Comments By Mountain Matt

It would help if I put the link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/728498/10467384

A friend of mine hosts a podcast about people who make life changes, and he interviewed me recently about trucking.

It's a free podcast, and I don't benefit from it in any way, but mods remove this if not allowed.

I had them put truckingtruth.com in the show notes, since this place has been so helpful to me in this transition.

Glad you got to listen, George!

Pacific Pearl, that's exactly right. I'm gaining valuable experience, as well as working off my one year contract (which saves me more money!). That's why I stopped questioning the fuel bonus after a bit so that I could focus on work.

Good points, and a good thread. We run on Prime's network, so I follow the instructions that come with the load. If it doesn't say anything about timing, I aim to show up and hour early. They usually will get the ball rolling. Drop and hooks usually have a window, so that gives me a chance to try to get there on the early side.

On longer trips, I try to get more miles in early in case something happens later in the trip to delay me (traffic jam, etc.).

I'm definitely trying to learn how to be more efficient!

Thanks, Bobcat Bob...can't seem to avoid Illinois, lol.

Good to hear from you too, Dennis. Yes, I slow down once I hit the recaps.

Bruce, I do have the CAT app, but it doesn't accept our Comdata company card. I have to pay and get reimbursed.

I get 46 cpm plus up to 5 cpm fuel bonus. But the bonus proves elusive...they are not clear about which parameters we are or aren't hitting, so many weeks I get nothing, sometimes it's like $3-9. One week, I somehow got $40! As far as I know, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be, so I kind of stopped worrying about it, as I got tired of bugging them with questions.

When I haul meat loads, I usually have to get a washout. Many of our shippers require it. If it's just dirty or whatever, I use my leaf blower instead. Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks, fellow Matthew! And sorry for your rough day... hope it gets sorted soon.

Anne, you are kind and supportive as always! I was actually through your neck of the woods yesterday, but with no time to stop! Now I'm in Illinois...

Thanks, Harvey. You said: "Glad it's working out well for you and you're enjoying it. Are you finding it challenging to eat healthy? Michael gained some weight in his first six months but has since lost that."

You know, I don't find it too hard to eat healthy most of the time. I do kind of a "keto-lite" diet, so mostly meat, veggies, berries, nuts, etc. But I am indulging my sweet tooth more than I should (which I realize is very much NOT keto). Oddly, this is mostly after driving, when I'm relaxing, rather than while I'm driving. I've gained a couple of pounds, which I want to monitor.

Well, I thought I would check in since it's been a minute. I've been solo for two months now (9 weeks, specifically). I took hometime at the end of my first week and then just last weekend, so that was a 7 week straight stretch of working (with one 34 hour reset in there).

I've been averaging right around 2,500 miles per week. My take-home pay has been $850-900/week after taxes, health insurance, 401(k), etc. Overall, I'm making close to what I made before in my office job, though I work more but have fewer expenses now (no apartment/house, and I'll probably sell my car soon).

I've been learning plenty as I go, such as:

-I'm learning to pace myself. I tend to work for long stretches of weeks at a time, so sometimes if I have some time on a load, I've learned to take a moment when I need it. I've reduced my expenses, so I don't always have to be running at "maximal productivity." For me, this is about the experiences along the way, as well as the paycheck.

-I like to alternate one night at a truck stop (for a shower, to resupply a bit) and one night at a rest area (quieter, more nature and space to walk). This rhythm works well for me, and I've found some great rest areas with little hidden trails.

-Since my trainer was a lease operator, there was a lot I needed to learn on my own as a company driver: how to get reimbursement for scale tickets, how fuel bonuses work, etc. Since we drove team, we never had to use the split sleeper berth provision (someone always had time on their clock), so I've been learning that and how to swing my hours to fit the loads.

-My backing has improved greatly, though I realize I still have good days and bad days in this regard, so I just make sure all my days are "careful days." Sometimes I think, the harder the hole, the better I do at backing. Go figure...

-I sometimes get "stuck" in a region of the country, bouncing around the southeast for a couple of weeks, for instance. I know this makes sense logistically. I've dropped little hints to my fleet manager that I like going out West, but I still feel like I have to earn my place before I'm too forthcoming with such preferences.

-Reefer can be tough... some weeks I feel like I spend a lot of my time fueling reefers for drop-and-hooks, as well as getting washouts. I've been thinking a lot about what hauling other kinds of freight might be like.

-Sometimes things are really busy, and there can be tough days. But on the whole, I find being solo MUCH EASIER than being in training. My biggest challenges during training were living with someone else in a box and trying to sleep in a bouncing truck. Neither of those are factors in my solo life.

-In sum, I'm learning, gaining needed experience, and LOVING IT out here! Best job I've ever had. I love spending my days listening to music and audiobooks, seeing the scenery, enjoying my own company, and way less stress than my office/supervisory job before.

So, that's me, 21,000 solo miles in.

Congrats, and good luck! Keep us posted.

24 around Nashville is more like an artillery testing range than an actual road.