Randy and I have always been intrigued with the idea of
driving across the country.
We have
talked about it for many years.
Then one
day several years back, we stumbled upon an article in the newspaper about a
husband and wife team who became truck drivers to make some serious money.
This couple put together a plan to be able to
pay off their house, put money in savings, and retire after just 5 years of
driving. To top it off, during the five year period they were able to spend
quality time together and see the entire country.
Well, Hawaii and Alaska were excluded of
course, but they had an opportunity to see every major city in 48 states.
The seed was planted in the back of my mind
that day.
Randy and I both thought that
driving a tractor trailer across the country would be a lot of fun.
We could see the country and get paid for
it.
We definitely wanted to consider
this idea when we retired from our jobs much later in life.
In May of 2011 Randy and I both lost our jobs.
Although the company we worked for took good care
of us, we immediately started looking at our options.
The job market did not look very good and
nothing seemed promising.
With our kids
starting college and leaving home, we felt that we needed to look at this layoff
as an opportunity.
Maybe this was a perfect time to look into
driving a big truck.
We spent hours and
hours on researching the trucking industry.
We really did not have anything to lose so we decided to go ahead and go
to school to get our CDL licenses.
In
the meantime, we continued with our research.
We asked tons of questions.
Any
opportunity that presented itself for us to learn something new, we jumped on
it.
We talked to all sorts of people,
all sorts of companies, all sorts of unhappy and some happy drivers, all sorts
of owner operators and to all our teachers.
We talked to anyone that was willing to speak.
Overall the response was mostly negative.
We were disappointed and undecided.
Then we found a blog about a couple, a
husband and wife team, who drove for US Express.
Their story was not much different than
ours.
I contacted them immediately.
They were a happy couple who seemed to love
what they did.
They concentrated on the
positive aspects of the job and they definitely looked happy.
It seemed like they had a ton of fun.
They were able to enjoy themselves and make
money at the same time.
I remember the
excitement I felt every time they posted on their blog.
Believe it or not, we still walked into the industry totally
in the blind.
We had no idea what this
was going to be like.
I felt like we
were getting into one of those pyramid companies where you were promised the
world and you had a certain amount of time to make up your mind or the offer
was off the table.
It was crazy if you
ask me.
I was even told that the
recruiters lie to you just to get you in the door.
If it wasn’t for Anne and Craig, the couple
from US Express, we would not be driving.
We started school in July of 2011 and graduated in October
of 2011. Randy received the President’s
award in our class and boy was he ever proud.
It seemed like driving the big rig came naturally to Randy. I struggled a bit, but I did well in the end. Not knowing how all this was going to pan
out, we did not want to sign any contracts and be obligated. Con-way accommodated that requirement. We wanted the flexibility of being able to go
home if we chose to. After all, we were
leaving the three most important people in our lives behind. That was the hardest part. Even though the kids were getting older and
moving on with their own lives, leaving them behind was really tough. Two weeks after graduation we left on a Greyhound
bus headed for Joplin, MO to start our venture with Con-way Truckload. The bus ride was definitely a memorable
experience. Let’s just say that we will
never do that again. I know, I know, you
should never say “never”. I think we
spent a total of 38 hours on that bus.
To my amazement, I sincerely enjoyed driving and touring the
country.
I enjoyed spending everyday
with Randy.
I loved the fact that nobody
was over my shoulder telling me what to do, with the exception of Randy, lol.
I got to experience new places with someone I
loved and I was getting paid to do it.
Our
experience with Con-way Truckload was a very positive one.
I am not saying that it went off without some
hiccups, but over all we did not have anything negative to say about
Con-way.
After driving for a little over a year, both Randy and I
felt that we wanted to look at other opportunities. At this point we knew how we felt about the
trucking industry, we knew the risks that were involved, we had some driving
experience, and we had an idea of the possible potential. Randy started looking and asking questions
all over again. I was desperate for us
to try something different and new. I
wanted to move forward, yet not jeopardize what we had with Con-way. Randy decided he was going to be the one to
tread in the new waters. He applied with
a tanker company located in our home town and was hired. He was very excited about this opportunity
because the potential was there to make more money and be home a lot more
often. If all worked out well, then I
could have joined him in the future. For
the time being I stayed on with Con-way and looked into becoming a trainer. Teaching was right up my alley.
Randy did not want me to be out there in the big bad USA all
by myself, but I insisted.
I wanted to
prove to myself that I could do the job and I also wanted the new experience.
I can tell you all that I absolutely and
positively hated it.
I had to do
everything by myself and it was not easy.
For example, moving the tandems, pulling the tandem handle, pulling the
king pin handle, strapping cargo, closing the uneven doors, putting placards on
and off in the rain, parking, docking, pre-tripping, fueling, cleaning out the
trailers, cleaning the windshield that I could not reach, and the list goes
on.
Solo driving was not for me.
I recall telling Randy that I knew why I
liked the job before he left me.
It was
because he did all the work and I only drove.
Mostly, I felt that solo driving was very dangerous and way underpaid.
My dispatcher was good to me, but I still did
not think it was worth the risk.
By the
end of the second week I finally started to come around.
I stopped crying and I found ways to be and
feel safer.
I worked out a schedule
which made life a little bit easier day by day.
Of course I had my little support team.
My friend Dianna called me every day to keep me company over the phone.
Some days we talked for hours.
Dianna was my moral support and she
continuously reminded me that I can do the job.
My friend Donna cared about my well-being.
She kept track of where I was at all times, she
monitored my locations for weather and road conditions, and she made sure that
I was safe.
The minute I was not logged
into Google Latitude (a mobile location service); she was on the phone wanting
to know why.
It was very refreshing to
know that people out there cared for me so much.
Randy was busy acclimating to his new position and learning
another facet of the trucking industry.
Pulling tanker and working with different chemicals required a lot of
focus. There was much more to the job
then just driving. The majority of the
materials hauled in tanks included flammable and hazardous chemicals. One small mistake could result in a major
catastrophe. The loads were usually very
heavy and more difficult to control. Even
though Randy was only in his training process, he still managed to be home
quite often. Randy was impressed by the
company and the laid back atmosphere. Everyone
was always happy and very positive. With
this kind of job, a driver’s mind frame was very important. The job included a lot of responsibility, not
only to the new company, but also to himself and to the general public. He needed to be very focused and clear
minded. Randy was about to start his one
week hazmat training in South Carolina when he realized that he could not do
it. He could not move forward with a
clear conscience. He knew for a fact
that his mind was elsewhere. He was constantly
worried and thinking about me.
Randy was fortunate to leave the company on good terms with
an open invitation to come back.
He
rejoined me at Con-way Truckload at the beginning of February.
Con-Way has a 30 day no questions asked
policy which Randy took advantage of.
Both of us were very grateful for the experience and knowledge we gained
during that transition and we were excited to be back on the road together as a
team.
Not too long after being on the road together again, we started
looking into taking the next step and the possibility of becoming
Owner/Operators. We looked at many different options and decided that buying a used
truck would work out the best.
In March
of 2013 we purchased our first truck from Con-way Truckload.
We did all the research on driving for other
companies and we realized that going from Company Drivers to Owner Operators at
Con-way would be a very easy transition.
We had the help and support we needed, which made life much easier.
We also met some wonderful people who we are
proud to call our friends.
Since we were
very happy and comfortable, we decided that we would stay at Con-way Truckload as
Independent Contractors.
Today, we continue our research and look forward to taking yet another step.
