[TwinPack]

I grow increasingly frustrated when I am reading "trucker diaries" and everything is just peachy until one thing goes wrong and boom!, the driver is ready to bolt for another company. I would like to hear from drivers who "roll with the punches" and subscribe to the theory that "the grass is always greener on the other side, BUT, sometimes you gotta stay home and fertilize"

I would like to know:

Who do you drive for? Why?

How long with present company?

How long driving? How many companies?

What do you like most about your present company?

What do you like least about your present company?

Who is the BEST company you ever drove for and why?

Thank you and stay safe

[brian griffin]

1)NFC/Nortan

2)8 months 2 weeks.

3)13yrs.

4)The pay---46cpm/22.50hr.

5)Probably the trucks--not real comfortable.

6)I'd have to think about this one.

[ibamars]

LEt me first of say that my whole gameplan was to get 1 year experince over the road and then find a local gig. I did the OTR and It was OK but I like to have a social life more than every weekend or every other weekend. So heres why I did mine.

Roehl, Big on safety, do not push the envelope with putting your life in jeopardy.

I worked 14 months with them with a 2 month break due they made a huge mistake ( long story wont get into it, but if you want to know I posted my story last june or july on this board)

17 months I now work local for Sysco

Pay and benes and its union. I get paid for everything I do. Im home everynight. I have a full benes for 50 bucks a week. When I say full I mean full. Medical dental hospital vision no copays. the only thing I pay for is prescriptions. 5$ for generic and 10$ for name brand. I have a pension which they put $132 a week into and I can buy their stock at 15% discount and I can get disability insurance for $2 week and thats long term disability not short term. I get discounts on cars, phones, insurance, houses, and more plus access to a free company lawyer. plus more but to much to list. you get the point.

LAck of communication and humping groceries is not easy work. Unfortunately it seems like us vs management if that makes sense to a certain point.

Roehl so far. But I have only had 2 driving jobs. I will probably retire with Sysco due to all the benes.

[BigWheels]

Originally Posted by TwinPack

I grow increasingly frustrated when I am reading "trucker diaries" and everything is just peachy until one thing goes wrong and boom!, the driver is ready to bolt for another company. I would like to hear from drivers who "roll with the punches" and subscribe to the theory that "the grass is always greener on the other side, BUT, sometimes you gotta stay home and fertilize"....

Twinpack, granted there seems to be more trucker diaries out there of the "boom" variety than of the "fertilize" variety.

When reading a boom diary, I often find a series of small "booms" ending in a supersonic BOOM. Sometimes the mini-booms are obvious; sometimes they're not and nearly invisible. The big explosion occurs when the trucker has faced one-too-many of whatever-it-is-he-doesn't-want-to-deal-with incidents. Then he says "Next". He's reached his limits. Hopefully, he will learn from his time with xyz company and become wiser in his next trucking gig. So it may take a few BOOMS until he finally arrives where he's now at and even then it won't be perfect. But--this is important--he's been around the block a few times, kicked the tires, jawed with some colleagues, experienced a few booms, and concluded he's in a better spot than when he first started out. This is normal. Experience is a great teacher if you pay attention.

In addition, keep in mind that the vast majority of trucking diaries are written by those who are coming into the industry for the first time. They are finding out everything first hand--what they've dreamed of, read, researched, etc. As such, read the diaries with that perspective in mind.

When you do find a trucker diary of someone who blooms where he/she is planted, re-read it from the start every now and then. You'll notice a few things that you didn't the first time around.

Trucking (especially OTR) is a tough industry. Not everyone will make it--no matter how much they "fertilize". And everyone has unique "boom" thresholds. In the end some will stay in the industry and some will not. Some will stay at the same job for a long time, some will not. And some will stay at the same job when they should have moved on elsewhere (settled for 2nd best).

Final thoughts: there's a lot of truckers who are content with what they do but don't write diaries much less go online. You'll have to find them and start a conversation with them. Buy them a cup of jo, sit back, and listen. Then apply what you can to your trucking career.

Best!

[TwinPack]

Big Wheels wrote:

Final thoughts: there's a lot of truckers who are content with what they do but don't write diaries much less go online. You'll have to find them and start a conversation with them. Buy them a cup of jo, sit back, and listen. Then apply what you can to your trucking career.

