Comments By Minnis B.

Got the opportunity to drive this jewel today while my truck was in the shop. It's my companies former show truck. She's sure seen her better days but that 425 hp Cat and 15 speed sure will haul a load of coal. Was grossing just under 126,000 lbs all afternoon.

Yes. Once you get the range selector up and can start splitting gears you can go from any low gear to any low gear or any high gear to any high gear. Splitting is an option but not required. I drive an 18 speed daily and the only time I need to split gears is if I'm loaded heavy and starting out on a hill or climbing a hill in higher gears. It helps build momentum when starting on a hill and keep momentum if you need to downshift climbing a hill.

Kim, if you're in the Charleston area my company is always looking for drivers. We are home daily. It's 100% dump trucks though mostly hauling coal from the numerous mines or gravel from Saint Albans. We have several ladies currently working for us as well. I've been with them for 15 months now and couldn't be happier. You'd most likely start in a tri axle dump truck and move into a tractor trailer once you've proven yourself reliable and safe. I was moved into a tractor about a month ago myself. I'd recommend like everyone else that you spend a year OTR then go local. It's not the path I took but thankfully it worked out in the end. Just another option for you to consider. Feel free to email me at any time if you have any questions. My email is minnisb22@gmail.com

Big Ugly WV. Right up the road from where I live.

Pretty much the same everyone else has mentioned but I'll add that I recently traded my GMC Envoy for a 5 speed Silverado. Now when I pull up to a parking spot I find myself throwing it in neutral and reaching over on the dash to pop the brakes. I also have a bad habit of looking for the splitter when I hit 4th or letting off the fuel waiting for the jake to kick in and it never does lol.

Thanks everyone. I'm always lurking Big Scott but I'm usually so tired when I get in every evening I read up on the new posts, watch a little TV and hit the hay.

That's right. Today marks one year that I've been with my company. There's been a few bumps in the road but lessons were learned the hard way, friends were made, and lots of money was made. I'm never giving it up, I was born for this. Guess I'll change from rookie driver to experienced now.

As I was hauling my last load today I had a thought. We speak all the time of what we sacrifice to be a driver, a normal life, family, friends etc. How about we tell some of the newcomers what this glorious career has given back to us, be it changes in our skills, character, or even things you were never able to purchase had you stuck with a previous job. I'll start off with my list below.

Many new friends: Sure I have several friends outside of work but the guys I see daily know about and experience the same struggles as I do. A lot of people say comradery is dead in this industry and that may be so for a large portion of it but it's alive and kicking in the coal hauling community. If one of us struggles then we all struggle, I have no doubt these men and women have my back with no questions asked.

Skills: Not only has this career sharpened my driving skills, it has also taught me about time management (even though I'm exempt from HOS), balance and weight distribution (let a loader man put 30 tons of coal on your straight truck off center and you'll know exactly what I mean lol), mechanical (I'm paid by the load with no breakdown pay, if I'm sitting then I'm not getting paid, that's some great incentive to jump in and help the mechanic do anything you can, you'll learn to do more things as you go but I realize this doesn't apply to everyone)

Most of all this career has taught me respect, respect for my truck, respect for my fellow drivers, and respect for myself. I've learned to not be afraid going down the road. I know mine and my trucks limits and as long as I respect those and keep a watchful eye on everything and everyone, the day goes wonderful.

Plus it helped me buy a gorgeous new (to me anyway) Harley Davidson. I would've never been able to afford that in any line of work I was in before.

So there it is, I know I've forgotten some things but now it's your turn. What has trucking given back to you?

Hauling coal involves a LOT of off road driving on the mine site. Around here they are notorious for not maintaining the haul roads which means lots and lots of mud and some pretty steep grades. My company has mostly Freightliner Coronado 122 SD's. We have 2 switches for our differentials, one is for an axle lock and the other is what we call a "power divider" that essentially splits the power between both drive axles equally. We can use each switch individually or use them together. With only the axle lock engaged turning is no problem but when both are engaged it darn near takes a 40 acre field to turn. We ALWAYS lock the differentials in while moving as long as we aren't spinning. Never had a problem yet.

I think I touched on everyone's question/input on the subject. By no means am I an expert but I do use these things almost daily lol.

Minnis your courage and persistence is admirable. I appreciate what you wrote...applicable for everyone; newbies and not so newbies.

Thanks for posting this. Really good stuff!

Safe travels!

Thanks G-Town. It's definitely taken a lot of courage to get where I am now. I nearly gave up my first day back and many times after. Just have to remind myself I was born for this.