Triletter's First Year OTR Flatbedding

Hard to believe, but a year ago I was just starting this adventure that is called Over The Road (OTR) trucking. Since then I have learned so much about this profession it isn’t funny. There have been days when the beauty of the road just can’t be put into words and other times when it couldn’t be seen due to the inky blackness. I have been through mountains, deserts, plains, canyons and bayous. I have been through the major metropolitan areas on both coasts and most in between. I have made it through parts of Canada and regularly visited the border town of Laredo. I have 7 more and I can say I have, once again, visited all 48 of the contiguous states. I used to think that having a 100,000 miles on one of our vehicles was a lot and now I have over 128,000 is just this year!

There have been times when I was bored or missing home and family. There were other times that more than that made up for it. The vistas at sunrise or sunset. My first time at a steel plant seeing the red hot steel on rollers as I was driving in, picking up a load at an open pit mine on an indian reservation. Being in LA evening rush hour traffic at night short on hours, driving in the dark on ice covered roads, sitting at the bottom of a pass due to chain laws and then making my way over the top were a bit stressful. OK, at times it was terrifying! Dragging around a 48/53 foot trailer loaded to 80,000 pounds and missing a turn is stressful, but I have managed to avoid hitting anything or anyone. Wish I could say the same for being hit, but thankfully, they were all (3 times) low speed and minimal cosmetic damage.

The work has been challenging, both physically and mentally. The heat has been significant on occasion and my fingers have been so cold that they hurt for hours after I was done with the load. Temperatures have ranged from minus 20 up to 106 and everything in between. I can say that I enjoy the middle of that range the best. Incredible weather. Fog, rain that would make a frog hold its breath, snow that made me want an artificial horizon so I would at least be able to tell which way was up. Winds that would rock me to sleep or scare the snot out of me when that dry van I was passing started moving all over the road. Never mind the effect on my own tractor.

I have learned how to be comfortable out here in my little mobile cubicle. I have no problems whipping into a WalMart to replenish my stores, because I refuse to start to look like some of those truckers that haven’t seen their toes in years and huff and puff just walking into the building. I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality and cleanliness of most of the truck stop shower facilities. I have also experienced others that should have been condemned by the health authorities, but felt fantastic just to have the opportunity to get clean after a couple of days of hard sweaty work and baby wipes in between. Rest stops are your friend and run the from the “Oh, wow” to just shy of primitive.

And the best part is I have just scratched the surface in learning this profession. I still have so many places to go and types of freight to experience. And the personalities that you meet and some you wish you hadn’t. The evening rodeo as everyone jockeys for their parking spaces is a type of entertainment you have to see to truly believe. Keeping a positive outlook when so many others are doing everything they can to drag you down. It all adds up to an ongoing experience that I am enjoying immensely!

I won’t do this for ever, but I am certainly glad that I took that step into the unknown to experience one more aspect of life on this planet!

Congratulations Larry, that was a well thought out post, and put beautifully into words the highs and lows that many of us experience while living a life on the road separated from the ones we hold dear.

I see so many Melton trucks out on the road, but I have yet to come across you. If you had been stalking me like Daniel has you might have caught me by now, but hopefully we'll find each other somewhere and be able to sit down and visit with each other a little about this crazy life we call "truckin".

I see so many Melton trucks out on the road, but I have yet to come across you. If you had been stalking me like Daniel has you might have caught me by now, but hopefully we'll find each other somewhere and be able to sit down and visit with each other a little about this crazy life we call "truckin".

It's the same for me - I see so many Western Express trucks out here and keeping hoping it is you. This flat bed world is small enough that we will eventually bump into one another. I truly look forward to it!

Stalking!? Oh boy! Good one.

Congratulations Larry. That was a very well thought out post, better than I could ever do no doubt! Keep it going buddy!

I appreciate the props. The writing is a bit rough, but it is a start. I don't post as often as a lot of others, but I come through here when I can and offer my perspective, where appropriate. Another day and another choice from the box of chocolates called life!