Hangin' it up (maybe)

[vision386]

After almost 35 years on the road,i'm giving some serious thought to hangin'up my guns (at least as an O/O) getting damn tired of the bullshit and headaches out here these days! Just not making the money I used to,and working twice as hard,my new deal is not working out as planned,just can't get the backhaul freight,and out-bound loads to co-ordinate! doing more dead-heading then i'd like! And damn near every load they have now seems to go to Detroit or some other such shithole! told them a hundred times NJ/NYC is my "bag" but we save those loads for the "A" team brown nosers,cause they pay the best. I could continue on with Clark,as they have been good to me throughout the past 13 years,but I have no interest in buying a new truck,money's not there anymore,and I want nothing to do with all the new EPA/emissions bullshit.Don't want another truck payment either! just frustrating I guess,i'm tired of the "rookies" on the road that don't give a shit about anybody or anything! tired of looking for a safe spot to park everynight,can't go to sleep until the dipshits on either side of me get backed in for the night! tired of bums,hookers,wheel polishers,panhandlers,"salesmen",etc.annoying the living shit out of me almost everyday! had a bum just yesterday ask me for money,i said i'll give you a job,help me unload,and i'll pay you! OH,NO Man! I don't want no job,just need a couple dollars!(didn't get it) new breed of customers too,especially the "big box" stores,i'm here for a 6am appt. no,sorry we have you scheduled for 8! we'll come and get you when we're ready! did I mention I have 8 more stops to get off today? sorry,not our problem!pretty much the norm anymore! plus by the time I do get home,soon as I hit the door,its damn near time to leave again! I have a few irons in the fire right now,in the way of local (home every night) even spotting trailers,dump truck, wrecker etc. just gotta see about the money,and what pans out,nothing is written in stone right now,just about had my fill of the daily BS though!..please excuse the rant!.......................Mark

[Lmackattack]

Mark I made a job change last month and the home every night part makes me very happy...I'm still trucking but the local low boy stuff keeps it interesting. I know what you mean with all the crap out on the road these days. I have only been driving trucks for a little over 13 years and I see a big change in how things are....the only way to enjoy driving otr seams to be at night....

[25002500]

Wish you lived near Savannah, Ga.

Run in and out of the port Mon - Fri 6:30 am - @ 5:00 pm

Round trip is a LONG five miles

Home very night.

Looking for drivers (who, like you, can actually drive. What a crazy concept).

[39 Baby Mack]

Sorry to hear this Mark,

It's been three years since we packed it in, and I and I think my brothers would all agree that we miss it.

But what I think we would really mean is that we miss it the way it used to be.

Times when there was such a thing as customer loyalty, you a got a decent price for the service you provided, and the trucks you had to work with you could repair

in house without the need of a "crystal ball"!

Good luck in your future endeavors, keep us posted!

Ron

[mike69mackman]

Good luck with the possible job change . Keep us informed.

[TozziWelding]

In town lowbed and dump trailer work, that is what a few guys I know " retired" to.

[jakebrake86]

Just trade the old Vision in on a big ole DM and start dump trucking!

[farmer52]

Sorry to hear of your trials. I can understand all the BS you are experiencing. Good luck in your search for a "new career" and your decision.

[j hancock]

Wishing you good luck and also wishing that I had some sort of really fabulous advice to offer.

The best jobs always seem to be the ones that aren't advertised, so maybe a visit to some local trucking companies and businesses may yield something interesting through conversation.

Jim

[hicrop10]

Sorry to hear about your problem Mark.Me and my 2 brothers gave it up about 7 years ago.We were in the excavating business(85 years third generation).We had everthing paid for and owed noone nothing,but we couldn't get work.Contractor back east here are just chasing the dream.I call them yhe walking dead,they just don't know to drop over and die.One of the karger guys have the banks and bonding company in their office calling the shots.Good Luck.

[mowerman]

ya,,,im right there with ya,,,but i got big paychecks,,and home everyday,,,everything else sucks...good luck my friend...bob

[Timothy Maikshilo]

Good Luck Mark, life's to short and try to enjoy your time working. Nothing better than change at times.

[mackniac]

hard decision but if you feell at the end of the journey and you are exhausted about so many things , my guess is that you make a good desicion , do it before in sinks too much in your head .

[other dog]

There's lots of local driving possibilities around here, not just dumps but wood and chip haulers are all over. Cundiff Trucking, out of Wirtz, has trucks hauling pulpwood all over the place.You could probably put your truck on with somebody like that, run a load or 2 to Covington a day and do all right.Pulpwood used to pay $11 a ton to haul it from Buckingham to Covington years ago and it was only a little over a hundred miles , of course you came back empty.

Of course you could always sell your truck and go to work for F.L.Moore and Sons pulling a flatbed. After working your ass off all week i'm pretty sure you'd ask them where the rest of your money was when you looked at your check!

