Comments By Dustan J.

Dachsunds are my pick. Smart, loyal, protective, and alert to potential trouble very quickly. The only issue is that they have a tendency toward spine issues, so you have to learn the correct way to lift them. They are sweet dogs.

Geez, that's a hell of a thing to do to a person who just wants to get through and move on to the next step! Getting hit by a trainer is inexcusable conduct by any standard. A coke head is a whole other thing altogether. Imagine if he had gotten arrested and you were just stuck with a truck and no trainer. I wonder how they would have handled that one given that a student was simply caught in the middle of it all.

This is one of the most important areas of the website I think. I went straight from the Army to trucking after 16 years everything that a wartime Army can dish out, and I had volunteered for every crappy and difficult assignment that I could handle. Trucking has continuously humbled me on an hourly basis because NOTHING has ever seemed to qualify as predictable, regular, reliable, easy, etc. In my region, even the interstate isn't too reliable. Farmers have gotten the best of me, the asphalt in Canada will at times seem to attack you in your seat (think "intermittently paved"), I had to train a guy who just wasn't able to grasp how to properly feed straps into ratchets well at all, I've slipped off of a trailer at a shipper, I found a pile of gravel on my trailer at a truck stop once for some reason, I even had a truck that had the DEF tank on the passenger side of the tractor for whatever reason so I was constantly pumping DEF into a 5 gallon gas can so that I could get it into my DEF tank. What I learned is that you can really get a feel of how chaotic our society can seem and still function this well. I can say that trucking will make people and break people according to their own resilience and fortitude, and if any of us feels like we finally "made it" we should hand off the keys and clean out the truck.

I got put into a 10 speed autoshift T660 on a heavy haul fleet a couple years back. I was skeptical, and was suspecting that the manner in which I was put into the truck was to just dump it off on someone for whatever reason. I sucked it up and didn't complain, and just drove the crap out of it. My left leg quit aching, and it really made life easier for the most part. There is a bit of a learning curve to handling mountains and icy roads. If your automatic has a clutch, it's really handy if you need to back into a dock or a parking spot because the Eaton autoshift system is all-or-nothing and it really gets challenging when you need to finely control the truck movements, and pressing the brake even lightly will disengage the drive train. Mine had a manual setting for steep grades, and it's a life saver. Ever try to grab a gear pulling into traffic while making a turn, and you have to start all over? The autoshift system mostly keeps you out of the situation, but if you're a heavy haul trucker then you'll have to work out when to use manual and when to go back into drive to get your speed. Overall, it's a good system. I loved my 13 speed, but honestly the clutch will wear out your left leg and I never imagined that my left knee would take such a beating in such a short time.

I used to be in the Army, and retired in 2014 after 3 combat tours of daily patrols and all the other crazy stuff we got to do, like play with explosives and fight drunks in the middle of the night (I was military police). But by far one of the most intense things I ever had to do was go over Lost Trail Pass on the Idaho/Montana border in the winter. The last town you get to see before the long climb up is Salmon, ID and if you don't chain up there, you don't really have much in the way of opportunities beyond there. So, on my way north headed toward Salmon I could see that there were dark storm clouds hiding almost all of the mountain and I just had to assume that there was some snowfall happening. It was pretty intense to be headed toward that, and the Montana DOT was getting fined $10k every day that they didn't have their road salt that I had just picked up in SLC. I was pulling a 60 ton set of bulk doubles, so as you can imagine, it doesn't move quickly and it can get squirrely if you let your attention lapse. I chained it in Salmon, and started pulling the mountain. The grade gradually increased and pretty soon I was driving on 7%, and then 8%, and at times 9% grades going up. Even with chains on the tires would occasionally spin out. Now, the first time I pulled that mountain with a load like that, I had no clue what that road is like, but suffice to say, the curves are TIGHT, and there was increasing snowfall with trucks coming at me downhill pretty fast and they were using the entire road to get it done. So, with no way out of it, I pulled it to the top and used the turnout to check chains and crap my pants. I put my triple rail sets on too, so now I had full chains on both drive axles. So, what goes up must go down too, right? Imagine my enthusiasm when I saw 10% grade on a sign. If you have never pulled a set of doubles, especially under that kind of a load, you cannot imagine how fast you can lose your air pressure to your brakes. The curves were 25 mph curves, so for me they were 15 mph maximum. I assumed that I could manage it in 5th gear and still maintain pressure. I was wrong. I controlled it for a ways, and then my air pressure alarm screamed and me so I had to sit near a curve and rev the engine to build more pressure while in the downhill lane since I had no way out. I got the air pressure built back up and decided to take it in 3rd gear with the engine break on (I know, it sounds insane, but hang in there). Remember, I was fully chained up and had to keep my speed minimal and the air built up going down that long winding mountain pass road in a snowstorm on a road I had never seen before. I took it as tenderly as I could while I had a combination heart attack/stroke/surreal experience. In the process of keeping the truck in my own lane and not dying in the river, I happened to see an unusual sight in my mirror: the side of my pup trailer facing me!!! The trailer was off-tracking by sliding sideways at the exact same speed that I was driving, and hanging in the oncoming lane. The way to correct that is that you gently pull the trailer brake handle on the steering column in small bursts to correct it back into alignment with the rest of the rig. This one was not obeying me, so I drove it down that mountain with the pup trailer sliding sideways and me experiencing conflicting emotions of fear, excitement, anxiety, and pride that I had not yet wrecked despite all the opportunities to do so. When the road finally leveled off I got the trailer back into line and promptly arrived at my destination where I could not have been happier to see Montana DOT officials. They seemed kind of surprised to see me that night, but no one questioned it since I had all that road salt that they needed. I was so exhausted from the experience that went straight to first roadside turnout and passed out in my bunk. The next morning, I called for the next load and wouldn't you know it, I had to do it all over again. The next trip over that pass with a load was in the same kind of weather, but I was a little more prepared for the experience. I destroyed the rest of my chains one that one. I honestly found it very exciting and I would in all likelihood do it all over again because you only get one ride in this life so make it worth it.

