During the two hours spent awaiting the arrival of the tow truck, I once again questioned whether I was cut out for this. For all I knew, this would mark the end of my brief trucking career. I had, however, learned another hard lesson.
Archive of entries posted by Brett Aquila
Keeping Your Head Screwed On Straight In A Crisis
Posted by Rick Huffman on 24 May 2010, 3:50 am
I learned two things from a recent misadventure: first, that being safe out here requires being careful and being lucky and, second, that I needed to keep my head screwed on straight in a time of crisis. I had made the wrong initial decision, but I had gotten lucky—next time, I might not.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Career Help, Tips, Advice, First Solo Months On The Road, Great Stories, Stories of the Road.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, driver responsibilities, First Solo Months On The Road, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Stories of the Road, truck driving stories, trucking accident
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Fighting Through The Challenges Of Life On The Road
Posted by Rick Huffman on 11 May 2010, 3:25 am
After loading up some drywall that had to be tarped on a rainy day in a muddy mess of a parking lot I began to question whether or not becoming a truck driving was a mistake.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, First Solo Months On The Road, Great Stories, Stories of the Road.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, driver responsibilities, First Solo Months On The Road, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Stories of the Road
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Bad Directions, The Wrong Entrance, and A Coon Dog Cemetery
Posted by Rick Huffman on 22 April 2010, 5:10 am
The first delivery of my first full solo week was to Simpsonville, South Carolina. This one, thankfully, went very smoothly; the directions were accurate, it was easy to get to, and they had me unloaded quickly. This trend, however, would prove to be of the one-in-a-row variety and I came across some odd sitings!
Filed under Career Help, Tips, Advice, First Solo Months On The Road, Great Stories, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged being a truck driver, driver responsibilities, First Solo Months On The Road, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle, truck driving stories
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A Humbling Adventure: My First Delivery Driving Solo
Posted by Rick Huffman on 15 April 2010, 4:48 am
After saying goodbye to my trainer, it was time to set out on my first solo run. And what an adventure it turned out to be!
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Career Help, Tips, Advice, First Solo Months On The Road, Great Stories, Stories of the Road.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, being a truck driver, driver responsibilities, hard lessons learned, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle, truck driving stories
1 Comment
On The Road In Training With Ringo Part 2
Posted by Rick Huffman on 31 March 2010, 2:57 am
The first couple of weeks on the road driving flatbed were hard, because my body was not conditioned to this pace, this type of work, or these long hours. I lost most of the feeling in the tips of my fingers, and I had aches in places where I would have sworn I didn’t have muscles.
Filed under Becoming A Truck Driver, Great Stories, On The Road In Training, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Becoming A Truck Driver, driver responsibilities, hard lessons learned, life on the road, On The Road In Training, Stories of the Road, truck driver training, truck driving lifestyle, truck driving stories
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On The Road In Training With Ringo
Posted by Rick Huffman on 29 March 2010, 6:56 am
My first time out on the road in training I had a patient, entertaining, and unique character for a trainer – Ringo – an imposing, grizzly bear of a man with a beard like Dan Haggerty. His patience and entertaining stories made for a very unique experience. Since we were running southeast regional, we would get to go home on weekends, but the “trucker’s weekend” was not something I’d been prepared for.
Truck Driving School Part IV – Taking The CDL Exam
Posted by Rick Huffman on 25 March 2010, 7:42 am
Finally, the time to take the road test arrived. We would go, in small groups, to the testing facility in Hartselle, Alabama over the next five days. I would test on the second day, and Alan would test on the fourth. Everyone was nervous, and most of us failed the first attempt.
Trucking School Part III – Boot Camp
Posted by Rick Huffman on 25 March 2010, 6:49 am
Almost everyone is abysmal at 45° angle backing to start with, and I was no exception. However, I was not the only one having difficulty. Alan even resorted to mathematical solutions to crack this puzzle, but it didn’t seem to help either of us. But a couple of great instructors stepped in and helped get us going in the right direction.
Attending Truck Driving School Part II – First Day On The Yard
Posted by Rick Huffman on 15 March 2010, 5:52 am
Alan and I were both nervous, yet excited about the new challenge before us. We’d be spending the first couple of days in the yard, learning straight-line backing and 45° angle backing. Here we go – my first attempt at backing up a truck.
Attending Truck Driving School Part I
Posted by Rick Huffman on 10 March 2010, 7:24 am
Priceville, Alabama was where my trucking adventure began. A Super 8 motel room would be my home for the next three weeks while I attended CDL school. I did not know what to expect on the first day, but I met a wide range of personalities in the other students. It was incredible to see the diversity.
Becoming An American Trucker
Posted by Rick Huffman on 8 March 2010, 5:11 am
I was probably one of the most unlikely candidates to become a truck driver that the world has ever seen. I had spent the past 20 years of my life working in television broadcasting in various roles. While it had been exciting and challenging at first, the years had eroded my role into a thankless and suffocating rut. I seriously needed a change…a new experience. This is the beginning of my story – the life of an American Trucker.
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