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 posts tagged truck driving stories
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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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.
My First Year as a Truck Driver
Posted by TruckerMike on 17 March 2010, 6:30 am
Wow, it’s hard to believe, but I’ve been at my current employer for 1 year as of today. I began Truck Driving School in January of 2009, completed that in February of 2009, and was hired on in March of 2009. This post will simply serve as some observations that I’ve made as my first year of a truck driver.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Career Help, Tips, Advice, Current State of the Trucking Industry, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, being a truck driver, dealing with the boss, driver responsibilities, First year on the road, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle, truck driving stories
2 Comments
Truck Driving Down Donner Pass
Posted by TruckerMike on 4 March 2010, 10:40 am
Until recently, I had never actually been on Donner’s Pass in California. Donners Pass is usually touted as one of the more dangerous areas for truck drivers and is the site of many fatal accidents. It’s quite an experience! I had the pleasure of going through it at night. I would have liked to take it during the day so I could see some of the scenery around me, but I’m sure I’ll get that chance in the future. I was still able to make some key observations though…
Truck Driving In A Cave
Posted by TruckerMike on 1 February 2010, 1:25 pm
On occasion I get to go to a place called Springfield Underground. It started life as a mine for limestone and is now and underground storage facility. If you never thought you’d see a big rig driving through a cave, well here’s your chance!
Inside Trucking Part 3: Life On The Road
Posted by Rhonda on 20 January 2010, 3:00 pm
With all the fuel that drivers purchase, it’s wise to get the driver payback cards from the truck stops that offer them. Its free, and it’s a way of saying thank you to the professional driver. For each gallon of fuel purchased, you get 1 cent/point put on the card. You can use these points [...]
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Career Help, Tips, Advice, Great Stories, Stories of the Road, Women In Trucking, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, driver responsibilities, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle, truck driving stories, Women In Trucking
3 Comments
Truck Driving in Winter Weather
Posted by TruckerMike on 19 January 2010, 5:51 am
Before I became a truck driver, there was nothing better than a good snow storm in the winter. Sliding around in my 4-wheeler, sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, hearing the scrape of the snowplow as is passes by, and the beautiful sight it leaves. That was then, and this is now!
Another Night Of Driving And A Very Close Call
Posted by Rhonda on 18 December 2009, 5:48 am
Even when you’re just cruising along, minding your own business, and doing everything right, you never know when someone is going to do something incredibly dangerous right in front of you, and this was one of those times.
Randy’s Phase 1 CDL Training – Part 5
Posted by rbradyjohnsen on 2 December 2009, 5:37 am
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
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Randy’s Truck Driving School – Days 20 & 21
Posted by rbradyjohnsen on 13 November 2009, 8:12 am
Randy was SO excited the last time I talked to him because after a change of plans, he and his trainer are now going to Mira Loma, CA first. And they get to drive past Las Vegas at night, which sounds really cool! He knows he’s going to be working really hard and be busy learning new things, but there is a “vacation” element to this, for him.
Truck Driving – Experience and Enjoyment of the Job
Posted by TruckerMike on 13 November 2009, 7:55 am
I love being a truck driver, and certainly plan on doing this for a while. I’ve also found that as my experience grows, my enjoyment also continues to grow. I’m still considered a rookie with only 8 months experience, but the little experience I have is already paying off.
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