Why do you do this?

[are12]

You asked why we do this - I figure we must be crazy:+ :+ There are times when I tell my husband that we have to be crazy for deciding to live our lives in a box! But really, we do love being out here. I have always loved to drive - my Mom always told me I was never happy unless I had wheels under my a** and she was right.
I like the freedom, seeing the sights and meeting different people. If you think about it, this job is like any other, no matter where you work, there is always griping going on over one thing or another. You just don't see it all in writing.
Yes, there are times I wish I were at home but I am not really missing out on much since we make it home for the holidays and special events - like my Mom's 76th birthday and we will be home for my Dad's 80th.
My kids are grown and live their own lives and like it was mentioned earlier, if they need something they know how to reach me.
There are times I am home for a couple of days and I will tell Jim I am ready to go back on the truck! Things can be hectic at home! Sometimes I wish I could be home more to help my parents with things that need to be done but I have 8 brother's and sister's so I feel they can handle it and I do what I can when I am home.
Only you can decide if this job is for you and if you decide this is what you would like to do - we wish you luck! Don't let all the complaining we do stop you - there is a fun side to it too!

 

[Broompilot]

The freedom, friends, and the sheer determination of beating the odds?

I cannot explaine it, but with young children at home wait until they are older. It will be much more rewarding for yourself.

I do enjoy it, and after what I been thru this month I cannot believe I just wrote that. ( a totaly different story for a later date ).

Those that know me no the story.

 

[bryan]

Hi

I do it because I love to drive.The only way to really get rich is do what you love and get paid to do it.Also I owe, I owe so its on the road I go.

As for doing this and raising a family. It requires some special skills.Like juggling schedules and alot of patience and creativity.It also helps if your the Enigizer Bunny because it seems there is never enough time in the day or enough of you to go around.

Nothing like helping your kid with homework while traveling down the highway at 65 mph.Or trying to find a babysitter when your 300 miles away and your spouse is on their way to the emergency room.I carry the local phonebook with me just to cover things like that.

Its a rewarding way of live but just not for everybody.I would of never been able to make it this long without the support of alot of freinds and family.

Good luck where ever life takes you.

 

[highway star]

Doh!!...

I'm such a dufus sometimes. Obviously, I meant the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

And you guys wanna let me be a moderator?

 

[Made In Detroit]

Why am I doing this? Good question. Still remains to be answered with me. Just starting out in expediting actually. For five years between the ages of 18 and 23 I was a truck driver. Started out at the bottom in one of those little cabover city trucks with a 14' box on it just making local deliveries and loved it right from the get-go. I thought that I was a super-trucker in that thing. Well the company that I worked for at the time convinced me to go for my CDL and offered to pay for the testing. I was scared to death at first, I thought that the '87 International truck that they had was the most intimidating thing that I had ever seen, and it was only a day-cab straight-truck with a 16' box on it. The first time that I drove that truck my legs were shaking so bad that I didn't even have to try to double-clutch, my left leg took care of that involuntarily. Well needless to say that I soon grew accustomed to my "big-rig", and the day that I finally learned how to float the gears without a clutch was one of the happiest days of my life. Back then in the early-90's I would often see the Roberts Express trucks on the road and always fantasized about driving interstate in a sleeper-equipped straight-truck. Well being the money-hungry kid that I was, I started changing jobs often always looking for that pot of gold on my pay-stub, but city driving doesn't pay well and my ambitions soon outgrew my bank account, so I started looking into jobs in the auto-industry here in Detroit. I landed a job with a one and left trucking behind in search of a more financially-secure future. After a very short time in the plant, like maybe a week or so, I began to question my decision to leave behind the only career that I ever enjoyed, but the paycheck kept me going and soon I resigned myself to the idea of spending the rest of my life in a factory job regardless of how much I hated the job itself. Don't get me wrong, the financial rewards were plentiful and I had more health-coverage than the Pope, but I still despised the job and spent many of my hours on the assembly-line thinking back to my time on the road and swearing to myself that if the day ever came that I left the auto-industry I was going to go into expediting and never work for anyone but myself again, as I have a genetic contempt for authority . Well as we all know, the bottom fell out of the auto-industry and after getting laid-off indefinitely this past summer I started researching a career in expediting. At first I almost didn't go into it, everybody that I talked to was telling me that a solo D-unit operator is going to starve, and if I wasn't willing to spend weeks at a time on the road then I wasn't going to survive in this business. This is not the kind of lifestyle that I wanted to live and still think that the one's who do spend weeks or even months on end living in a closet are insane. Just as I was about to put an end to my expediting dreams I decided to look into some of the local mom-and-pop operations rather than the national carriers. It only took me a day to find a local carrier that only runs regional freight and caters exclusively to solos. My experience with them has been wonderful, and I am in my own bed almost every night, if I want to get away for a couple of days or just stay local and work a 10 hour day and then go home, my carrier work's with me. So don't rule out mom-and-pop operations because they might be able to give you exactly what you are looking for. My years in the plant put me in a financial position as to where I could be semi-retired at 33, so I took the buyout that was being offered and bought a D-unit and never looked back. Can't say that I regret my decision as of yet, I am having too much fun. Don't listen to the nay-sayers, I think that if you look hard enough you will be able to find a carrier that will be able to offer you what you are looking for, and I can't complain about the money either. I think that I made the right decision.

