Stories from the Road: There ain't no way but the hard way...so get used to it.

Tobin S.

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Wed Sep-01-10 11:14 PM
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Stories from the Road: There ain't no way but the hard way...so get used to it.

The title of this thread is the chorus from a rock-n-roll song by the band Airbourne. I'm not sure what the song is about, but I really love those lyrics and I plan on putting them on the back of my trailer when I get one. It just seems fitting for life on the road because it is difficult. Some people think that trucking is easy. Just get in and drive, right? No-no-no, it doesn't work that way.

There was a DUer who inquired to me about getting into trucking. I told him how to do it, what to look for in a CDL school, what to look for when scouting companies to drive for, and about life in general out on the road. I also told him that trucking was not easy. It gets easier with experience, but it never gets easy. When he got into school he wrote to me saying that when I said trucking was not easy it was an understatement. So, to anyone thinking about being a trucker, let me be clear, TRUCKING IS DIFFICULT. A lot of people have a romanticized idea in their minds about what trucking is like when they are considering doing it for a living. I did, too. It will be erased quickly when you start to learn what it's really like, and some people don't last very long in the industry once that idea comes crashing down. Indeed, there is a very high turnover rate in trucking in general, even at good companies. There are many fleets that have over a 100% turnover rate every year.

You don't have to be a genius to be a trucker. There are a lot of good drivers out there who didn't even make it out of high school. I used to drive with one of those guys as a part of a team and he did a fine job. So, when I say trucking is difficult, it's not about formal education. It's about the ways of the world and being street smart. It's about acquiring skill in driving in all weather conditions and terrains. It's about being patient. You have to be able to spend long periods of time away from your family and friends. You have to be knowledgeable about the law as it pertains to truckers. There are a lot more regulations governing truckers than other motorists. You have to be smart enough to operate your vehicle safely. You have to be able to endure stress. You have to be able to drive for 11 hours at a stretch and put in 700 miles a day. You have to be willing to get dirty at times. You have to be able to back that motherfucker up. Believe it or not, some people can't do that. You have to be able to deal with change. If you own a truck you have to be a business person, a customer service representative, an accountant, and a dispatcher. If you drive as a part of a team you have to be a diplomat and a psychologist. :D

It also helps if you are a little crazy. Fortunately for me, I've got enough of that to go around for 10 truckers. :)

But there is joy in trucking. If you've been following my recent posts about trucking you know that. Learning that you are tough enough to make it through challenging times is rewarding. The scenery can be breath-taking. Once you get some experience, there is pride in knowing that you can do something well that a lot of people can't do at all. Buying your own equipment is both painful and exhilarating. You have to be at certain places at certain times, but you don't have to punch a time card. You get to meet all kinds of interesting people and go places you've never been before. If you own a truck you can be your own boss, work when you need to, and take as much time off as you can afford if you'd like.

And there is something else. I think it's wisdom. You learn a lot of important lessons out on the road, not only about trucking, but also about life.