Adjusting for a Life in Trucking | West Coast Enterprises

While many people work jobs they put away at 5 o’clock and head for home to think of it no more until the next morning (or the next Monday morning). Such is not the experience of truckers, which is why many people say being a trucker is more than a job, it’s a lifestyle.

Truckers drive seemingly endless miles every day, no matter what the calendar says, then sleep and eat right there where they work in many cases. That solitary, always-on-the-job way of life is even more pronounced right now with many truckers avoiding spending time in restaurants, hotels and truck stops, and many of those closed or operating with limited capacity across the country.

So, really the first lesson new truckers need to learn is that they’re taking on a lifestyle that will be challenging and rewarding, boring and adventurous, tiresome and thrilling all at the same time. Most don’t realize this until they start in their trainers, working toward that CDL, and it hits some like a load shifting on a curvy mountain road.

Beyond that, here are some other things newcomers to trucking must learn early in their time in this business to be successful:

Be ready to be flexible and adjust quickly. Things will change every day. You’ll get notice of a pickup at 8 a.m. and you’ll still be waiting at 4 p.m. You’ll get stuck in traffic jams, might make mistakes in your logs and you’ll make the mistake of ordering that gut-bomb on the truck stop menu that looks so good but sits so wrong.

Bring some antacids. Speaking of those poor food choices, you’ll need to be ready to deal with some heartburn. Trucking is stressful, it requires a lot of sitting and there are many other reasons why it can cause a little tummy trouble.

You sometimes have to insist on sleep. Rest is a crucial requirement for doing this job well and safely, but it’s not always easy to fit it into the schedule you’re up against. In some cases, you may have to tell dispatch you’ve put in your work for the day and have to take a break, even if you haven’t made every stop because of delays along the way.

You’ll realize how human you are. This is a completely different world for most people who get into it, which means they’re going to do human things. They’re going to find they don’t know much about much some days. They’re going to have to ask for help and make (hopefully) little mistakes along the way. That’s OK, as long as you take the lesson, stay on the road and make it better every mile.

CPM = cents per mile. You’ll pick up on this one quickly if you’re working for a freight company, but we figured we’d toss it in here for free.

West Coast Enterprises Truck & Trailer Sales is your full-service car hauler dealership serving the Pacific states with sales, lease and financing of new and pre-owned trucks, trailers and car haulers.