never give up

When Life hands you a Lemon, make Lemonade. Or When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Or It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the DOG

and like that.

Winston Churchill said…..”"never, ever,ever, give up

Comprende?

However, not giving up, not quitting may not be the same thing as continuing with the same old thing.

Tactics they call it. The strategy is the same (make more money) but the tactics might change.

If one thing doesn’t work, try something else.

Almost every truck driver started out pulling a dry box. Of those few that didn’t many of THEM started by pulling a standard Flatbed. (of course there are the exceptions like me. I started out hauling bombs during the VietNam War, Police Action, Conflict)

Dry Vans have the highest turnover in the Industry. It’s no wonder a HUGE percentage of folks who think they “have what it takes” to be a trucker don’t. Just about EVERY trucker is “one in a hundred”. THAT many drop out, more maybe.

So, if you’ve been pulling a Dry Box for a while, you might give some thought to doing something else in the industry. There are a whole lot of other types of truck driving that pays better than dry vans. Of course, they take a little more work, a little more knowledge and a LOT more experience. You don’t get something for nothing. TANSTAFL

I’m only familiar with one facet of the industry. My civilian career path was dry box (to learn how to drive a truck and pull a trailer) Step deck (to learn how to tie down “stuff” so it don’t fall off. and then RGN’s (to learn how to haul big, bigger and bigger heavier stuff).

Heavy Haul pays much better than dry box. I see dry van truck companies advertising that OWNER OPERATORS get “ninety cents a mile loaded” shoot, my fuel surcharge is that good. I won’t say what heavy haul gets on average because it varies, but $2.00 a mile freight sits on the docks, a LOT lately.

To be a heavy hauler you probably need about ten years working your way up the ladder AFTER you leave vans. That’s what it took me. Some of the stuff I carry is expensive. The carriers (and shippers) don’t trust the inexperienced to haul stuff that’s worth hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars.

There are other steps besides dry van as well, I’m not intimately familiar with them but I can speculate.

There’s Furniture Moving. This is more about working than driving. If you’re willing to work hard, can keep a handle on your labor costs and claims you might do pretty well.

There’s Refrigerated Trailers. They carry everything from vegetables and meat to medicine. It pays really well I’m told. Sometimes REALLY WELL.

There’s other types of vans I just can’t recall them.

However, many of the other steps up the career ladder are extensions of flatbed. Stepdeck freight pays a little better, Rgn pays better yet. Then oversize then Heavy. Then SuperHeavy. (SuperLoads can pay incredibly well….and are incredibly aggravating, dangerous, and time consuming.)

Hazmat serious hazmat, such as Ammo and Explosives.

Tankers another form of hazmat. Sometimes gasoline, propane and Exotic Gases. I don’t personally know but I would surely suspect that it’s better paying than dry van.

Car Haulers both the standard variety and then those who haul exotics.

Motorcycle Delivery. I met a guy one time who just hauled Scooters for Yuppies who wanted to be involved with Bike Rallies like Sturgess, Daytona and others. He would spend weeks going from place to place loading one bike here, another there, and be at whichever rally they were going to on time. The Yuppies would fly in, be “bad biker boy” for a week, then fly home. He’d gather up the bikes and take em back. I was shocked…Shocked at the amount of money he made, huge.

BullHaulers (livestock)

The list goes on and on. Some hauls are SO specialized that the number of folks doing it are extremely small (like the motorcycle guy) and it pays extremely well.

Opportunities are abundant for the well qualified, those willing to learn and those with a CLEAN RECORD. Cowboys, hotrods and the careless need not apply.

So, if you Pull a Box and are willing to work and not just see how many docks you can bump in a week, you should look into opportunities pulling a different kind of trailer. You might want to look at that dawg in the mirror and wonder how big it is.