Question:
Kind of long, bear with me.
Stopped at the little nashville truck stop. Used to stop there once or twice a week. Got a bite to eat, cut up with the waitresses for a while. They wanted to know why they never see me anymore, where I've been all that stuff. Got to talking about trucking, how sorry a deal it was ect. Another driver popped in, "ain't that the damn truth" to one of my comments. I turned around, and was looking at one of my old trucking buddies from a while back. What was the chances of us both being there at the same place and time.
Asked him how he was doing since such and such, got the following story.
Said he had lost his truck. Story goes like this. When he bought the truck he got it through the road to success. Freightliner select or some such $hit. Said after over four years of 1200 dollar a week payments, he still owed 16,000 on the old gal. It was worn out. Described a whole list of major problems he simply did not have the money to fix. He finally got discouraged and just let the truck go. Seems when he got the truck they charged him 44,000 bucks for a 5 year old FLD with over 700,000 miles on it. Now, after repoing the truck, they say he still owes them about twelve grand.
I couldn't believe it. Road to success my a$$. They basically just raped some 22 year old kid that wanted to be a bigrigger. Now I knew this guy pretty well. We both worked for two of the same companies at the same time, and ran many a late night load together. All he ever wanted to be was a truck driver. His dad left when he was a kid, and never had anything to do with him. Truck driving to him was kind of like the big boys club where he could be a man I guess. Started out on dumps when he was eighteen years old. He's probably logged more miles now at 27 than many pro's. Hell of a good driver, can handle any truck and trailer combination like a seasoned pro, in any weather, but has a lot of tickets.
Nice enough guy, could have had a lot going for him. He just didn't have any guidance to help him out early in life.
Story winds up, He's 27, weighs over 400 pounds, type 2 diabetic, fiancee fixing to ditch his a$$ cause he's never home. Can't even get a job doing something besides trucking because he's too damn fat, has absolutely no marketable skills. Can't lose any weight cause he's stuck in the three weeks out for three days off scam with the only company where he can work because of his tickets.
I told him when some of the tickets came off to call me, and I could probably get him on with a dedicated or a good local gig.
I thought my big ol' heart was gonna break as I climbed into that old W9 for the night trip home. It made me want to stop and strip every bit of chrome and lights off that stretched out large car and sink just as low in the seat as I could and hide. I didn't want anyone to see me and think, "he's cool, look at him, I want to be like him".
I know the kid brought a lot of the problems on himself, but I can't keep from thinking how different his life could be if not for this scam they call trucking. From the billybigrigger liars, to the scumbag salesmen at SelecTrucks that knew they had a wannabee sucker, it just pisses me off.
I had it different. I had a smart dad that cared, and taught me some business skills, and a workable trade. He also taught me about one of the biggest long term equity builders there is, real estate. Good real estate deals have saved my a$$ several times, and they are what got me out of full time trucking. I've been blessed with good health, and have never had to worry about my weight. I've lived in the same place for most of my adult life, and have connections that can help make me money. This kid didn't have that stuff.
I know trucking works for some, and some like it, but for far too many, it's just a long downhill slide that ends up being a steel trap they end up hating and can't get free from.
Now this guy has made a lot of mistakes to be sure. Don't make the same ones.
If you're a newbie, and determined to truck. DON'T borrow money to get in. DON'T sign any lease contract. Make sure you know this is what you want to do. Do your homework. If your are prone to being overweight or if diabetes runs in your family, find something else to do for a living. If you like to go out with the guys on friday night and drink a few beers, if you like to chase women, or party, or hunt or fish or have any kind of life at all, find another line of work. if you have a wife and family, just forget about them, or forget about trucking.
Look into being an electrician or a welder or a bodyman or mechanic. Community colleges and vocational schools offer many good trades that a person can get into that don't require you to give you're entire life away.
Remember, a lot of these guys that are doing fairly well started trucking when there was still money to be made, and either found a niche that works, or haven't figured out yet that their pay adjusted for inflation is below bottom scale.
Remember that 90% of what you hear in life is BS, and with truckers it's more like 99%.
Hang around in truckstops for a while and just look at the people who have been doing this for years. Do they look HAPPY???? Do they look HEALTHY??? Do you want to look like that in ten or twenty years????
Turnover rates don't lie. If it's so great why do so many never last a year?????
Those of you on here that constantly talk about how wonderful and great trucking is, remember, your dealing with someone else's life, and they are looking to you for help making a major decision. It may work for you, but the only way for them to know if it is going to work for them, is if you tell the complete and unadulterated truth about the industry. Forget about making yourself or your position in life look good, and tell the damn TRUTH for pete's sake.
If your in a niche, or self employed with a good business in a corner market, remember who these guys are going to be working for for a good many years before they get anywhere, and remember that their situation is going to be a lot different than yours.
Many people smoke their entire lives without any ill health effects. Many drink to excess constantly and live to be a hundred. Many beat the odds in many different ways. Remember, they are the minority.
In trucking, especially if your a newbie, you are running with the pack, and it's going to take a lot of hard work to get anywhere. If you do stick with it, what have you got after ten years. A gut? Bad back? A nickel more a mile than the newbie under you and basically the same paycheck, cause dispatch is going to give him more miles???
For what?? Ten years of your life or more??? Doing nothing but living in a truck???
There are a very few good aspects to trucking, but is it worth it?? Is it right for you?? Does the good out weigh the bad???
Think about it before you do it..
Think about if before you advise it.

