Trucking Isn't For Everyone.. But

I've had a few folks message me about the the strange configuration of the truck and trailer so I snapped a few pictures to give you some ideas on how this setup works.

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Great thread Daniel! Everything that you said certainly needed saying, and for those who can make it all come together, it's a rewarding way to make a living.

I want to work for Prime myself. It's like the #1 company im thinking about.. I just started trucking school. I just want to be GOOD at the job (not screw up badly and have fined and stuff). I think I can deal with everything else.

Belated congrats on the new gig!

And 78 lbs, seriously? Dude, eat something before you wither away!!!

People must pass you and think a cardboard cutout is driving a truck.

I bet you're always underweight on your steer tires... At least the driver's side one, am I right?

If you roll your window down, does the wind knock you into the passenger seat?

I could go on... But I won't!

I didn't know you were pulling doubles Daniel! Cool!

Belated congrats on the new gig!

And 78 lbs, seriously? Dude, eat something before you wither away!!!

People must pass you and think a cardboard cutout is driving a truck.

I bet you're always underweight on your steer tires... At least the driver's side one, am I right?

If you roll your window down, does the wind knock you into the passenger seat?

I could go on... But I won't!

I actually weigh 122lb. OS messes with me about it.

PS, you're no longer my friend!

Daniel, after reading your post, I really look up to you. I'm 19 right now and I'm waiting to turn 21 so I can go driving for UPS. Right now, I work part time washing package cars, and they pay me in peanuts. But somehow I make it work, and then some. I was able to get out of debt and establish some savings this year. I attribute my successes to being prepared and sometimes just dumb luck.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, but most days I turn on that truck and I just know. It's just really motivating to hear that your story has a happy "end" or a happy chapter, that there is some reward after all of the struggle. And that someone so young CAN achieve so much.

A 20 something year old Russian with a bomb behind his tractor! What's wrong with that picture. just kidding of course.

Daniel, after reading your post, I really look up to you. I'm 19 right now and I'm waiting to turn 21 so I can go driving for UPS. Right now, I work part time washing package cars, and they pay me in peanuts. But somehow I make it work, and then some. I was able to get out of debt and establish some savings this year. I attribute my successes to being prepared and sometimes just dumb luck.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, but most days I turn on that truck and I just know. It's just really motivating to hear that your story has a happy "end" or a happy chapter, that there is some reward after all of the struggle. And that someone so young CAN achieve so much.

I wouldn't worry too much about what job you're doing before you're 21. Between the age of 18-21 I had 4 jobs within that time period. No one cares that you washed cars, or did postal deliveries, or mowed lawns, all that matters if that you're working and stating busy. The fact that you're working and not staying home playing WoW all day is what matters. You're building for your future and from my experiences, the early steps in the ladder help but they don't make or break you (unless of course you're breaking laws).

It definitely isn't an easy road and sometimes it looks like there will be no end to the grind. I spent 2 years trying to find worthwhile local work and I ended up turning them all down. Patience, determination and hard-work are key. If you posses those attributes you'll end up all right in the end.

On another subject, I cannot stress enough how age is just a number. My personal mission in this industry is to prove to these old farts that young guys can do it too. I get "you don't even look old enough to drive a truck" on a daily basis but you get used to it. In fact, during orientation of this fuel delivery company the safety manager said his apple is older than me and always picks on me because of my age. These guys have sons and daughters that are our age and they have usually been doing it longer than we have been alive. So when they see someone so young it's almost bizarre to them. But you absolutely cannot define yourself by your age, and if you're young, dont act like it. Mental age always triumphs physical age in my opinion.

I hear ya. Sometimes the drivers at work ask me how I can back into some of the spots that I do, and I tell them it's because I do this every day. I spend more time going in reverse than I do going forward. They just about do a back flip when I tell them my age. Maybe it's how I look, or how I act. I certainly don't feel my age. I want to make that my mission too: to prove that age is just a number.