Truckers?

Banana444

Well-Known Member
Been a member on here for a while, have not been posting for a while and have gotten lazy with my growing. Had a few wake up calls and in need of a change of work. So I havnt smoked in a month now and am going back to school for my cdl. Just wondering if there are any other truckers on here? Going to go OTR for at least the 1st year to get some experience under my belt then hopefully local so i can be home every night. Would love to keep the grow going even though I know I wont be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor the way I would like to. Life takes sacrifices but it will be much better than what I do for work now. Anyone with this type of experience would be greatly appreciated. Seem like job are abundant nowadays, so I am hoping to be home at least 2 days a week, but we will see. I am going to be testing some automated systems in soil over the next 2 months, but i know how quick things can go bad. Would love some experience!
 

blu3bird

Well-Known Member
I drive truck, I like it. I finished school at the end of January this year and was hired into a really good company the same day I finished school. Have CDL A with tanker endorsement, going to get HAZMAT before the end of this year. I started out at my job hauling tanker, but now mostly I haul dry van and sometimes refrigerated trailer, my shop doesn't do anything flatbed. I do local all over Michigan, once in awhile I go to Indiana or Ohio, home every night.

I'll give you a heads up that most trucking companies (at least the ones that pay the best) do pre employment hair follicle test, even though FMCSA only requires piss test. Just something to consider before you get your CDL and go to an interview and get sent to get your med card to find out the company wants a hair test, because you fail a pre employment drug screen and your career will be over before it started. No company will hire you again.

So what, are you paying for school out of your own pocket or you going to sign a contract with a mega carrier and have them train you? Have you decided what you want to haul?
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I'll tell you how to make a small fortune in the trucking industry. Start with a big fortune!

I'm glad my trucking days are over. So much BS these days. The last 15 out of 20 years I was mostly running water trucks for oil rigs up here in northern Alberta. Rig supply, ice road building and dust control in summer. The last few years I switched to running SuperB tankers hauling oil from remote well sites in the bush to pipeline points all over the north.

A lot of it was scary shit but parking the truck out in the bush at 2am, shutting everything down then laying back on the warm hood at -40 smoking a fattie while listening to the northern lights telling billion year old tales made it all worth while.

A small summer rig at night. We'd drill the rat hole and cement in pipe for the main rig that would move in later and might be there for the winter. I'd run the water truck home and head back a few days later when they'd set up the rig again for the next hole. Working the big rigs was better as you might only have to haul a load a day but still got 12 hours pay. If they lost circulation you might just have to work 48 hours straight but the overtime was great. Longest day I worked was 56 hours but in the bush you got no rules. :D

Ensign8801.jpg

Never once had to test for anything.

:peace:
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Pure poetry; thank you.

Did you actually hear the Northern Lights?
You do. Way up by the Territories in the middle of nowhere I'd walk 100yds away from the truck and lay back in he snow along a cut line and sip my coffee while smoking a bowl or joint and watch and listen. Very faintly you could here a sound like one of those brush sticks being slowly dragged across a snare drum or kinda like a whispery static sound. Really hard to describe. Kinda trippy and maybe it's just a persons brain trying to fill the silence. When it's 40 below at night there is no breeze at all most times and the sky is f'n clear like you never see it anywhere else. The closest source of light pollution might be the camp 50 miles away.

I have lots of pics from my years working up north but most were took with my Canon AE-1 35mm film camera and I keep meaning to run them thru my scanner but haven't got around to it yet.

Here's a pic of a young doe in my front yard yesterday. Grazing away on the clover for almost half an hour. Even when I tossed a couple carrots out there it didn't take off but didn't eat the carrots either. :)

I took a bunch of shots with my 20mp Nikon Coolpix L32. My pot pic camera.

DeerInTheYard010.jpg

:peace:
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
You do. Way up by the Territories in the middle of nowhere I'd walk 100yds away from the truck and lay back in he snow along a cut line and sip my coffee while smoking a bowl or joint and watch and listen. Very faintly you could here a sound like one of those brush sticks being slowly dragged across a snare drum or kinda like a whispery static sound. Really hard to describe. Kinda trippy and maybe it's just a persons brain trying to fill the silence. When it's 40 below at night there is no breeze at all most times and the sky is f'n clear like you never see it anywhere else. The closest source of light pollution might be the camp 50 miles away.

