Welcome to the first installment of Voices on the Web, where FreightWaves captures parts of some of the more intriguing trucker discussions, mostly–though not exclusively–from the Rate per Mile Master Facebook page or the Truckers subreddit on Reddit.
The Reddit users are identified by their Reddit handles, but we’ve chosen to mask the names of the Facebook contributors. We have also “cleaned up” grammar and spelling where necessary to make the reading experience easier.
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Facebook user A: Well, gentlemen, after sitting here having coffee looking at the boards for southeast Florida, Georgia and both Carolinas and see there is hardly anything breaking the $2 per mile, I’ll stay home a while longer. Let you all make all the money.
Facebook user B: Can you afford to sit?
Facebook user A: At home I can, yes, everything’s paid, have money in the bank. I’m OK for awhile.
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(Part of a long post by a Facebook user, extolling the job of truck driver): All this to say… The true drivers out there who love this job. Keep that thought in your mind when you’re out there on the road. Do you want to be crammed inside a cubicle today, or adhering to a dress code, stressed to meet a quota, etc? Think about why you chose this career, the things you loved about it when you first started. I believe for any business owner, you have to have a passion for your business, a purpose, as there are so many obstacles along the way that can keep us from reaching success, that we require that purpose and passion to keep us moving past those obstacles. So remember none of us HAVE to do what we are doing, we GET to do this! Know your value and understand that most the loads and people you call on today, will not understand this but, there are those that do and those that are not decided that we can turn in our favor!
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Reddit user Clipse83: I’m out of hours and 4 hours away from home, there’s a bad storm coming and it’s (stupid) that I can’t drive to get to safety and outrun the storm and not be stranded in some parking lot. I have been laying up here for hours. Rather than sitting here awake for 10 hours and driving extremely tired after it is already started, I’m doing it now. Screw it…I’m going home.
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Reddit user life-Starts_now-: I’m thinking about getting into trucking and I want to be able to maintain some healthy habits.
Reddit user WIbigdog: A lot of it is food. Don’t eat out. Get a cooler to plug in and bring sandwich fixings or leftovers from home. Eating out is the number 1 way to put weight on as a trucker. If you really want to be fit though go flatbed. Ain’t no fat flatbedders.
Reddit user theWolfeman88: (Using a strong expletive to disagree): There are plenty who think they can maintain or lose weight on a 3-5k calorie diet because they work up a little sweat in the heat throwing a few straps. Nah.
Reddit user ulobmoga: I am a flatbedder. I am also fat. But not for much longer, I hope.
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Facebook user A: Lately people charging 4 dollars a mile and providing $1 a mile service. Seems like since rates have gone up, service and communication have gone way down from these guys that “deserve” this much money. If you are going to talk the talk, provide the top notch service
Facebook user B: I communicate with the broker every step of the way.
Facebook user C: Thank you 🙂 This is not the norm and, unfortunately, extremely uncommon. Appreciate people like you!!
Facebook user B: Yes. I will call text and email on every load. I go out of my way to get the job done.