 

[dhalltoyo]

Being an American means having the freedom to spend my hard-earned dollars as I choose to spend them.

Unfortunately, automotive unions have artificially inflated the price of goods to such a point that the manufacturers can no longer be competitive. Who ever heard of getting paid 95% of your wages for NOT working? Duh!

Where the UAW got confused was allowing the membership to believe they were "skilled tradesmen" like the true artisans. Uh, sticking a piece of chrome on a car is NOT a skill. An electrician who has completed an intensive apprenticeship under the direction of a journeyman has a skill that is worth $25/hr (including benefits) and I’ll pay for having my house wired correctly so that my family doesn’t get torched because of an electrical fire. Assembly line production does not even compare with that level of skill.

Sure, the UAW whined about unfair competition and the Asian market having such cheap labor. OK, the Asian manufacturers brought their manufacturing facilities to U.S. soil and provided hundreds of thousands of jobs for Americans. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, etc. pay a decent wage, the workers are happy and the shops are non-union! Better yet, when I pick up a load at Toyota the workers treat me with respect as opposed to the arrogant receiving clerk at Chrysler in Sterling Heights who grabbed the paperwork off my clipboard because he thought I was doing my job too meticulously. Because of that type of attitude, the UAW has forced the union shops to move those jobs to Mexico, Brazil, China, etc.

When you lose your retirement health care benefits, as many others have recently, you can bet the UAW hierarchy will still have theirs. In the short run, you made more money than you were worth, but in the long run…you reap what you sow.

 

[marvinkwagner]

I hope what you have read on here realy has not turned you against this business.

Its for sure I have not been in the business as long as all the others on here. That is for sure. So an Authority IM NOT.

I Would like to say this and you can take it with a grain of salt,

From Knee high to a bean Pole I wanted to Drive the Big Semi Tractor Trailers. Well After serving 23 years in the military I seen the World over 10 Times over. In other words I seen the World but not my Country that I served. (Desert Fox Holes HG) Ya YA.

Now Im doing what I Dreamed of doing when I was Young. NO your right its not a bowl full of Cherries out here. How ever its a liven
and now I am seeing My Country that I Proudly Served for 23 Years.
Personaly to tell you the truth I talk to alot of Truck Drivers that work for regular freight Companies, When they tell me how much they make I feel fortunate.

Now I read alot on here myself and as I have in the Past, I see alot of venting so to speak, so if you had a change of heart because of the Venting well every one has bad days, somethimes weeks HG

We all have issues if any one says they have the perfect Job hmm somthing is surely wrong or there telling Tales so to speak. HG LOL

Sitting ?? Kevin Hates sitting (RIGHT BOB)
Being Away from Home ?? Kevin Hates being away from Family (Right Connie)

Not steady work kevin hates not steady work for a not steady pay check (Right Cave Man)

Well What I like is I know What the money is when I get the Runs.

I know If I get the Big runs I can afford to go home more than the Regular freight drivers.

So in that aspect Monie Talks.

Seeing the Country well I served for 23 and seen the World nows time to see the Country I served. (Now If I can get my better half to join me after my youngest is Graduates) would be awsome.

Like I said now Im no Authority but My advice take it for what its worth or with a grain of salt. If you start in Expadite then Join FedEX Custom Critical.

Ok Tennaseehawk your turn.

Kevin

 

[zanico]

Thanks to everyone for your insights. I learned alot about this business in this post. I too, like most of you, just like to drive. And with the right truck setup, it can be pretty much like home, with a good sleeper and all the accessories. I'm still going to wait for a few years, but this is definantly something I will continue to look into. For those of you who haven't posted, please feel free to do so. Drive safe !!

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Marvin... why is it my turn? I already put my story on here. Thanx for thinkin of me tho

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

 

[marvinkwagner]

Hey Tenn

I go by Kevin

 

[Made In Detroit]

Yeah Dave it's a real pisser being financially secure. I think that I cried all of the way to the bank. Oh woe as me, I sowed good investments and reaped financial rewards. What to do with myself now...