Who in here.......
 

Who in here got into trucking simply because of being tired of dealing and working around people all day long.
I think it's the main reason I'm considering getting into it myself.
I know as a driver you still have to deal with people as far as traffic shippers dispatch etc.,but not really side by side with morons and cutthroats,suckbutts and all kinds you can think of.
Last week topped it all off,this man after 42 years of service(we're talking about an extremely dedicated man to his job) left the shop like a few minutes early to shake everyone's hand who he's been working with for so long and guess what management decides to do to him on his last day,they wrote him up on his last freaking day,it literally made me sick to my stomach.
He wasn't even out the gate yet when the whistle blew,I could see if he was in his vehicle in the parking lot when the whistle blew but he was still inside the mill.
Anyway I know trucking probably ain't no better but at least you're not in direct contact with people.

Maybe I'm turning anti social,hell I don't know.
All I know now I have a total lack of interest in my job now and on top of that extremely bored with it.
By the way I'm a millwright at a papermill.
My plan is to pay some bills off and think I'll give trucking a shot.

Y'all have a good one and give me some feedback if y'all ever went thru this.

Although Im still in college right now I can relate to what your saying. I delivered furniture for 5 years for my parents business and the thought of being out on the open road and not having to deal with idiots constantly made trucking appealing to me. Although the majority of us still have bosses (in a sense) to report to we atleast don't have to deal with the normal 9-5 b.s.

k
 

Well, I got in2 driving when I was 18 for 2 reason's 1 is b/c I dont have a boss standing over my ass watching every lil move I make (he'd get his ass punch'd if he did). 2nd where else can u drive, smoke, do whatever u want well yer @ work aslong as the wheels are turning it dont madder if yer a chipmonk as long as them wheels roll than its a piece of cake ! I think when u LD @ places u can tell if the Loader is a prick or is decent depends how u approach them ( Hey bro I got $50 that says u can't have me UNLD'd IN 30 mins)it's a writeoff dont worry bout it) ..Like my parents teach'd me.................. DO ON 2 OTHER'S AS YOU WANT DONE ON2 YOU...!

I got into trucking in May 2000, just after the y2k scare shown to be bull. I was a computer tech with my own shop, and was doing good until October 1999, when business dropped off.

I glad I closed down when I did. Newer computer parts was being shipped in faster that I could sell the old ones. And the prices were dropping daily. That's when I decided to change.

It has had it's ups and downs, and I started with a class B CDL...it wasn't until Sept. 2003 when I upgraded to class A CDL.

Now I do mostly local work. I have found that it pays the same, and sometimes more, than OTR. And I got wife and kids I wanted to be with. Maybe after my kids get on their own I'll go OTR.

And that's my story. :wink:

Re: Who in here.......
 

Stick with the paper mill. Pay/bennies are leaps and bounds over 95% of OTR trucking jobs plus you sleep in your bed everynight.

The end-of-the week gross might look good in OTR but the hourly rates are a joke and there's no overtime...which means you will be working round the clock to make a decent paycheck. Lots of hurry-up and unpaid waiting around.

This industry will soon be flooded with illegals once the government allows them to get CDL's. They will happily pull for less than 1/2 the rate and thus the services of blue-collar American drivers will no longer be needed...much like what's happened in other low-skill occupations like construction, landscaping, food service, etc.

I think you may find a certain level of antisocial behavior in this industry. However, you will still need to deal with people, mostly your dispatcher or driver manager. In addition, you will need to deal with shippers, receivers and their personnel. If you drive solo you will spend a lot of time by yourself. Some people enjoy spending time by themselves, others prefer having people around. It is important to have good communication skills, whether you use them all the time or not.

Ok, I am extermely new to this but after my maiden voyage ( Just last week) I have to say that most truckers are really nice but the other folks you deal with are not so nice. ( dispatchers, Shippers ) The thing is you will be dealing with the other folks as a business and only chatting with the truckers on th CB or at truck stops . I really enjoyed the time alone driving down the interstate but had to bite my lip a few times when dealing with the dispatcher , shipper or reciever.

There was one particular broker that had high rates but the lady answering their phone had a HORRIBLE attitude as if I owed them my kidney since they had good rates. :lol: I never hauled a single load for them and never care to. To me money isn;t everything. There is no reason for a shipper/dispatcher/or broker to behave like they are owed something. We are providing a SERVICE FOR THEM. It shouldn't be the other way around. I will not haul or offer my services to a shipper or broker with a crappy attitude regardless of their revenue. There is plenty of other freight out there.

