GTO Muuurica Adventures: "18 Wheelin"
Another post I meant to share a while back I'm just now finally getting around to posting. Any who, given the spirit of travel I've grown to develop over the years. I recently had an opportunity to take it to the next level. During my transition from Active duty to civilian life I had quite a few job offers and various opportunities. Given a combination of personal and family responsibilities, I landed on truck driving. Granted, most people don't picture truck driving as there first let alone best job opportunity for them. To be honest, for me it wasn't either, but more of a fantasy or bucket list type job. For some it's similar to serving in the military or being a professional welder. In a sense that they're not jobs that are hard to get per-say However can be hard to keep for some and more importantly hard to be successful at.
Initially, it was a back burner type of job search at first, I looked at some 9 to 5 gigs and then put in for some driving positions as "back-up", in the event something didn't pan out in time for my personal dead line of having a job. A few weeks go by with no solid or realistic offers (for various reasons) and as luck would have it my back up plan becomes THE plan. After a myriad of recruiters, background checks, MVR checks, and applications I landed on the only company that at the time would work with and for me.
A few more stacks of paperwork and an orientation later I'm loading up the truck with my trainer on our way to Missouri or so we tried anyway. The truck we were assigned at the time didn't feel like trucking that day and was the beginning of one of many set backs for us. Two or three trucks later and we're off again except this time to Arkansas. ( I think) and got to see some BEAUTIFUL back country. Most of which I'm having a hell of a time finding photo's of on my phone at the moment.
I do have this snap shot from my very first initial load of me dock on an incline....in the snow....in Juliet,IL ( just outside of Chicago). The GPS tried to take me through down town St.Louis on the way over,luckily my trainer and I aren't idiots and caught it before we got really tight spot.
Missing photo's aside, it's really hard to admire the beauty of the back country when you're barreling along at nearly 80k lbs. Not quite the spirited drive I'm use to in the GTO by far, but definitely amazing in and of itself. Now understand that I have ALWAYS loved the idea of driving a big rig any amount of time. It's part of why I obtained a CDL in the first place, so that I could one day do that. If anything as it would turn out to use as a backup if and when the day ever came (jokes on me). I spend month talking to new and seasoned veteran drivers, military veterans who became drivers, joined Facebook groups,etc. All in an attempt to better familiarize myself with the motions and the process of professional driving. Out of all of this effort I came to the same conclusion summed up in one sentence as said by a retired Navy owner operator ( a driver who owns their own truck) "truck driving is essentially sailing on land".
It really is and it's not even sailing-sailing in the sense of the Navy. More like, taking a yacht to a lake, full of idiots who occasionally boat and are distracted possibly even drunk on labor-day weekend. Oh, and you don't own the yacht but you're responsible for it and everything on it. Plus if you screw it up and crash you could possibly go to jail and never work again.....ever. Outside of that, everything is peachy and genuinely fun if you can find the silver lining.
It's the kind of experience you really wont understand unless you've done it. Not even as just a driver, but in general. There's a unique side of the country you can only see from a semi. Not only that, the country was literally built by truck and even though we've turned into the age of instant everything. There's something to be said about making a trip on 18 wheels that's going to take you a while to get to where you're headed. We came across a diner in Missouri that was right out of the movies. Complete with old school memorabilia and the sassy waitress.
Speaking of diners, you'll have your full of them with everything from great food to not so great food. There was a diner in Texas who has the absolute best onion rings in the country by far !!!
I don't remember the name off hand, but I could probably dig out the recipe if anyone wanted to challenge the claim.
Food aside, for me the best part about it all is the driving, especially night and seeing the country from a point of view not a lot of people get to see.
Plus, who doesn't like the sound of a Jake brake when coming down a hill at speed ? Communist, that's who (I kid, I kid). Granted the newer gen, much slower, and some would refer to as "cookie cutter" style trucks don't sound as good. Especially with the new emissions systems taken into equation (that's who separate conversation). Never the less, it's cool in it's own way all the same.
Definitely one of my least favorite parts of the job were parking and fuel stops. The worst part about it is there are cities and even entire states now who are lobbying to make parking area's even more scared for trucks. There are plenty of cool things to see and in some cases do in truck stops. Especially the huge ones that are part casino and so forth like out west. You also have the custom built pride and joys that guys have spent years building in some cases. As for getting fuel, well, in short it sucks. Especially if you hit one of the last major truck stops at a peak hour. Usually between dinner time and midnight as some major trucking outfits no longer allow their drivers to drive between the hours of 1 am and 5 am. Mostly due to driver fatigue and hours of service and accidents overall within the company among other things.
As soon as you think you have it bad navigating traffic, you run into THESE guys ...... Heavy haul outfits are nothing short of amazing.
The experience itself was short lived, the plan was to drive for about a year then go to school. Which I was totally down to do and if it came down to it,I have no issues getting behind the wheel again. However, I got a offer to work a 9-5ish job still with semi trucks. Only this time as tech and I still get to drive (to an extent) on a daily basis only now as a CDL holding Tech. If I did it all over again, I'd shoot for a smaller company with a more specialized freight and family feel. The catch is, you have to go through a mega-carrier to get enough experience to be less of a liability for a small outfit.
Don't get me wrong, my experience with Knight was good ! My dispatch was cool, terminal manager was cool, trainer was cool. Everybody was cool and as far as I could tell genuine too. My recruiter kept tabs on me through the entire experience as well as that was nice. We did have some technical issues, but nothing you wouldn't otherwise expect when machines are involved. It doesn't matter the company or the trucks, shit happens and stuff breaks. Even where I work now, the amount of last minute unexpected repairs can be overwhelming to keep up with sometimes. I will say that if you ever had any curiosities about this kind of job,ask. I will say the experience should you get the opportunity in any capacity is worth it.