Friends and family ask “Where was the best place you went?”. Easy question: The best place I ever went was everywhere I ever was”.
It is always the people you meet that make make life experiences great. The objective of my driving for 2 years was to get the “Lay-of-the-land” of our country, and at about 150,00 miles a year, I got a fair but not complete view of the 46 states I drove through.
I had plenty of time to get out of the truck and set foot in most of those states after I mastered my 5 most important guidelines for driving a big truck, like the five fingers on one hand, as I say.
#1: Learn how to drive you truck so you don’t kill anyone.
#2: Learn how to drive your log book so you get every possible mile out of it.
#3: Learn how to drive your customer by calling them after loaded or empty and letting them know if you can deliver or load earlier that scheduled. An empty trailer needs to get loaded and a loaded trailer needs to get empty so you can sell it to a customer. The variety of responses are; We need what you have, get here as fast as you can and we will load/unload you immediately; We don’t need what you have but we will fit you in if we can after you arrive; The warehouse space is not paid for until your scheduled delivery date and time so no early delivery, or the product you are loading does not exist yet so no early loading. This creates “tourist time” close to your appointment location.
#4: Learn how to drive your company. Let your fleet manager know you are available earlier the scheduled. You are now a “runner” and you get challenging rescue loads to handle. If you think big do what I did and tell your boss “When a problem lands on your desk, give it to me and I will solve it for you”. Sometimes you get two loads at once.
#5: Learn how to drive yourself. Once you set high exceptions of your ability you will be tested by many company wide challenges.
The reward is that you ping pong around the US and Canada. You find that wherever you load/deliver is probably the first and probably the last time you will ever go there.
Excellent rules and I think you DID make the best of your truck routes. Bet you saw lots of cool stuff.
I REALLY LIKED YOUR POST! APPRECIATED THE GLIMPSE OF YOUR MIND.
SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A RIGHT TIME OF IT. IT’S AMAZING THE THINGS A PERSON GETS TO SEE AND DO IF THEY’VE A MIND TO SEE AND DO WITH...NO MIND, NO NOTHIN’
MY FIRST TRIP CROSS COUNTRY WHEN I WAS A KID FROM NY TO CA OVER A LEISURELY 3 MONTH SPAN OF SUMMER, WAS NOT HOW MUCH RICH LAND WAS UNDER CULTIVATION, BUT HOW MUCH WASN’T.
THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, BUT I BET THAT’S STILL THE CASE.
KEEP THE FAITH.