Not all local jobs are the cake walk that CFM eludes to. I have a local job, produce for Walmart. I went into the office yesterday at noon, left at 1330 and drove back into the facility at 0330.

I got more sleep OTR.

And no, I am not interested in loading trailers or dock work until I can get moved up the chain.

My point is enjoy wherever you decide to go.

Its YOUR life.

Yeh,that's been a constant battle in my head,be home every night but miserable working around people all day long or trucking.
Again I know trucking isn't a walk in the park either but I do like the idea of working by myself.
Never have been happy working side by side with people,been a loner most of my life and my family knows it.

Scania wrote: I didn't get into trucking 'simply because" of anything.. The bigger decisions in life are not simple. Period. BUT:
My own Personality is Loner. Any sort of "anti-social" tag that anyone wants to put on it is a direct result and reaction to the gross decline of civility I've experienced with the Humans. I have a particular aversion to Bad. I cherish what is Good.
Trucking? Spent most o my life in ranching. Good job for a Loner. But they hammered on me that Loner was bad. So I went to college like a good boy and bombed out. I worked in a Steel Mill, liked it, but no money - and went back to ranching. Went out again into Wholesale Plumbing Supplies. Did great. From dock help to Asst Branch Mgr before I hit the Glass Ceiling and a salary cap.. Went back to ranching. For 30yrs. And the ranch closed.

Oh yeah.. Society doesn't like Loners. So I had to go through 2 marriages and 2 divorces.. Society isn't for everyone. I'm a Loner.

So. Take my educational level, my physical status, my Loner-ism, my need for Serious Income, what I'm able to do and how I like to do it....
Out of the blue, both feet first, I went into trucking.
I like trucking. Compared with running a ranch 25/8, 367/yr, this is a vacation with damn sure better pay.
If I'd sucked up, gutted up and gone on through the Education Machine and got a "Good Job"... I'd be unhappy, seriously homicidal and by God no guarantee of The Good Life by any means or sense o the word. I have enough 'burn outs' from the Socially Accepted Good Life out here with me to pretty much vindicate my gut instincts from way back.
I'm a Flatbedder. Skate Boardin', Shingle Haulin' White Trash.. And proud of it. At 52 I'm in the best shape I've ever been in.

And every time I go into an Office... I get the willies.. I can feel the tension. The lurking evil.. :twisted: And after I've transacted my bidness with the Gophers, the Suckers, the Trapped and the Haunted I get to walk out those doors and climb up into 80000lbs o Machine and I sail myself away from the Great Lie.
This ain't like bein' able to go lose myself out in the brush, miles from nowhere, surrounded by Nature with nothin' but a good Horse or a good Ford F250 Dsl 3/4tn 4x4 Supercab 5spd with me...
But it's Close Enough.
The money right now is Good Enough.. the Skill and the License is at least some assurance that I can better my position down the road in this industry.. No changing the Career anymore - just the Outfit perhaps. Maybe my own Rig in the future.. if it all 'pencils out'..

Nothing in life is Simple.
The Human Race is currently following right on down the historical cycle it has for thousands of years and we're on the Downside of it for many reasons.
I have no further use for Society on a personal level.. I may serve it. I interact with it on as minimal a level as I can.. It's for my own good and theirs as well. :mrgreen:
This is where I need to be.
There are many in this industry that don't need to be here.. If we're lucky we'll have the chance to Take Out those that don't figure it out for themselves soon enough - and for some of us, soon enough isn't Soon Enough.
I don't see that many Mexican Nationals taking over Transportation, not for very long anyway.... The Culture is what it is, and it is not suited to the demands for Safety and Reliability mandated by common sense, much less the mandates of Govmnt Regulation. But that's another whole topic.

If you're a Social Creature, go Local or stay Local. If the Goode Life and the Family Thing worked out for you, you won't stay in trucking. That is pretty simple.. We all make choices. What is Good or Bad is eventually determined by each individual in the end, regardless o race, creed, color or wiring.

Without question, there's a truck ready for you out here.
Without question, you better be sure you're ready for the Truck.
This is no game.
If you don't eat it up, it'll eat you alive.

That is one of the many reasons I want to drive a truck, I'm not a very social person so I don't go to parties or get togethers except family gatherings, other than that count me out cause I rather spend my time at home in peace and quiet.

Well said...
 

Root, You just brought up alot of things that I think most Truckers woud agree with. Maybe not admit to for the most part about being non-social. But I agree. I am married however. Not to say it is not extremely difficult to be away from family. I have a husband who is 13 yrs. older than me and for the most part he is content with me being the major bread winner as long as he can spend more time in his easy chair. So I guess it is working for us. I'm not saying I am entirely happy with the fact that he has slowed way down. I do drive for the same reasons to be away from angry people who are so sad its sad. I too am very grateful for the ablility to drive a truck and stay for the most part away from these rude people in the world today that we exsist in.

