TRUCKING: 5 Industry Truths
Experience is the Best Teacher
There are five important truths that only trucking experience can teach new drivers.
Stress is an inevitable part of a career in trucking.
· Stress when you’re in traffic
· Stress looking for a place you can’t find downtown, lost with a customer waiting
· Stress being away from home, worrying about your family
· Stress backing a 53-ft trailer into a space the width of a pencil
Yes, there’s plenty of stress in driving professionally for a living. It makes sense, then, that one of the first, and most important, things a new driver must learn is how to handle that stress in stride.
Communication is key.
Over the road trucking is not just free-wheeling independence. All kinds of people contribute to a successful work flow at various levels and every new trucker must learn how to communicate and manage them.
Learn how to communicate your needs and status so that you can deliver your load in a timely fashion. That’s how the trucking company makes money which is, of course, its #1 concern.
· Your Customer
Learn to manage relationships and communicate with customers to avoid delays in unloading. Time is money and must be used efficiently. Drivers are paid very little if at all for wait time, so get in and out of a delivery dock as quickly as possible.
· Repair Shop Workers
Learn to communicate effectively with repair shop workers. Shop time is generally unpaid downtime, so get in and out of the shop as quickly as possible and use what downtime there is efficiently — completing paperwork and the like to save time later.
Don’t count on trucking to make your fortune.
· Long hours don’t translate to big pay
· Cost of operating on the road
The $2 breakfast is now $12 or more.
It’s especially tough to get rich these days as an owner-operator. The cost of maintaining, repairing and upgrading trucks has skyrocketed.
Maintaining relationships is tough.
WARNING: An over-the-road trucking lifestyle will challenge your relationships.
· Long stretches away from home
Not only are you and your spouse lonesome, but your spouse must manage the household alone to include countless chores — taking care of kids, the bills, upkeep of your property — you name it; they do it all while you’re gone. The added workload is tough on the ones you leave behind — especially considering the statistically low payoff.
· Loss of emotional and moral support
Not something that can be recovered with phone calls, emotional and moral support may be lost and never recovered if you’re gone long enough. When you notice that the next load takes priority over your family, it’s time to switch gears.
Be willing to make changes.
Your relationship with your carrier must be mutually beneficial.
If you find yourself in a position where you aren’t being fairly compensated, once again communication is key; voice your concerns to your carrier. If it’s clear you can’t work it out, start looking for another carrier. It’s a simple business decision and no less than your carrier would do if you weren’t producing for him.
All businesses review their financial health often — at least quarterly with profit and loss reports and other tools. Your trucking business — whether driver or owner — is no different. Take a look at your bottom line:
· Is the compensation worth all the hours?
· Does this work provide the quality of life you really want?
If the answer is no, you may be better suited to another career. Don’t be afraid to make the change toward the things that are more important to you — being home every night, making more money. Your quality of life is, in the end, the most important factor.
A career as a truck driver can be a truly great job for some people. Find out if you’re one of them.
Alkane thanks CATMAC22*, writing for Smart-Trucking, for the content of this article.
Alkane Truck Company is currently raising capital on the crowdfunding platform StartEngine. Find out more here: https://www.startengine.com/startup/alkane