Answer:
I guess that I am lucky. I am not a full time trucker anymore. I am a full time paid firefighter, but that door was opened to me by truck driving.
I got my CDl in May of 2000 and was imediately hired by Interstate Dist. Co. out of Tacoma, Wa. I have always wanted to drive truck and was damn good at it from the get go...a nautral some you might say. I did seven months team and just shy of a year solo. NO accidents or tickets, no late deliveries etc. After a year and a half of truckin I had saved more money than I knew what to do with. Hey I lived in the truck but not a bad sacrafice to make for a year and a half. I put 20k down on a house and bought a 65 beetle and decided to get off the road and go back to school and persue a career in the fire service.
I took a part time job driving a garbage truck(33K gvw) for a contractor on the local Air force Base. We had our company Christmas Party at one of the on base fire stations and I got to talking with some of the firefighters and to my amazement they were hiring entry level firefighters. I applied in late December and was hired in May! My class A and Haz-Mat endorsment sure didn't hurt my resume. I even listed the truck fire under a haz-mat load in Ohio that I put out as previous experience.
I am now 5 months away from being a fully qualified "Driver Operator". People can immediately tell that I have operated large equipment before, just by driving techniques and even morning checkouts. When I get behind the wheel my fellow firefighters have confidence in me because they know that I CAN drive!
I love my job as a firefighter and really love that I can still truck part time. I drive for Albuquerque Tortilla Co. which is great. they have nothin but largecars and spread axle reefers, chicken lights, 550 Cats, 18 speeds and the whole nine yards. I also drive part time for Scully in a dedicated flat-bed division. Day cabs and flat beds but the experience is great.
My point is this, you have to be willing to look ofr opportunites and sometimes they come looking for you. A CDL is a valuble thing to have in your wallet. But you must be smart and keep the thing clean. they are opportunites everywhere and you must keep yourself available to them. They are many roads in trucking and not all of them are OTR, look around and you will surprised what you can find.
I credit all of where I am now to going to school back in 2000 to get my CDL. I still have a clean license and will try to keep it that way. I never know what might be coming my way next! Oh, trucking also allowed me to reunite with the love of my life after 9 years but that is a whole other story!
I am 27 yo, have almost three years in as a firefighter, almost five years driving truck, a year operating a forklift. a year as a mechanic and couple years delivering auto parts. I have no college degree but a damn good work history and sometimes that is just as important. I have a house three cars a motorcycle and a dog all thanks to trucking.
You know what...I love trucking too!

Answer:

Tickets, eats too much, apparently failed to create even the simplest business plan to track the cash-flow needed to keep the truck....
Trucking is ruthless -- no argument there. But this kid had many opportunities to make better decisions and apply more self discipline to almost every aspect of his work (and health). No one's going to "take care of you" in truckng. You gotta do it yourself. I suspect he'd have problems in any career that involves financial self-responsibility and extroardinary self-discipline.
It strikes me as kind'a unfair to lump this kid in with the many hard-working, competant truckers who are truly ripped-off. This kid knowingly made one stupid mistake after another, and at some point, blaming the industry becomes an excuse for irresponsible behavior. Good riddence to those who rack-up too many tickets and eat themselves into morbid health. It sounds harsh, but this "thining the herd" ultimately contributes to better public safety and the opportunity for better conditions for the rest of us.

