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.
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.
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.
Hello readers. My name is Cathy Rubens. My husband Steve and I started our trucking adventure in October of 2008. These writing will be done in the form of flashbacks, with some things from the past and some things from the present. Steve and I will be writing about the events and happening from our respective points of view. The flashbacks will be stories of happenings and musings from events as remembered by us.
Posted by
Guyjax on
25 February 2010, 10:23 am
Would you drive a truck if the trucking company you worked for only paid you enough to cover your bills at home and your meals, but nothing more after that? For me the answer would be yes. I love driving and I would do it for free. Trucking is in my blood. Do you love driving a truck? Really love it? If so, then trucking is in your blood. To me, there is a difference between liking your job and loving it. Liking your job means you enjoy going to work, you enjoy the people you work with, you enjoy doing your job. Loving your job means you would do it for free! For me, trucking fits the bill.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, driver responsibilities, Knights Of The Road, life on the road, truck driving career
When you attend truck driving school, even a company sponsored CDL school, you’ll have to decide which endorsements to get when taking your CDL test. We’ll talk about which CDL endorsements are available, how you get these endorsements, what it takes to keep them, and why they are important.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, Passing The CDL Test.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL endorsements, CDL training, getting your CDL, hard lessons learned, truck driving career
I decided to hypothetically put two people seeking professional careers, one a prospective college student, the other a truck driving school candidate, up against each other in a comparison of job training, annual salary, debt accumulation, and investment capability throughout their careers. The results are quite interesting.
Truck driving has always been a great career for those of us who were cut out for the lifestyle. If you’re not the right person for the job, you’re really not going to like it much and you’re not going to last long. But if you feel like truck driving might be the right career for you, the outlook for the industry looks to be very solid for many years to come.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, Current State of the Trucking Industry, The Economy and Politics.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, new drivers in a slow economy, truck driver training
I talked to Randy sooo much today. We discussed EVERYTHING about trucking, the school, our experience so far, every aspect of our future, and how we’ve both been sort of “cracking under the pressure” lately.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Great Stories, Rhonda & Randy's Story.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Rhonda & Randy's Story, Stories of the Road, truck driver training
I keep reading that the 2 most important factors for a successful marriage, especially in OTR trucking, are trust and communication…this week, we had neither one. I suppose the added stress of all this didn’t help, and we both had a major thinking/behavior relapse. This career truly does test a relationship, and any weakness that existed before WILL be magnified 1000 times.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, getting your CDL, hard lessons learned, life on the road, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, Stories of the Road, truck driver training
Life on the road is not getting any easier for Randy, and life at home without him is getting even worse. He’s due for home time and we’re hoping it comes real soon. This is getting to be unbearable.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, Stories of the Road.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, Stories of the Road, truck driver training, truck driving lifestyle
We’re about half way through with CDL training and Randy is hardly making anything out on the road with his trainer. He can’t wait to get done with training. He’s been through a lot already but unfortunately there’s still a good ways to go.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, life on the road, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, truck driver training
Another day stuck at the school, another interesting story…don’t know if it’s true, but it’s interesting. Supposedly, a student took a bottle of liquor on the truck while with an instructor and other students. They got 30 miles away at a truck stop, the safety manager and cops were called, and he got a D.U.I. If it really happened, it’s incredibly stupid! A lot of odd things happen at that school.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, Stories of the Road.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, attending truck driving school, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, life on the road, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, Stories of the Road, truck driver training, truck driving stories
So, Randy has been acting very strangely and I can hardly get him to talk to me at all. Two days ago he was all happy, now he seems really uncomfortable again…something is going on in that truck. I suppose I won’t find out until he has some “alone time” again.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, attending truck driving school, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, life on the road, new drivers in a slow economy, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, truck driver training
It’s been a few days for Randy on the road now and I think he’s getting a bit wacky 
He’s struggling with some things but doing quite well overall. Being apart this long is not getting any easier for us.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, First Solo Months On The Road, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, hard lessons learned, life on the road, On The Road In Training, Rhonda & Randy's Story, truck driver training
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