Still Pursuing That Flat-bed Dream

When it rains it pours! I'm a little disappointed (well maybe it's more like frustration) right now because they offered me a brand new Freightliner today if I would go to Phoenix AZ and get it from the dealership. Of course I was all for it, but for one little snag. I've been away from home now for six weeks straight, and I made a solemn promise to my youngest daughter, who is 16 years old, that I would be there for her ballet recital on the 25th of this month. If I were to get that truck I wouldn't make it. Now I know what some of you are thinking, and let me just tell you that I've been self employed all my life up until this new trucking career, and I have let my family down so many times in the past because I was just too busy to participate in some of the things that were important to them. This is a really big deal to her (this will be her first year to have a solo dance) and I just can't let her down. So, I'm headed to Roanoke VA tonight to recover an abandoned 2011 Freightliner Cascadia.

Now, for all the new folks looking to jump into trucking, this is part of the reality of life on the road. Sometimes you just can't be where your heart wants to be, with those that you love for their special occasions, holidays, and birthdays, etc. When you make a serious promise to a little girl whose heart would be broken if you can't keep your word, you've got to do what ever it takes to keep your word. There will be plenty of other chances for me to get in a new truck, but I'll never get another chance to heal the hurt in my little girls heart if I don't make it home for her special night. So, I'll never let her know what I gave up to make this happen, and she will be one very happy little girl whose daddy did just what he told her he would.

Keep those wheels rolling, and try and get home every now and then to make a special moment with the people you love!

Dang Old School. I consider myself be a pretty hard man, but I'm not ashamed to say that your post put a lump in my throat and made my eyes water a bit. As a parent I know just how you feel. I too missed way to many of my kids special moments due to career obligations. Although my kids are pretty much grown now it reminds me how precious these times are and the lasting effect we can have on our kids both good and bad. I applaud you brother. I think, no, I KNOW you made the right choice. That Cascadia is gonna serve you just fine until they hand you a brand new rig, which, I'm betting is gonna be real soon!!

That was definitely the right decision and you won't regret it - that's for sure. And a new truck isn't all it's cracked up to be. They tend to have a lot of bugs in em and with most trucks you'll spend a lot of time in the shop those first 50,000 miles. So a 2011 should be broken in just perfectly. Someone else worked the bugs out for ya.

I ended up with the truck that I recovered - they actually gave me a choice of a different one after I got back to the terminal with it, but since I had just driven it about 600 miles and recovered a trailer with it I was liking the way it ran and drove. It is a 2011 Freightliner Cascadia with 267,000 miles on it. I'm on my first solo run with an actual load now headed down to Laredo TX - Woo-Hoo! - a fifteen hundred mile virgin voyage. I found out from another driver that has my same DM that he's really good at keeping you running hard. I'm up to it, and looking forward to burning up some asphalt turning miles into money. I think I'll officially end this thread and try to join in more often in the General Discussion area. I'm loving this new job and lifestyle!

I ended up with the truck that I recovered - they actually gave me a choice of a different one after I got back to the terminal with it, but since I had just driven it about 600 miles and recovered a trailer with it I was liking the way it ran and drove. It is a 2011 Freightliner Cascadia with 267,000 miles on it. I'm on my first solo run with an actual load now headed down to Laredo TX - Woo-Hoo! - a fifteen hundred mile virgin voyage. I found out from another driver that has my same DM that he's really good at keeping you running hard. I'm up to it, and looking forward to burning up some asphalt turning miles into money. I think I'll officially end this thread and try to join in more often in the General Discussion area. I'm loving this new job and lifestyle!

PICS!! If you can't post em, send em to me and I WILL!!

I think I'll officially end this thread and try to join in more often in the General Discussion area.

It's been one heckuva ride, brother...look forward to your posts about your life on the road.

This is it thanks to Guy for help with getting this posted.

When you're getting ready to post and you click on the "photo" button to add a photo, there's a link there to a set of instructions, complete with screenshots and everything, that tell you how to post a photo. I'm going to be adding photo uploads soon though.

Oldschool, read your blog post that Brett sent out as an update the other day. (Follow all those Brett, and thanks for sending them. I usually read those on my phone when I get into the sleeper after my shift.) I am just so happy for you. You are one who gave me a lot of support when i started my journey, and I have been following yours when I could get the time to get in here. Man, it is an adventure, isn't it?

When I finish my year with CRST and get all my school paid for, I am seriously thinking of getting into flat beds. Can't exactly say why, except I like the idea of hauling that kind of loads, and the idea of that fraternity of trucking where everyone helps the other guy appeals to me. Best of luck my friend! Glad you made it, and your persistence and dedication are an inspiration. Keep those blog posts coming too. I love to hear about what you are doing.

So you can't have a radar detector in a commercial truck? Never!? Huh? (Really, I did not know this I am not being sarcastic). Is there any type of detector that is legal to have and use in a commercial truck?