Old School Trucking vs. New School Trucking

My dad : Drove an old spring ride cab over with 350 hp manual motor and no ac that he ran for months at a time with out coming home. He used maps made on paper, had no cell, no cell ph, a cb is all, very few places to stop and shower, almost no supervision on the road from boss other then when he was asked to call to check in after leaving and when arriving to drop. HE also had to be a part mech. incase of break downs. He made about 1500 a week after taxs.

Me: I drive a 2012 Volvo (as of last month) ad before that I had a almost new 2008 KW. With every bell and whistle, a 450 hp motor, shower everyday, road call comes out at a moments notice, eobr, electronic log, my boss is all over my ### everyday, I am home once a week for two days and some times more. The bears are at every corner and a scale is at every 50, miles or so it seems like. I have an i ph for maps and face book and everything else you can imagine, sirus radio, and a cb I never use.
And I make less then what he did in the 70-80's as a trucker. How bout those apples LOL

 

The engines today are more powerful and pull better. Anyone who remembers the 238's, 260 fuel squeezers, and shiny 290's knows what I'm talking about. Automatic transmissions were almost unheard of. The trucks are a lot more comfortable to drive today. Lumper fees were generally in the $40 - $45 range. Today they think you are an ATM. Same goes for cops, {aka state revenue agents}. Bird dogs {radar detectors} were legal everywhere but Michigan, Connecticut and Virginia. If you didn't know how to read a map you were in trouble. Creative logging 101 was a required course in most places. Before everything was computerized it was easy to cheat and not get caught. The only time you communicated with your dispatcher was when you called them. Not like today where they are in the truck with you 24/7, trying to micromanage everything you do, and planning your trip for you. Fuel tickets only had the date on it. If you paid cash the date was negotiable. Some would even give you cash back. If you used a company card they had to call your company and get a PO# for the fuel ticket, and that could be time consuming. Computers were a blessing and a curse. Myself, I prefer the old way. I guess I'm just a dinosaur.

 

We didn`t have Truck Driving Schools back then. You guys have to go to a Truck Driving School.

 

When I started I was given $300. a week expense money(cash),$500. if we were going to the west coast. I was making ten cents per mile(speedometer), and lots of times expected to unload your own trailer with no pay. We didn't have C.B's we used hand signs(not the middle finger) and lights to communicate with other drivers. No air ride seats, or suspension, no a/c, power steering, power mirrors, no cruise, very little if any sleeper heat. I think going to tubeless tires was one of the greatest things to happen to trucking, when we all ran tube type bias tires if you had a flat and didn't have valve stem clamps and a tire went flat it would eat the tube and ruin the tire, and many times catch fire. Jake brakes were usually found on western trucks only, the rest of us ran around with I think 6" brake shoes which didn't stop near as good as the brakes we have today. It wasn't all that great, but we sure ate good.

 

Diesel Driving Academy has been around since the mid-70's .

 

Yes , they MUST . The recruiter told them so . They must have a certificate to get hired by a bottom feeder megacarrier .
But the real good ole days were before the CDL . Just walk into the DMV and ask for a chauffer's license . No pretrip , no road test and you could drive anything anywhere

 

All the above and you forgot one thing. The Fan on the dash.

 

RickG, yes, and when I got my D License, in 74`, company asked, "Can you drive a tractor trailer?" I said "Yes", they said "Go get your picture taken".

 

I never ever heard of a truck driving school, in 74. My Dad my uncle, my brother, all drove, and never mentioned anything about a truckdriving school.