Big, thanks for the insight, I'd like to buy you that "cup a' joe" and pick your brain if your available. I'm in Oak Creek and I see you're from Milwaukee. If you'd like to provide me with more insight, PM me and we'll set it up. Thanks

[Sealord]

"seems like us vs management" Could this be the mindset your "union" wants to inculcate into Sysco drivers minds? Can't have an adversarial relationship unless it's being stoked. BOL

[kilog55]

Originally Posted by ibamars

LEt me first of say that my whole gameplan was to get 1 year experince over the road and then find a local gig. I did the OTR and It was OK but I like to have a social life more than every weekend or every other weekend. So heres why I did mine.

Roehl, Big on safety, do not push the envelope with putting your life in jeopardy.

I worked 14 months with them with a 2 month break due they made a huge mistake ( long story wont get into it, but if you want to know I posted my story last june or july on this board)

17 months I now work local for Sysco

Pay and benes and its union. I get paid for everything I do. Im home everynight. I have a full benes for 50 bucks a week. When I say full I mean full. Medical dental hospital vision no copays. the only thing I pay for is prescriptions. 5$ for generic and 10$ for name brand. I have a pension which they put $132 a week into and I can buy their stock at 15% discount and I can get disability insurance for $2 week and thats long term disability not short term. I get discounts on cars, phones, insurance, houses, and more plus access to a free company lawyer. plus more but to much to list. you get the point.

LAck of communication and humping groceries is not easy work. Unfortunately it seems like us vs management if that makes sense to a certain point.

Roehl so far. But I have only had 2 driving jobs. I will probably retire with Sysco due to all the benes.

wow sounds like you pay sysco more then they pay you. $200 a month for benefits??

[silvan]

Originally Posted by TwinPack

I would like to know:

Who do you drive for? Why?

I drive for an O/O leased on with Nationwide Express.

I'm with Nationwide because the O/O was with Nationwide. I'm with the O/O because he needed a driver when I needed a job, and this job is close to what I was looking for if I still had to be a truck driver to make ends meet. (As I apparently do.) It's dedicated, home every night, Monday through Friday, day shift.

He's with Nationwide because they offered him this dedicated run I'm on, and because they've "always done what they said they were going to do." (I can confirm that last assertion, based on my own limited experiences with them so far.)

How long with present company?

A little over two months.

How long driving? How many companies?

About 10 years. Two companies.

What do you like most about your present company?

The O/O I drive for pays promptly, and the checks match my expectation to the penny. He gets a B+ for keeping the truck maintained, maybe an A-, as I may just be spoiled.

The company is doing what it said it would do, and my dedicated run is real, my miles are real, etc., and my checks are predictable on weeks when everything goes according to plan. They seem reasonable to deal with, and they do a number of things that make me feel like they might actually care about driver retention.

What do you like least about your present company?

The number one thing is the whole issue of dealing with equipment problems. Where I used to work, if I found something on the way south, I could tell my boss when I brought the truck in, and it would be fixed before my next run. I could sit at home while the equipment got maintained, unless I found something really critical.

Over here, it doesn't get fixed unless I sit in the shop waiting, and I don't get paid anything for the time. I'll get severe problems fixed, but I have seen so many things that were about to be problems, and I have let them go, because it wasn't in my interest to fix them. (Not the kind of thing you'd get an OOS violation for, but maybe a warning ticket for some of this.)

Because of this whole phenomenon, the equipment over here is just not as well-maintained as what I'm used to, and I frequently have some soon-to-be problem that I choose to let go because it isn't likely to let go in the next 500 miles.

I think if we got paid to sit in the shop, we'd all be a lot more likely to deal with things pro-actively, but maybe I'm dreaming. Most of the other drivers don't even check their tires, let alone inspect anything.

Who is the BEST company you ever drove for and why?

New Energy Bedrooms, Inc. Flat salary, even if you were sick, had a family emergency, etc., and even when freight was sloooow. Home every Saturday, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, and spend 3.5 days at home every week (two full days off, plus time off between runs.) Fixed and predictable amount of work such that you are rewarded for being able to get it all done faster by getting to spend more time off.

You forgot: Why did you leave?

I got laid off. They canned their entire fleet of drivers, and brought in a third party to run the freight.

[TwinPack]

I thought about asking the "why did you leave"? question, but, I figured the "who's the best you ever worked for"? question would be the same as "who do you drive for now"? I deduce by your answer, silvan, that had you not been laid off, you would still be there.

[ssoutlaw]

Originally Posted by kilog55

wow sounds like you pay sysco more then they pay you. $200 a month for benefits??

I dont know where you are from, but 50.00 a/wk is not expensive anymore!