Answer:

He was definately hard working. He obviously didn't have a business plan. He obviously made some bad choices.
Salesman sells a 22 year old kid a 5 year old worn out freightshaker for 44000 bucks at some outrageous interest rate, and calls it a "road to success" program, and you say he didn't get ripped off.
They've done made their money on that truck three or four times over. Now they're going to sell it to some other sucker all over again.
Are you retarded? .
Listen, let me spell this out for you. I never said that NOBODY should drive a truck for a living. I just said THINK before you leap and watch out for scams. Get it yet???
Just think about it.
Remember, always tell the truth. this is the newbie forum.
Have you ever owned a truck shuffler?? Have any idea how hard it is to save money for repairs while making 1200 dollar a month payment on a worn out truck??
I do.
This kid got suckered by a scam called the "road to success" program. Period.
By the way, was that you at the dollar store in benton tenn a week or two back? You still with werner????

Answer:

Good one, Shuffler!!!
I'd bet a goodly amount of money that if a researcher went into any truck stop, any time, anywhere in the U.S. and interviewed every owner/operator present, he/she couldn't find 10% who had even a rudimentary understanding of a "business plan".
Damm, Shuffler; you ought to give up the recruiting business and start doing stand up.

Answer:

Perhaps, but that's not the issue.
Of course he got ripped-off. But he also racked-up a bunch of moving violations, is destroying his health and apparently can't manage his cashflow. I owned a small business for 11 years, and had to jump many hurdles to keep it solvent and successful. I could have fallen for any number of scams and rip-offs, broken the law way too many times and driven it into bankruptcy. I chose to make responsible decisions, disciplined myself, sucked it up, and made it work -- as I'm sure you do. That's what owning your own business means, especially in an industry like trucking where the line between success and failure is so thin.
Blaming every failure on the industry is the big lie here at trucknet. The best advice to newbies, in my never be humble opinion, is it's a ruthless industry that'll chew you up and spit you out if you don't come close to working yourself to death. This kid, obviously, did not. Maybe it's just me, but I have no sympathy for drivers who carelessly rack-up too many tickets to change employers (that's not "working hard"), and balloon up to 400 pounds because they can't discipline their personal habits. I sure don't want him blind-siding next to me at a crowded truckstop, or want to pass him going the other way on a high-speed two lane while he's reaching for cookies in the bunk.... Come on. How about promoting some personal responsbility instead of blaming everything on an obviously ruthless industry. Don't both share the blame for this kid's failure?

Phil,
I bet it would be less than 10%. But the drivers who've been doing it a while probably know how much money they have in the bank and have a "feel" for what their expenses are, and manage their money accordingly. "Business plan" doesn't necessarily mean a detailed spread sheet, as much as holding-down your personal expenditures to match your net. A lot of folks see all that money coming in start spending it without thinking thru the consequences. There are plenty of owner/operators who remain solvent and basically know how they're going to make ends meet without a formal "plan". It's called "managing by feel" and is usually as simple as making sure they have a few grand in savings for the next repair. It's a crude but effective "business plan" for many successful O/Os, compared to running your finances into the ground without a clue.....

Answer:
In a word, bullcrap. "Managing by feel" is just a euphemism for "managing by luck".
If we're going to play "Psychic Friends", I'd suggest that the reason many old O/O's are successful is because they're married to a woman who knows how to manage money. Of course, my tinfoil hat may not be in tune, either.
BTW, you seem to have a real problem with the kid's size, Shuffler. As an old fat guy myself, I can assure you that size has nothing to do with one's intellect and/or work habits.

Answer:
Never mind Shuffler. You're arguing apples to oranges.
You haven't addressed anything that I brought to the table. Nothing. just expounded on an entirely different subject.
I think the sleep deprivation is getting to you. You used to make a lot more sense.

Answer:

Look here, you said it yourself. The truth.
Why would you want to work yourself to death for such a narrow profit margin???

He most certainly did nearly work himself to death. He ran his a$$ off. That's the point. For nothing. He was in a scam that was stacked against him. He was destined to fail from the start. Thus the point of the original thread.
Trucking is not all it's cracked up to be. Watch the salesmen. Watch the fast talkers. Watch the BS from other drivers. If you still want to do it, research your decisions, and do it right.
I think it's pretty damn good advice. What seems to be the problem??

Answer:
Mtneerdan, you said:

Well... I've said:

and...

and...

and...