[bulldog man]

Good Luck Mark in what ever your decision is . I haven't had a truck of my own in 8 yrs now (though I have always been local except the time I went to pulling FEMA Trailer Frames from 1 Gulf Stream plant to the other after Katrina For another fella that was leased on to a transport co . out of Elkhart ,In a I Drove a T300 KW for them.)

Now im driving a 3/4 TON & 1 TON Truck hauling truck tires for a buddy of mine who used to sell myself & my granddad our truck tires for our Lowboy ,Dump trailer & Dump trucks .

Talk bout a lifestyle change for me. I felt like my pride was shot going from a tandem R Model , DM & Tri Axle Brigadier to a F250 PSD Ford w/ 16' tire trailer & a 3500 Dodge Cummins w/ a 25' tire trailer .

But Even as crazy as it sounds I still have the dream of getting back out on my own w/ my own truck again . But this Time I want a Single Axle Dump to get the small loads nobody wants to haul around here . (Preferably a Single Axle Mack)

I , my dad & granddad (when dad & pop were still living) have had the Tandem & Tri Axles & now it seems like everybody round my neck of the woods wants to cut throat everyone else w/ a Tandem & Tri Axle dump . & that why I want the small truck . I can go where the others cant & have my own niche as most anybody w/ a s/a truck here hauls for themselves or is a local or state govt dump . I only know of 1 s/a dump here that hauls for others & it is in a fleet of tri axle dumps & tandem tractors w/ dump trailers & the s/a rarely see the road .

Good Luck in what ever your decision is my friend & keep us posted .

Bulldog Man aka

[PeterMack]

Love the rant, your not alone in your feelings, thats for certain. I've been at it for 13 years now, did the o/o thing, did ok

but at the end of the day it was just a paycheck for a ton of work and headaches. Was not expecting to get rich but

making a living would be nice. If you become a company driver you can trade the Vision in on a B or R model and

go cruising. I have more fun doing that kind of trucking. Best of luck.

[bullhusk]

Well Mark I feel your pain! I get forced to get more trucks every year cause more an more guys are getting out! I am getting better rates but ins. And fuel and workmens comp. Just eat it up!! I am lucky if I break even, my only hope is maybe someday one of the big boys will buy me out. I've got about 25 power units and about 35 trailers and it ain't fun anymore, I sleep with the phone on my night table waitin for the break down call or what the hell ever could happen between 12 an 3 am when these guys start, and when I get the I'm sick call I'm dressed and out of the house to cover the work! It's your family business deal and we all work hard, my son and wife work just as hard as me! I was wishin that this a- hole didn't get re elected but he did cause I know that if MItt R was in office today, we would be well on our way back to bein a great country again and we would be drilling for our own oil and sendin the oil co's runnin for the hills!! And that's all I have ta say about that

BULLHUSK

[57 bcr]

I hear ya,Mark! Why companies don't give professionals like you THE best work is beyond me! Got tired of running a "money-laundering" business myself. I had some freedoms as an O/O,but the weren't without a price tag.I wish you the best of luck,my friend. Al (as PeterMack says,get an antique to drive around in,if you get a company gig.Its the most fun I have driving anymore!)

[GearheadGrrrl]

Guys, My CDL's been resting in my wallet for 5 years now, seen no need to put it to work. UPS tried to get me to come back and work peak season out of Sioux Falls, but wasn't worth the 140 round trip commute. As for OOing, it'd be fun to buy a thoroughbred RD tractor or truck and pup and show the local Billy Big Riggers with their Kenworthless and Peterbrokes how it's done. But I'd be working for nothin', those cowboys will run for fuel costs and have depressed the rates accordingly... That's why their wives work in town so the family will have food on the table and health insurance while Billy's out playin' Big Rigger. Add in the fact that my garage has only a 7 foot door, and I'll just say happily retired.

[mowerman]

Well Mark I feel your pain! I get forced to get more trucks every year cause more an more guys are getting out! I am getting better rates but ins. And fuel and workmens comp. Just eat it up!! I am lucky if I break even, my only hope is maybe someday one of the big boys will buy me out. I've got about 25 power units and about 35 trailers and it ain't fun anymore, I sleep with the phone on my night table waitin for the break down call or what the hell ever could happen between 12 an 3 am when these guys start, and when I get the I'm sick call I'm dressed and out of the house to cover the work! It's your family business deal and we all work hard, my son and wife work just as hard as me! I was wishin that this a- hole didn't get re elected but he did cause I know that if MItt R was in office today, we would be well on our way back to bein a great country again and we would be drilling for our own oil and sendin the oil co's runnin for the hills!! And that's all I have ta say about that

BULLHUSK

lol...couldnt help but make a comment to this...i dont know what to make of this place anymore....every mother has to work nowdays to make ends meet,,,and everyone seems to be ok with that,,,my pop was a city driver when i was a kid...40 hr work week,,and my mom stayed home,,,we did just fine...lol.try that now,,,cant even make it with both working...bob

[Freightrain]

They both work, then pay a sitter or such to watch the kids all day. That eats up everything one of them makes so they are back to square one. Endless circle.......