I had this conversation with a recruiter recently when I had to explain why I had an "unauthorized use of equipment" on my DAC, which I only discovered when I got him to explain why he needed to get me cleared through his safety guys. So, as it turns out, there are companies out there that will act spitefully and vindictively when you call in to say that you want to move on. In my case, I called in and said that I needed to leave ASAP because the way I was running was eroding my marriage, and that I wanted to go straight to the yard. Since I was told that the truck needed to come back with a load, I went to load in Portland and found myself in a long line that extended for about 2 blocks inside an industrial area, and that line was not moving for 5 hours. Since I only had just enough time to get to the yard on the ELD, I made the decision to just go instead of sitting on the street blocking the other trucks. I called the company and they said that I failed to load under the dispatch so I was the one who was wrong. Granted, I didn't load. Granted, I drove their truck back empty on their dime. Granted, I wanted to just quit ASAP. However, the recruiter and I both agreed that they did that to set my ass up because I wanted to quit, and they wanted a pound of flesh off my ass as I left. Hell, they had already turned off my access pass when I got there and I had to ask a mechanic to let me in! Everyone in the industry knows these stories, and they take it all into consideration.

I live in Montana. What part are you in? I know a place that does agricultural doubles, goes to Canada and are really good folks. You would have to live within roughly 60 miles of the shop though.

I seldom like parking at a truck stop, unless I thought I might need their toilets for some reason but a rest area is less noisy and the cops will likely come check on it periodically to run off the riff-raff. The toilet emergencies usually happened only when I ate from truck stops anyway. I prefer to get groceries from a Walmart and keep a few gallons of water on hand. Think "primitive camping" in a truck with the added benefit of a radio and climate control. Okay, call it "glamping" but with only the bare essentials to get down the road. I like using rest areas and turnouts for getting some sleep, especially when pulling doubles. Sleeping at shippers and receivers is also really nice because they usually have security of some kind or are far enough away from urban centers to not have the issue of trouble-makers. Also, I can seldom think of something more frustrating when you have a set of doubles and you pull in needing a parking spot in the area marked "Doubles/Triples Only!" and the spots of full of dry vans and straight trucks, and your ELD says "4 minutes remaining". You don't have those issues when you figure out how to locate a turnout, rest area, or something else that is decent enough to stop for your rest break. The trick is to make yourself self-reliant in the sense that a truck stop becomes nothing more than a place to fuel at and maybe get some incidental supplies if necessary. The mention of using the showers midday is spot-on. You will nearly always be able to knock out a quick shower midday and keep on rolling. It's pretty nice.

Lisa suggests...

Driving doesn't mean you can't keep thinking. You might explain to your interlocutors that while driving you can listen to books and lectures. You can also have a voice-activated recorder handy and write as you drive. If anything, it's an opportunity to get away from the lure of computers and the distraction of phone calls, and focus on your thoughts. (This assumes, of course, that such activities would be of interest to you.) That time to do nothing but think can produce amazing results. Dr. Kary Mullis, for example, was seeking a way to detect mutations in human genes. Only when he was driving his Honda down a long and winding road in Mendocino County did the idea for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) occur to him. In his case, knowledge, a problem to solve, and space to think led to a Nobel Prize. Just sayin'.

To be honest Lisa, overall your perception of this job is a bit skewed, dangerous. We are not driving little Hondas. I sit at the head-end of a modest size 73' long, 8.5' wide, 13' 6" tall building capable of "pancaking" the Professor's Honda.

Safe and efficient operation definitely requires you to focus on thought...but primarily on driving; understanding the variable real-time situation you are in, managing your space, constantly adjusting, scanning, and always prepared to safely handle the unexpected. Defensive driving on steroids.

I mean seriously...do you honestly believe driving a truck requires no conscience thought?

That it's mindless?

That it's 11 hours of contiguous mental downtime that safely enables total immersion in deep intellectual thought, at a level capable of curing cancer or solving world peace?

Sorry but it's none of the above.

We do much more than babysit these behemoths...figuratively they have a mind of their own, quick tempered and will physically make a collosal mess of things in the blink of an eye. Capable of inflicting unthinkable damage if in the hands of a distracted, unfocused, "intellectually drifting" driver.

There is a time and a place for everything. Listening to books and lectures might be okay to a point, but creating meaningful content using a voice recorder for hours on end? At the intensity level you described? Sorry no, I don't agree with that.

Our primary focus, especially in the first few critical months, must be total concentration on driving. By intent and design, your mind just cannot be on lots of other things... Just sayin'

I agree with this response. I'd like to think that a lot of us have pulled over for a cat nap or a stretch of the legs to get the brain back on track.

People have this crazy notion that your degree is equivalent to your personality, desires, sense of adventure, etc. Not only that, a pathological need to shove their opinions onto other people seem to accompany that. You are responsible for you own happiness, so go with what you believe is best for you. If you're a single guy or otherwise not obligated to much financial responsibility then trucking can be a great way to pay off loans and set yourself up for success. I find it hilarious that someone would tell another person how to live their life, as though they are absolutely sure. A young person stands to gain a lot of knowledge and life experience pretty quickly from trucking, much like a reasonable stint in the military or something that gets you out and about in the world meeting interesting people and seeing things you could not otherwise experience from a humdrum life in the same workplace day in and day out, just a steady drone of monotony like a lawn mower outside your window at the crack of dawn on your only day off in months.