in that.

I've always had an interest in the trucking industry, but I never wanted to be a driver until a couple years ago when I lost a job I had been at for a few years and was having trouble finding something else comparable. I was reluctant at first, but grew to like it. There are still times I'm frustrated with the time away from home and family though.

 

[D Team Brothers]

I've done a lot of things in my life, but the freedom of the road beats the heck out of most of them!

 

[greg334]

I don't do this, I have to wait for these vans to leave the area that I'm in so I can get a load - Ban the Van!

 

[x06col]

Good thread Broomie! I also did it for the things listed in your second paragraph, and, I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude of the road while "gitt'n R done. Then I enjoyed the excitement of the Fishermans warf in SF, the lights of vegas, the mountains of the NW, the wonders of the grand canyon, the river walk in san antonio, the restaurants in KC, down town boston and nyc, lobster in maine, sweet corn in IA, and of course the warmth of phoenix and miami in january. Then the solitude of gett'in r done again. Also enjoyed helping the inexperienced dispatchers and shippers get their wrong sized truck loaded properly, and again gitt'in r done when ALL the cards were stacked against you. And, many other aspects of this business. In particular, the remuneration.

 

[chefdennis]

Lets see, I am retired and don't need the money you all say i can't make. I don't need the health or med insurance that you all say is a must, I don't have a payment on the van that you all say there are too many of and I don't really like my family that much (ok thats a joke) so being away from them isn't that big a deal, and besides, we might see each other for 3-4 hrs a day as it is, so again, its no big deal. If i really want to see my wife, i can go out of service and fly her to anywhere I might be.

Hmmm I guess i just like to drive, I drive about a 1000 miles a week now and thats just for the hell of it, might as well get paid something(even if it isn't enough to pay for the gas i'll use) and see a few more places.

Yea I am doing this just for the hell of it. Well at least for 18 to 24 months , thats how long i put the business plan out to..

 

[kangar0085]

Good thread Broomie! I also did it for the things listed in your second paragraph, and, I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude of the road while "gitt'n R done. Then I enjoyed the excitement of the Fishermans warf in SF, the lights of vegas, the mountains of the NW, the wonders of the grand canyon, the river walk in san antonio, the restaurants in KC, down town boston and nyc, lobster in maine, sweet corn in IA, and of course the warmth of phoenix and miami in january. Then the solitude of gett'in r done again. Also enjoyed helping the inexperienced dispatchers and shippers get their wrong sized truck loaded properly, and again gitt'in r done when ALL the cards were stacked against you. And, many other aspects of this business. In particular, the remuneration.

BRAVO! Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[nightcreacher]

why do I do this?let me count the ways,far to many reasons to write,but bottom line is,if you love the job your doing,is it really a job?

 

[late4dinner]

I do this because everyplace I worked in the past has gone out of business. (Except the Post Office) thats another story. I also smoked and even 15 years ago or so, it was getting hard to find a place where you could smoke at the workplace. I also like to eat beans and this job lets me eat till I bust.
All joking aside, I like the freedom this work gives me and I have never had a job that pays as much, period. I know that some people don't do well at this kind of work but I guess I have just been lucky.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Good Question Broom!
We have so many reasons we are glad we left our 9 to 5 jobs and hit the road after our kids graduated college:
We finally fit into a world where the husband and wife have respect for each other and enjoy each other enough to spend 24 hours a day 7 days a week together
We can see our kids often now instead of trying to take one week vacations and they do not mind us just popping in
We are actually even more available to receive phone calls from our kids and friend to talk as long as they want to as we are driving down the road
We enjoy being involved with EO, reading, listening, posting and learning about our business
The people you meet that are involved with Expediting are usually fascinating to talk to and learn of their past as like us for most this is a second career after a successful first career
We have made some really good friends that live all over the country and you just never know when you will get to see one of your friends or they will come rolling into a business you are sitting at
Getting to see some of the businesses and see how different products are made is sure a lot better than learning about the product on TV
We enjoy the challenge of owning our own business and putting away for our future
The truck has become our home basically and we enjoy making our house on wheels look good and is comfortable to live in
We like the carrier we run for and the ability to run in the freight lanes we enjoy and still is profitable
Seeing all 4 seasons is still just amazing to us as we are from Arizona and Kansas
The cities you get to see and the opportunities to sight see are endless
We love not having to say “is the weekend ever going to get here?”
We also still get a kick out of talking to other drivers and when you discuss the United States and favorite places you talk as if this is just a small town and next time you are in the area stop in
We really get to haul some cool stuff and feel as if you are a part of something bigger then we are
We love hearing the beep of the QUALCOMM and wondering ok where do we get to go next and much are we going to get paid to do something we love to do!!!
The list could go on and on of why we love our lifestyle and the list of negatives is a very very short one and one we do not dwell on but just move on past it.

 

[hondaking38]

its gotta be the freedom, because its sure not from the money i am making!!!making more a month doing my 2- 2day drills a month

 

[highway star]

It's simply what I love to do, for most of the reasons already mentioned. It's particularly satisfying since I'm no longer a lowly van driver. I feel like a real man when I put 11,500# in the box. (Insert Tim Allen grunt here.) BAN THE VAN!!

 

[layoutshooter]

We started because of the single state recession in Michigan. We had always wanted to run our own business. This seemed to fit. We really enjoy our new life and freedom. Layoutshooter

 

[CharlesD]

With all these people saying ban the van I decided I needed to come up with some pithy slogan van drivers could use, but the limited selection of words that rhyme with truck coupled with a desire for decency on the board has me somewhat at a loss.

 

[gotta go]

With all these people saying ban the van I decided I needed to come up with some pithy slogan van drivers could use, but the limited selection of words that rhyme with truck coupled with a desire for decency on the board has me somewhat at a loss.

That was too truckin' funny. I'm wiping the tears off my face.

I do this because I've known ever since getting into a cabover for the first time in '72 that the world of trucking is where I belong. Technology has improved our lives and brought us into the "civilized" world. Here we can have friendships with people we never see but share our experiences.

 

[ATeam]

Diane and I do this (expediting) because there is no work we would rather do. If there was, we would be doing that.

 

[pjjjjj]

I do this because everyplace I worked in the past has gone out of business. (Except the Post Office) thats another story. I also smoked and even 15 years ago or so, it was getting hard to find a place where you could smoke at the workplace. I also like to eat beans and this job lets me eat till I bust.
All joking aside, I like the freedom this work gives me and I have never had a job that pays as much, period. I know that some people don't do well at this kind of work but I guess I have just been lucky.

Remind us not to apply to team up with you

 

[arkjarhead]

I guess I did it because when I got out of the Marines I wanted a way to be with family in Arkansas and still go see the boys in California on a regular basis. At first when I was pulling the refer that worked out pretty well. I was with family a weekend a month and with the boys a weekend a month. then I met my wife and reasons changed. We got married, and I wanted to see her make it through college. I couldn't make the kind of money I was driving elsewhere with my lack of skills. Carrying a machinegun doesn't pay that much in the civilian world.

Now I'm out of the truck, for health reasons, and going to school. I hope one day to start my own company with leased on O/O. Basiclly a personlized dispatch service. You tell me what kind of equipment you are running and I will find the best paying freight I can to keep you moving. I stay on EO to keep myself up to date with what's going on in the industry. Instead of coming back in a few years and trying to catch up all at once.