I have a seen a rash of these posts talking about wanting to be a trucker and how is it and what to expect so I figured I would make a post based on my experience so you guys would have at least something to reference.
So first thing is if you want to become a trucker because you have this fantasy in your head that it’s all happy good times cruising across the country and seeing the sights then don’t become one. The honest ugly truth is you are going to see the same freeways over and over and you generally won’t have time to stop and see the sights. You will spend hours and even days sometimes sitting in shitty warehouses peeing in bottles waiting to get loaded or unloaded. You will drive not because you want to but becuyou have to. Good weather, bad weather, healthy or sick it’s all the same.
If you think that your gonna have a nice easy day with a set schedule and stop when you feel like it think again. You get paid by the mile for the most part and that means if the tires aren’t turning your not earning. You will work 14 hour plus days over and over again. You will be so tired that your off time will be spent trying to recover enough to do it again.
Everything is expensive on the road, if you don’t do it smart you will blow your whole check right quick eating and buying dumb shit in truck stops. Cooking in the truck is the smart move but it’s a bitch and requires time and clean up.
Your first couple of years are going to truly suck. You will spend time in a truck with someone you won’t get along with while your a trainee, then your gonna get paid like shit and worked like a dog till you prove yourself and get some experience behind you.
You will be treated like a robot by your company and less than human by shippers and recievers. Your company wants miles and on time appointments. Your sick, tires, hurting. Tough shit load has to get there. The shippers and recievers will treat you like a dog and half the time won’t even let you use their bathrooms. They don’t care that your running low on hours or that you need to get moving they work on their own time.
So ya trucking sucks a lot of the time. The pay isn’t great anymore especially for newbies, the hours are monstrous, the other drivers on the road are stupid to the point of being suicidal. People around you suck, truck stops are gross, and you will more than likely lose your spouse that’s waiting for you back at home.
But you know what I would still do it over again. This life gets in your blood and once it does no other job is worth doing. You say you want to quit but then when your on home time half your brain is dreaming about getting back behind the wheel. You don’t have a boss up your ass 24/7, you make your own decisions, its peaceful in the cab, and if you do your job right are basically unfirable. But don’t go into this with rose colored glasses thinking it’s gonna be a vacation or you won’t make it.