I have lots of pics from my years working up north but most were took with my Canon AE-1 35mm film camera and I keep meaning to run them thru my scanner but haven't got around to it yet.

Here's a pic of a young doe in my front yard yesterday. Grazing away on the clover for almost half an hour. Even when I tossed a couple carrots out there it didn't take off but didn't eat the carrots either. :)

I took a bunch of shots with my 20mp Nikon Coolpix L32. My pot pic camera.

View attachment 4191630

:peace:
I have read accounts of sounds just as you describe. Hearing (?) them would be on my bucket list.
 

blu3bird

Well-Known Member
Got to the shop this morning and I have a new truck today! 2014 Freightliner Cascadia with a DD15. Automatic transmission, sleeper cab, refrigerator and microwave....oh hell yes! Not too bad for a local driver, happy as can be this morning.

Was driving a 2012 Freightliner M2 day cab DD13 manual transmission 10 speed.

Now I can start bringing my dog with me to work, she can chill right on the bottom bunk of my new truck, there was no room for her in my old day cab, she's going to love riding around with dad all day everyday

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dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
Been a member on here for a while, have not been posting for a while and have gotten lazy with my growing. Had a few wake up calls and in need of a change of work. So I havnt smoked in a month now and am going back to school for my cdl. Just wondering if there are any other truckers on here? Going to go OTR for at least the 1st year to get some experience under my belt then hopefully local so i can be home every night. Would love to keep the grow going even though I know I wont be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor the way I would like to. Life takes sacrifices but it will be much better than what I do for work now. Anyone with this type of experience would be greatly appreciated. Seem like job are abundant nowadays, so I am hoping to be home at least 2 days a week, but we will see. I am going to be testing some automated systems in soil over the next 2 months, but i know how quick things can go bad. Would love some experience!
Does it worry you that some cross country truck lines are already going AI? Uber et al will probably convert within five years and more than half of new cars will be automatic in ten years.
You seem like a young guy. I wouldn't want to see you out of work in ten years.
Not trying to be a dream killer but it might pay you to be a little pragmatic.
I did read though that being a cross country trucker is a great way to dispose of a body. Just sayin.
 

dux

Well-Known Member
Does it worry you that some cross country truck lines are already going AI? Uber et al will probably convert within five years and more than half of new cars will be automatic in ten years.
You seem like a young guy. I wouldn't want to see you out of work in ten years.
Not trying to be a dream killer but it might pay you to be a little pragmatic.
I did read though that being a cross country trucker is a great way to dispose of a body. Just sayin.


Don't crush dreams!
Im 46 and thinking of driving truck. 26 years in the floor trade is enough..
 

blu3bird

Well-Known Member
Don't crush dreams!
Im 46 and thinking of driving truck. 26 years in the floor trade is enough..
Do it man, I'm happier in my life with driving truck than any job I've ever had before. There's so many trucking jobs out there and so many options what you can do with a truck - flatbed, tanker, dry van, refrigerated trailer or car hauler. You've got choices of local, regional and OTR.

You can easily find a good company that treats you well and provides a nice truck for you to drive.

I wish I would've gotten into trucking 20 years ago, I'm 44 now, so it's never too late to give it a shot.
 

dux

Well-Known Member
Do it man, I'm happier in my life with driving truck than any job I've ever had before. There's so many trucking jobs out there and so many options what you can do with a truck - flatbed, tanker, dry van, refrigerated trailer or car hauler. You've got choices of local, regional and OTR.

You can easily find a good company that treats you well and provides a nice truck for you to drive.

I wish I would've gotten into trucking 20 years ago, I'm 44 now, so it's never too late to give it a shot.

Im in mn, and since looking around and talking to people about driving truck it almost gets overwhelming !! Lots of options which is perfect cuz I'd like to gtfo of mn..
 
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