[hatcity]

I hear ya also Mark. ith the economy, rates suck because some one will come in cheaper. Rules, regulations, DOT, insurance,...

And fuel kicking $4/gal here

But, I am talking to a guy that may provide a full full time gig. Load and haul, bout a 1 hour one way

May look into getting a second truck. Could use a REAL driver for it.

Wanna move to Florida?

[other dog]

Good Luck Mark in what ever your decision is . I haven't had a truck of my own in 8 yrs now (though I have always been local except the time I went to pulling FEMA Trailer Frames from 1 Gulf Stream plant to the other after Katrina For another fella that was leased on to a transport co . out of Elkhart ,In a I Drove a T300 KW for them.)

Now im driving a 3/4 TON & 1 TON Truck hauling truck tires for a buddy of mine who used to sell myself & my granddad our truck tires for our Lowboy ,Dump trailer & Dump trucks .

Talk bout a lifestyle change for me. I felt like my pride was shot going from a tandem R Model , DM & Tri Axle Brigadier to a F250 PSD Ford w/ 16' tire trailer & a 3500 Dodge Cummins w/ a 25' tire trailer .

But Even as crazy as it sounds I still have the dream of getting back out on my own w/ my own truck again . But this Time I want a Single Axle Dump to get the small loads nobody wants to haul around here . (Preferably a Single Axle Mack)

I , my dad & granddad (when dad & pop were still living) have had the Tandem & Tri Axles & now it seems like everybody round my neck of the woods wants to cut throat everyone else w/ a Tandem & Tri Axle dump . & that why I want the small truck . I can go where the others cant & have my own niche as most anybody w/ a s/a truck here hauls for themselves or is a local or state govt dump . I only know of 1 s/a dump here that hauls for others & it is in a fleet of tri axle dumps & tandem tractors w/ dump trailers & the s/a rarely see the road .

Good Luck in what ever your decision is my friend & keep us posted .

Bulldog Man aka

You know something Mack, that is really good thinking. When I was hauling pulpwood for Westvaco, a man with a Ford F-600 was telling Dave,the woodyard manager, one day that he wanted to move up to a tandem or tri-axle log truck. Dave told him that he should stay with the smaller truck because he got all the smaller tracts to cut because all the bigger operators didn't want to fool with smaller tracts of timber, plus he could get into places others could not. Like me- if I called Thompson Trucking for one load of gravel for my driveway, it would cost me an arm and a leg- not for the gravel,but for the hauling,they don't even want to fool with the small stuff. But if I call Mack, with only one single axle dump, he would deliver for a reasonable price and save me money while making money himself.

[bullhusk]

You know something Mack, that is really good thinking. When I was hauling pulpwood for Westvaco, a man with a Ford F-600 was telling Dave,the woodyard manager, one day that he wanted to move up to a tandem or tri-axle log truck. Dave told him that he should stay with the smaller truck because he got all the smaller tracts to cut because all the bigger operators didn't want to fool with smaller tracts of timber, plus he could get into places others could not. Like me- if I called Thompson Trucking for one load of gravel for my driveway, it would cost me an arm and a leg- not for the gravel,but for the hauling,they don't even want to fool with the small stuff. But if I call Mack, with only one single axle dump, he would deliver for a reasonable price and save me money while making money himself.

There's a guy that I deliver to that has 4 F-550 Fords with 2 YD concrete mixers on them and two Internationals with 4Y'S he gets a premium for his concrete but he puts those 550' in the back yards for deck footings and small patios all you need is one guy to back him in and hold the shoot it sure saves a lota back and leg pain!!!

BULLHUSK

[bulldog man]

@ Tom : I was running this idea by N.C. Joe not long ago & I think I've mentioned it to you on the phone as well . & that's my thoughts too . im not out there price gouging folks . I just want to make a decent living w/ a truck of my own again , but I want to make a decent w/ a truck on a smaller scale aka the smaller loads of dirt, mulch, sand, & gravel .

@ BullHusk : I often thought about a F450 OR F550 2YD TO 3rd dumps & wondered it that was too small & need to go to a 5yrd to 10 yd bed w/o going over the 33k GVW Mark .

There is a small concrete co in Memphis they have the 2yd concrete buggies you can rent & haul your mix from their plant or you can have them deliver the same 2 yds in a S/A 4200 International similar to what you are talking about . they have their own niche here in the Memphis area as no one else has that small of a concrete truck . & can go where the big boys cant . as you were talking about .

This where I got my concept of a small dump for the homeowners & DIY Folks that don't need a full 25 ton Tri axle load . As I live North of Memphis & hardly anyone in my area has a s/a dump (with the exception of the 1 co. I mentioned)

A F450 OR F550 Dump is a idea there .

Thanks BullHusk .