Beginning a New Job

Published on March 7, 2004 By MasonM In Blogging

Quit my job Friday. I was at our terminal in Hartsville, SC awaiting a dispatch to the Greenville, TN terminal where I was to turn in my truck. Well, dispatch was unhappy that I was quitting and giving me the run around so I told them I would just turn in my truck right then and there.
I couldn't get a ride to the hotel so I walked the 7 miles and checked in Friday afternoon. My girlfriend was to head out from home Saturday morning to pick me up.
She arrived around 1:00 on Saturday and we took off for Myrtle Beach where we stayed the night and just hung out. Was a pretty good time.
I am starting a new job this week. I will be pulling flatbeds, drops decks and low-boys hauling machinery , heavy equipment, and farm machines. I am looking forward to getting started. They dispatched a driver on a load that delivers in Greensboro,NC on Tuesday so I will meet him there and ride with him up to their home terminal in WI.
For now I am sitting here enjoying a glass of wine and getting some rest before beginning a new adventure.

Comments

joeKnowledge

on Mar 07, 2004

Isn't a job like that really hard to do? How long do you have to drive?

MasonM

on Mar 08, 2004

Well, yes it is hard in some respects. The current regulations permit us to drive a total of 11 hours at a time, and work a total of 14 hours at a time. After this we are required to take a 10 hour break before we are allowed to drive again.
I enjoy my work (most days) and with the right company the income is very good. You have the expected problems of traffic, dangerous, thoughtless drivers, and contruction backups which can really throw a crimp in your schedule. It can be very challenging to maneuver a vehicle which is over 75 feet long, 8 and a half feet wide, and 13 and a half feet tall through some roads and streets.
It's basically long days of driving alone with only your cb radio and stereo for company followed by extreme difficulty finding a safe place to park for the night to get some much needed rest. There are long periods of time away from home, anywhere from a week to several weeks. Goes with the territory.
It isn't a job for everbody, but it does have some good points. You get to be a professional tourist riding around the country seeing the sites and meeting a lot of different kinds of people. It takes a certain type of person to do my job. You have to enjoy your own company, be able to handle yourself in some very rough areas (factories, warehouses , and truckstops are rarely in the 'good' parts of town, and be self disciplined enough to keep on schedule.
So, yep, it's a tough job alright, but I'm hooked and wouldn't do anything else. I am college educated and worked in the electronics industry for a long time, as well as taught high school for a couple of years, but trucking is what I love to do now.

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