I always appreciate hearing from our site’s visitors. Always. I especially love the thanks we get for putting up positive, honest, and helpful information for those who are considering becoming a truck driver. None of us at TruckingTruth will ever be found guilty of sugar-coating things, or telling anyone that truck driving is nothing but a bed of roses. I have said on numerous occasions that I absolutely loved my 15 years on the road – not because it was easy, and not because it was always fair – but because it was an exciting, challenging, and constantly-changing lifestyle that allowed me to meet thousands of people, see every inch of this country from coast to coast, make good money, be a vital part of our economy doing a job I could be proud of, and have the freedom to set my own schedule, run my own routes, and make more decisions that affect my life and my career than most jobs give you. But I never said it was easy or always fair.
I’ve been fired numerous times from truck driving jobs, and it’s true – sometimes I did not deserve to be fired. A couple of times it was a matter of miscommunication. One time I thought it was Ok to do something that we normally did, but for one certain customer we weren’t allowed to do it. My dispatcher never told me this – he had forgotten. Another time I went home for the weekend because the dispatcher that was filling in for my regular dispatcher told me it was ok to do so. Turns out he just forgot to tell anyone else that I was doing it and the company thought I had quit and abandoned the truck – so both companies fired me. Both times I got my job back after the matter was cleared up.
I’ve been fired from a couple of trucking jobs because of too many logbook violations. Well, that was my fault. Now, did these trucking companies know I was cheating the book? Yap – I was running too many miles to be legal. Did they let it go because they were profiting from it? Yap – until I got caught by the DOT a few times. Then it was going to come down to the company getting in trouble by the DOT if they didn’t fire me and claim they didn’t know I was cheating the logbook. So they fired me to protect themselves. Do I think this is fair? Yap – because I understand the trucking industry and how all of this works.
I knew when I was cheating the logbook that all of us would make more money and these particular companies would let me do it if I kept a low profile and didn’t get caught by the DOT. Did they actually tell me this? Hell no! They can’t say those type of things! I learned it from experience. I also knew they’d throw me under the bus if it came down to one of us getting in trouble. I knew all of this, I accepted the inherent risks, and it worked out in everybody’s favor for a long time – but not forever. It pretty much went like I figured it would go, and I walked away and onto new jobs without too much concern. Now I’m not telling you to do this, and I’m not telling you it will work this way at all trucking companies – because it won’t. I’m just telling you what I did, how it worked out for me, and how I felt about it – and why.
Truck driving, more than any job I’ve ever had, is really a “do whatcha gotta do” kinda job. You put in a lot of long hours, you don’t always get enough sleep, and you’re dealing with a lot of heavy traffic, tough road conditions, bad weather, crazy drivers, time alone away from your home and family and friends, and a myriad of other challenges out on the road. But the key word there is challenges.
Personally, I love to challenge myself. I used to love getting out of the truck, looking back at that monsterous trailer, and laughing to myself about the fact that I drive a small building around – through the mountains, snowstorms, big cities, and back home again – bringing the people of this nation the goods they can so easily pick up from their local grocery stores, malls, and department stores.
Don’t miss the best part! Read the big ending on page two of the trucking industry and how things really are!
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Wow Brett. That was an excellent post! And how come every time you mention the harships truckers face, it makes me even more excited to enter this career? Weird.
Thanks for the honest and insightful post!!
Yes, that was well said. You have to experiance trucking to fully understand what you just said. We who are in it, know it. Trucking will make you speak up or you will get walked on–meaning if you are quiet and shy or prefer that life, you will learn to adjust to cope with the demands of the road.
You may find out this is not for you or this part of trucking. Could be you should not be doing flatbeds when you are more suitable for tanker/reefer/van for an example. But no one knows what they can do until they try it out. Go for it and give it your best.
Good Morning Brett!
I am a 28 year old Wisconsin boy looking to change careers. I have explored a number of options but Trucking seems to be more for me than anything I have looked into. I’m not gonna lie I am a rookie and I don’t know much about trucking. I have been looking for honest insight on the trucking business all over the net. It seems people just want to tell me it is a bad idea and then make fun of me for suggesting CDL education. That’s fine I am the outsider looking in and they are experienced. So I respect their opinions. I am the type of person that believes respect is always earned with anything. I just wanted to say that in just reading a couple of your blogs and a couple of Mike’s so far I have found a really good source of information to guide me into a CDL school. From your Feb. 22nd blog…”No matter who you are, and no matter what you’ve been through in your life, it will change you”. That is good advice! Thank you!
Hey Sam!
Yeah, truckin will definitely change you for sure! The web is full of negativity about trucking. Full of it. We certainly don’t sugar-coat things here at TruckingTruth – we tell it like it is. But there are a number of people here on the site that spent a lot of awesome years runnin the highways of this country and really loved it! I thought they were some of the best years of my life – and I’ve had a great life! It isn’t an easy lifestyle by any means, but if you think it suits you and you follow the advice you find here on our site you’ll likely find yourself in a great career that rewards you in many ways. Read through our site thoroughly and talk with us in our trucking forum and we’ll give you all the straight-up advice we can give you and help you out every step of the way! Best of luck to ya!
Hi Brett,
This is a terrific website! I am considering getting into trucking again and all I was reading until now was negative. I haven’t driven a truck in twenty years now. I am considering getting back into trucking because of burnout with my current job. I always liked driving a truck but didn’t like being away from home so much. You are probably thinking-why then would you want to get back into trucking! First, I desperately need a job change, and I understand that many companies come up with ways to get more home time. I look at this as being the best of both worlds because I really did enjoy driving. Can a driver really be home often and still drive? I appreciate your response because this is a potential big decision for me and my wife.
Thanks,
Troy
High Troy.
Yes, you can definitely find more hometime these days than you could 15 or 20 years ago. There’s a very good chance you’ll have to work a year or so over-the-road before you’ll get on with a local or regional job, but they are more plentiful than they used to be because a lot of manufacturers and distributors have regionalized their operations to improve their efficiency and provide better service to their customers. So instead of one or two huge distribution centers, many companies have opted for 5 or 6 smaller distribution centers spread out across the country. This trend has made it easier to keep drivers within a smaller radius of their homes, and still keep them busy, so that they can get home more often.
But let me warn you ahead of time – you will be treated by everyone as a brand new rookie that has never seen a truck before. Only recent over-the-road experience counts to trucking companies these days – which generally means that if you’ve gone more than 2 years without any class A experience, you will have to do the schooling all over again. This is frustrating for a lot of drivers, but like everything it comes down to how bad you want it. If you want to get back into driving, the opportunity is there. It may not be as smooth and simple as some might hope, but it’s definitely doable – and in my opinion, it’s well worth doing.
Hope this helps!
For Better or Worse I found this site. I have been out of work for 3 months and they came and shut my water off a few days a go. To be honest I didn’t think that I wanted to go on any more, But then I found this site.
I just want to say thank you sir. You have rekindled a dream that has been in the back of my mind forever. This article in particular has hit it home that while i cant say being a Trucker would be the best fit for me, It seems like it was a job made for me.
Thank you
Eric W Hass