Truck drivers who have been driving for many years rode with a trainer for a long time before they were on their own. They know how to fix a lot of their own mechanical issues and generally they own their trucks, or more than one.

With the large “mega carriers” of today (large trucking companies) many drivers driving trucks today underwent a quick school and a month or so of training a lot of times conducted by someone who themselves have been driving for only six months. I was fortunate to have three months of training from two very experienced drivers, but only over three months. Then Freckles and I were on our own, sink or swim. That’s what we signed up for, and that’s what we did. Any longer and we would most likely have not even tackled this adventure. Is it wrong? Maybe. Is the best way? Probably not, but it’s what we have done.

Do I respect the drivers who learned the proper way, with older equipment? Oh yeah, I sure do. These are the same drivers who have helped me when I asked for it over these last few years. They don’t sugar coat things either, this is real out here. I see them in truck stops looking around wondering what the hell happened to their industry? I also see the new generation, of which I am a part. I see and hear them complaining about pay, about not getting sent where they want to go. I also learned that when there are trucks parked all around the fuel island, the scale, along the curb stacked up where there is barely enough room to get by- all I have to do is go to the back row of parking and there are spots empty. Half of the aforementioned trucks are there because the drivers don’t know how to back, the other half are tremendously lazy. Other trucks are parked in the fuel island for sometimes an hour!

This is a career that takes time to learn. It is also lucrative for those willing to pay their dues. Freckles and I wanted to see the entire country. The lower 48 anyway. We have now done that multiple times and regret nothing. We have had to put tire chains on our tires, and we have had to shut down for a couple days in blizzards. We have had blowout arguments, with only a curtain to separate us while we cool off. We have also had some of the most fun we have ever had as a couple.

The first time we had to put tire chains on, I literally had no idea how to do it. We were parked in a designated chain-up area with a state trooper asking us how long we are going to take to get chains on because this is not for parking. Well, I told Freckles to look it up on YouTube while I fumbled around with the chains to appease the trooper. Right around the time Freckles found it and jumped out in the blizzard trying to show me on her phone this video, a truck from the same company pulled up behind us. He jumped out and clearly knew what he was doing. I had one chain on, and so I asked him, “this is my first time chaining, would you mind looking at what I have done so far?”

He replied, “sure thing.” And walked over with me. He said, “that looks good but it’s too loose. Do you have an L wrench?”

“Nope, just these pliers.” I answered.

He went to his truck and got his professional tool (specifically designed for tire chains) and started to bend down, I said, “No, sir, I will do it.”

He smiled and handed me the wrench. I got that one chain on and he said, “That’s it, perfect.” And then gave me that wrench as he had two of them. I don’t want to be dramatic necessarily, but that man may have saved our lives for all I know. I was able to put all our chains on correctly and we got the 30 miles to a parking area to shut down. It was very gnarly winter conditions, and we had to drive it. That’s one of the things trucking school didn’t prepare us for, and I never encountered it in my three months of training. They just teach you that when conditions are bad, park it- no worries! Sounds logical, I mean, it’s not complicated. When you get out here though, you realize parking it isn’t always an immediate option.

That would be the first of probably 8 or 9 times we’ve had to chain up to date. Most drivers I meet that have been driving forever have never put chains on. Whether it’s due to lack of weather research on my part, or simply driving as a team and encountering night time winter conditions, I don’t know, but we are working that out.

This rather long winded post is to point out that I can definitely see where the “old-timers” are coming from. They are now sharing their lives with people who just jumped out here one day in a brand new truck, governed below the speed limit and little understanding of courtesy. Must be like hell sometimes for them. They have also put in the work and own their own trucks. They have negotiated lucrative contracts and have deadlines. Patience is an everyday challenge for them, and yet I have never seen one that wasn’t willing to help.

These are a few of the things we learned running dry van freight. We were getting paid by the mile and getting paid pretty well for rookies. We weren’t aware of the value it would hold preparing us for the next and current chapter- flatbed, and getting paid by the load.