So.....what are you disagreeing with again? If you want me to just trash the industry and escuse drivers from any personal responsibility for their actions.....won't hear it from me. Again....the original story painted a picture where both the kid and the industry were to blame. Industry took advantage of gullible kid. Kid didn't do his homework or "make the best choices". I'm not discounting how he was obviously ripped-off. But lots of new drivers face the very same obsticles and make better decisions. Racking-up a bunch of speeding tickets so he can't change carriers? What's up with that? He may have worked his butt off, but shot himself in the foot, didn't he? Sometimes "working your butt off" isn't driving hard and fast, but having the self control to see the big picture and not taking irresponsible risks. Why would someone rack-up so many tickets if he wanted to be successful? And don't tell me dispatch made him do it, you know better.
Now Phil.... ....are you saying that all those succssful owners out there who don't maintain a formal business plan computing every last penny are just "lucky"? Gee....I'd give those hard-working truckers more credit than that. Deciding to keep some money aside isn't "luck". It's a choice.
But you're rght about the fat thing. No offense intended as long as you're aware and prepared for the risk of diabetes, heart disease, possible amputation and an early death. I smoke in exchange for the risk of heart/lung illness, so I have no place passing judgment on those who choose morbid obesity. Just don't complain about the choice you (we) make when it's time to pay the piper I guess. You're right, it's a personal bias of mine, and I apologize as there are many heavy (or smoking) drivers who are otherwise responsible credits to the industry. In reality, none of us is without sin, it's just that gluttony is so publically displayed in body size. Again, my apology for my prejudiced remarks on that issue. My natural inclination is to be more sympathetic to someone with money problems who doesn't spend twice or three times as much feeding themself as an average size person.

Answer:
People just prefer the negative. Why do you think the media usually portray nothing but the negative side of things...it's what people want to see. You never hear about the million milers, just the meth heads hunting lot lizards.
So for the sake of the thread I will take back my statement above and say...I hate trucking and I wish I would have naver got behind the wheel and my company ripped me off and my dispatcher lied and I drove junk equipment and the California DOT are unreasonable and why can't I have beer in the truck or enjoy a joint after a long day of driving? That ought to get some good negative responses or some I told you so's. stupid trucking!
Sorry that I have been succesful. This business is just like anything else, it's not for everyone and even those who are for it still have to be smart.
One thing that we have is free will and the power to change.

Answer:
Shuffler,
You never said If you were in Benton a few weeks ago, or if you were still driving for werner.
Does that mean you're not reading my whole post before responding?? Or that you're avoiding the question?
It's not really that bad. I didn't see the driver do something stupid or anything. Just saw a werner driver that looked like you at the family made in china dollar or whatever it is they call it. Figured if you were on that account I may as well buy you breakfast or whatever your next time through.
By the way, I think you're the king of twist on that last post. (Or is it king of twit)
You started out disagreeing, but now agree. Pretty darn talented.

Answer:

Soooo.... Leseee. Three plus five plus 1 plus one plus two makes...... twelve.
Subtract that from 27 and we get .......15.
So. I guess we would assume you must have started the mechanic job at fifteen. Then when you were 16, some place hired you to deliver auto parts. Then after you were old enough to operate a forklift at eighteen you tried that for a year. At the tender age of nineteen, You became a big time twucker. After a five long years and a rich career, you decided firefighting was the answer at the tender age of 24.
Come on man. Tell us another one. You're as full of crap as a porta potty at an Irritated Bowel Syndrome seminar.

Many of us had all that much younger than 27, and it didn't have anything to do with trucking either. Nobody here knows or cares or can verify anything about your personal financial situation. It is meaningless.
Sheesh.

Answer:
Be Happy .

Answer:

Oh....I don't know.. I mostly skimmed the original post and got the jist of the story. It was beautiful and eloquent ( and long) and reflected the emotional and personal impact that talking with this poor guy had on you, and I think it's a wonderful-wonderfulwonderful post that spells out what can happen to those who really don't belong out here in the first place. Your post also portrays you as a sensitive, intelligent guy -- a traditional kind of trucker who's tough as nails but with a heart of gold -- the kind of trucker we find fewer and fewer of these days. The post is relevant and well-written enough (when cut to about 1/3) to be a feature piece in a trucker's magazine, if not for the fact that they wouldn't dare publish it for offending their advertisers, and it obviously reflects a good deal of thought and effort on our part. Every newbie should read it, and I guess that's what trucknet's newbie forum is for. Excellent job, for what my opinion is worth.....
My response didn't challenge any of that or critize your post. I was trying to enlarge the discussion (and I guess it did ) by drawing more attention to the driver's contribution to his melt down. Some melt down. Some don't. The difference is what they bring with them when they take the "road to success" as an owner/operator, for they will surely fail if they don't navigate that road very carefully.
No "twist" from me -- just dragging what I already said into my last response. You could have read my earlier posts more carefully, but perhaps your real talent is writing, instead of reading comprehension.
I still drive western van division for Werner -- mostly medium/long haul drop and hook, and about as happy as I've ever been. Wouldn't catch me east of I-35 for love or money. Seems to make some of you guys a little stressed out. but if you see a red 379 running out west, it might be me. Call out "shuffler" and I'd be more than happy to stop for coffee.