Comments By Robert J.

Should be 2 years, but I made some mistakes last year that ended up costing me bonus money. Still it's better that my incidents were not fatal. I continue to get better and always make sure to take my time. Rushing is what caused those incidents last time.

Now I just have to survive another winter. Thankfully I am set up well financially that getting snowed in let's me be lazy and I don't have any worries about meeting a quota for the week. That's good and bad, anyways I hope everyone has a good safe winter and a great 2018!

That's great. Always remember safety is priority #1 no matter what. Just a second or two of carelessness can destroy lives, both the person/people you hit and yours.

Besides the enormous legal consequences, I don't know how I could live with myself if I caused a fatal accident.

What a crock of bleep?! Flatbed Driver (Former Employee) – Nashville, TN – September 21, 2016 A bunch of sorry bleep, son's of bleep, the company is gonna go out of business, writing on the wall, how they lasted this long, divine intervention by the Devi himself!! Pros When you quit or get fired like a breath og fresh air!! Cons The whole thing

He's clearly Mensa material.

I've been browsing through a lot of trucking-related sites, and most of the people seem to hate trucking because they are gone for weeks at a time and are never home.

I was kind of laughing to myself, thinking about how that is what should be drawing people to this lifestyle. I'm relatively young and single and as bizarre as it is, I don't really have any interest in settling down and starting a family. It's wonderful that other people do because that is what produces the future generations, but it isn't for me.

So being gone all the time and never being home would be a big perk in my mind. I love going new places and seeing new things and to be frank, home is boring. Going to the same restaurants, the same movie theaters, and the same shopping areas gets old.

I have a couple of friends who I talk to once in a blue moon, but that's it. I wouldn't be leaving behind a vibrant social life, so that aspect of "home" isn't something I would miss either.

I guess you have to be kind of an odd 🦆to really dig the trucking lifestyle.

Properly securing loads like that looks like it would be a lot of fun. I'm just an outside observer as I'm not yet a trucker, so I may be wrong, but flatbedding seems to be more challenging (and fun) than driving a dry van.

It looks like you're getting a nice workout as well. Good luck with your career.

This is something I've thought of as well. I've read about and seen in real life obvious cases of truckers who get no exercise at all and just eat nothing but garbage at truck stops.

It's borderline suicidal as they are setting themselves up for heart attacks, diabetes, and an early death. I can't imagine being so incredibly dumb, careless, and disrespectful of one's body.

That said, I've found 12 volt mini-ovens on the Internet that heat up to 300 degrees or so. You can cook a chicken breast in one of those. There are also plenty of 12 volt rice cookers and microwaves that you can use to cook your food. To store your food, there are 12 volt mini-refrigerators/freezers.

It can be done. Wal-Mart is great for resupplying your meats and veggies, as well as paper plates and utensils.

Here are some videos of an ultra-realistic trucking video game called Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing -

The best part is starting around 1:30 Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing

Here's another gem:

Big Rigs : Truck speed record

Okay, so I'm sure this is different from the average "getting into trucking" story, but I've had a solid career in the financial/accounting field for the past decade, make about 70k, and to put it simply and very honestly, I just hate it and quite frankly, I've always hated it and have only continued for the money.

I sit in a tiny gray cubicle, surrounded by people who get off on trashing other people in the office. We also have a couple who try to make others look bad at meetings. It's a sick game to them, and I've encountered that kind of backstabbing garbage at all of my office jobs. I've only had three, so maybe I'm unlucky, but teamwork and camaraderie have been non-existent in the offices where I've worked.

There are also the sycophants that I cannot stand. This one guy will trash the boss, and then as soon as the boss enters the room he's in his office acting like he's his best friend. There are a handful of these types who will hang out in the boss's office, wasting company time instead of doing their jobs, and the boss likes it.

In fact, I've been reprimanded in the past for not talking to people. I'm the type who goes in, keeps his head down, completely focuses on the job, and then goes home at the end of the day. I don't do the golf thing, the happy hour thing, the lunch with coworkers thing, or the water cooler gossip thing. I just don't deal with office culture BS very well.

That said, I've always had a passion fpr traveling and taking LONG road trips. I live in Houston and have driven non-stop from home to Amarillo, Hot Springs, Oklahoma City, Big Bend National Park, and Carlsbad Caverns (all separate trips, only stopping for gas and to eat). When I reach my destination, I'm actually pumped up and not really tired. Driving 9 or 10 hours non-stop is fun.

There's something else that makes me think I would like trucking. I'm a major loner. Seriously, I'm a very nice and polite guy, but I really don't enjoy socializing. It just isn't something I get satisfaction from. My retirement dream is to move to a small cabin in the woods, 20 miles from the nearest small town, with a couple of cats and a dog for company, and spend my time hiking, fishing, and chopping firewood. Anyway, I don't have a family and don't plan on having one, so it would just be me.

As far as finances go, I can ditch the apartment and live out of the truck. If I can get to $50k/year, that would be great since I wouldn't be paying for housing. It seems like saving $1,500 to $2,000 per month would be doable as you are only spending money on food, laundry, and maybe a little extra for entertainment (correct me if I'm wrong). I live very cheaply as it is and have some retirement investments, but I'd like to continue building out the 401k over time.

Anyway, I'm seriously considering making a go for it. Tips, ideas?