Comments By RealDiehl

Only one way to find out.

Besides having a bad experience during your last foray into trucking, are there any other reasons why you think you might fail? -Prior commitments? -Some kind of disability? -A chronic illness?

Bc you have so little experience you would most likely have to go through a training phase with any company that offers you a job. Try not to look at that as a negative. More training = a better chance of being successful.

You mentioned getting home on weekends with your old job. Can we assume you had a regional gig that kept you on the road for a week at a time? Are you looking for another regional type job? Or are you willing to be an OTR driver?

If you do decide to give the trucking game another go rest assured you have plenty of drivers here on the website that can offer assistance if you ever need it. Unfortunately, if you get out on the road and realize after a couple months that the lifestyle is something that is not for you, all the help in the world won't make any difference.

You have some experience. Try to draw on the knowledge you gained from those 5 months to help you make an informed decision about whether or not you'll be able to live the trucking life.

Sure it is doable. You may not be able to be too picky about where you start though. Just getting a foot in the door and being a quality driver for a year or so should open up other opportunities for you with other companies.

There may be companies that refuse to hire you based on established policies concerning drug offenses, but there should be plenty of options available to you once you've proven you can be a productive driver.

You can try to speak to some recruiters and ask them what your chances of employment with their company are. It might take away some of the uncertainty and give you a tangible goal to work towards after you hear what they have to say.

In the meantime you are of course welcome to join in our forum here. Whether just lurking and gleaning information or choosing to be more active.

Well at least you are keeping your mind active. And your creativity hasn't suffered. Which is impressive since being stuck in a featureless, unchanging landscape tends to hinder one's imagination. Stay strong!

Your powers of observation are truly stupendous, RJ.

I left that little Easter Egg wondering if anyone would notice what I'd written on my trailer😉

I added it with a photo editor of course. I don't think Barr-Nunn would appreciate Trucking Truth graffiti on their trailer.

It's great to hear you are doing well and enjoying yourself. It feels like less of a job when you actually enjoy what you're doing, huh?

Don't be a stranger. Pop in as often as you can and help spread the knowledge. Especially for people who post on here about the horror stories they've heard about Western Express. As a driver currently with WE you can help set them straight about what is like to work for them.

Errol sagely suggests:

Pepsi will require you to wear steel-toed shoes on the job, so get shopping!

I have nothing more to add. I just wanted to sound as cool as Errol by responding in his trademarked style😉

This one is rather specific bc it is a load that I only ran while training students in the TNT (team driving) phase while at Prime. It was a trip from Ben & Jerry's in St. Albans, Vermont to Henderson, Nevada. Simple drop n hook at both ends. Plus free pints from B&J at the start. It was a lot of miles and left a lot of freedom to choose whatever route you wanted to take from VT to NV.

Eventually the herds realize it's a fresh watering hole offering some protection against the 14 hour Eld jackals and Parking enforcement predators of the north American trucking ecosystem and will eventually over crowd it to the point where the strong loners and weakest offspring will avoid it.

The newly minted offspring will often fall prey to the predators in short times unless they learn to adapt to the cruel harsh environment and go nocturnal as the loners do. It's a cycle as old as the birth of the 14 hour clock

Had to double check who posted this response. Wasn't sure if it was Davy A. or David Attenborough. Thought I was reading a transcript of Attenborough's latest nature documentary.

Although Davy A. could be short for David Attenborough🤔

There is a newish Rutters truck stop near Bedford, PA. Not too far from the Walmart DC.

I got here at 18:45 tonight and the place is nearly empty! I thought I was dreaming. Look at all this space!!!

Looks like it has been here for about a year, but I haven't been in this area recently. So not sure exactly when it opened.