Yeh that's me,never been much on all that neither.
My uncle who's now 70 something done the same thing when he was in his early 40's he had a grocery store and had it going on,he just sold the store one day and started driving a truck,done it til he was in his late 60's.
Some people are just not cut out to work with society,just now realizing I may be one of those.

I guess it came from having to deal with immature kids and their childish bullshit. :roll:

Seems like Root has some bad personality issues
 

Very convused rambaling.
Hmmm Hope I don't park next to you in a truck stop, I feel "Postal syndrom " coming on.

I rarely agree with CFM but I do agree with some of what he said . As a millwright you should be making a nice living , have you tried appling with a rigging company? I see a lot of dumba$$es out on the road and driving a rig is the last place you (or any one) needs to be when stressed out by some a%#hole 4 wheeler, this is ajob that require's a lot of patients (sp?)

I'm far from a depressed maniac!

That's what I do, deal with rigling companiies and the aftermass. I am loading a load in Beumont Tx. Monday morning that is 64 long, 15.7 high, 14.9 wide and weights 197 #lbs Then have to go out and play with traffic , Oh it only weighs 197 LBS

Oh,but I forgot, It is only paying 8800 (to the truck) for 1200 miles

Yeh I make a pretty decent living but that's not what this is about,and as far as dumb&*(^% 4wheelers I deal with 'm myself on the freeway on a daily basis only I'm in my p/u truck I've never got in an accident or even had to stand on my brakes,I simply give these idiots room and watch my back,I notice a lot of truck drivers (not every one)have issues with giving them room they literally try to bumper 4 wheelers out of the way.
It's 50/50 out there if you ask me,it's not always the 4 wheelers.

I'm not arguing with you I'm just telling you what I see out here on I-10,is a lot of unprofessionalism by truck drivers they are supposed to be better than the 4 wheelers,and yes it takes a lot of patience out there,I'm good at that let me stay in the granny lane and I promise you I won't be very far behind you.

I went back and reread the post , perhaps I misunderstood? To me it seemed that you were angry at all people? guess not and for that I'm sorry. But I still think that leaving the millwrights might be a mistake , it is a union postion right? I just think that is a good position and would get into it if I was qualified, maybe :lol: thats why I have the opinion that I do

root.............enjoyed your post.......................you should be a writer.....

i'm sure alot of people feel the same way..............

all the best to you......... 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

No problem, just tired of working side by side with people,union is not strong anymore,mill is not doing good(manufacturing is all going to China).
I'm 44 and not getting any younger,there's a lot of difference between maint. millwright and construction millwright,I'm getting too old to be battling the 100deg. Texas heat out here if something ever happens to the mill.
I'm mainly just looking for something I can stick with for the rest of my life,I love to drive,always been a loner and not an impatient individual,think the job would suit me just fine.

Re: Seems like Root has some bad personality issues
 

There's a difference between an online Forum and the psychiatrist's Barcalounger... One feather drawn from the bird's back does not a diagnosis make. :wink:
Rambling? Not entirely. Convused/Confused? Not me. If you find it confusing, hope I don't park next to you in a truck stop. :shock: We won't like us very much... and we'll probably be doing our jobs professionally, just the same. We're not all the same out here. That's a good thing.

There's good evidence you'd do well out here. Past jobs leave me in a position where I cannot consider Retirement. I see 70+ yr old drivers out here throwing straps n pulling tarps. Just not with the same techniques used by younger, more robust drivers... I'll drive until I can't. :mrgreen:
I schooled for my ClassA at 49.
Come and get it! :idea:

Re: Who in here.......
 

Although not the only reason ...the Vision of me , My Dog , a highway , and my Ipod was a big part of the draw ...so I guess you could say YESS..

See I got snagged up in a situation ...basicly I can look at a target three hundred feet away throgh an instrument ...turn a series of angles between another target at the same distance ...add the angles and get "0" or flat ...basicly someone screwed up a project ...then saw those angles ...not all of them ...just more than a couple ...and decided in their rush to point fingers ... that I had cheated ...any fool knows that numbers do not lie ...they add or they dont ...they did me good ...I got scapegoated ...been doin that job for over 17 years ...and never in the past would anyone have questioned my integrity ...or Dismissed me without a word in my own defence ....its pretty much then I decided ..

I dobt most of that makes sence ...but you get the jist

SHawn