“Even the though guys …. who say trucking is not for those who cannot do with a days rest/sleep of only 5 hours … they will run into themselves.

***Really if not now than later in life***”

***And hereby I mean Health issues

No matter how much you trip plan, something will interfere with it—longer wait at shipper/reciever due to waiting line,plant issues,lunch,break time and etc… Its impossible to tell dispatch I can pick that load up at 8 and deliver it in time 700 miles later. You and dispatch have no clue how long you will be getting this load. Even a drop and hook can cost you with trailer delays due to flat tire(s).

All the delays take away from your 14 hour work day so you may not get in good miles daily. As far as the sleeping goes, I was “lucky” as I operated from around 4 am to the end of my work day.

I am one of those people who can not sleep during the day. Yes while waiting for next load assignment I did get a few that picked up when I would be sleeping. Dispatch would tell me to get rested and I would tell them to go home NOW and try sleeping when you are not tired and then do it in a hot/cold truck. The loads were never taken away from me and I made it clear I would deliver the load SAFELY and it could be late when I shut down for sleep. I also did what I could to deliver ON TIME and usally had enough time built into delivery that a hour or two hour nap saw my safe arrival to deliver the load on time. Maybe I was lucky it all worked out this way for me.

I agree that most of the complainers are those who do not fit into this trucking world and/or are just complaining people who would complain at any job they do.

TruckerMike is certainly one of those that sucks it up and gets the job done. I follow him daily, I track him on GPS, and we chat quite a bit. I know what he’s going through, I know his attitude toward life and his career, and he’s got what it takes to be an awesome driver. Most people, even many that are truck drivers right now, do not.

It’s incredibly tough out there – the lifestyle is interesting and even quite exciting at times. There’s always an adventure around every corner, and believe me when I tell you this – it will absolutely kick your a** sometimes.

People, this is not a 9 to 5 job as TruckerMike has made clear. You really do drive when you must, sleep when you can. After years of this, 4-5 hours of sleep is a full night for me, and a 1/2 hour nap almost starts my day all over again.

Things get easier as time goes on. It takes a while to learn how to schedule things. That first year really kicks your a**! But you learn to schedule things better, you learn to sleep harder when you do sleep, and you adapt. After all those years on the road, nobody appreciates being able to drive 5 minutes to the grocery store or Wal-Mart to pick up whatever I like more than me, and nobody understands and appreciates what the guys and gals on the highway go through to make it that way for all of us.

There are a ton of people who are not cut out for this career, and you’ll find them complaining about how horrible their company treats them and how unfair everything is all over the internet. It’s not their company or the industry that’s the problem. The problem is they had no idea what it takes out there until they got there, and then they found out the hard way that they didn’t belong.

There are those types everywhere, and then there are the select few that suck it up and get the job done. You’ll find the tough ones here at TruckingTruth telling you straight up about life on the road so you can decide if it sounds right for you. I hope you’re listening closely, because as much as we love trucking, it’s brutal at times, but it’s also an incredibly satisfying lifestyle if you’re the right person for the job.