You're On Your Own Now

Well at this point you've paid your money, made it through the schooling, got hired at your first company, and completed the initial training period. You've made it to the big time..you're on your own. Well, let's put it a better way.... you have your own truck. But if you're with a good company you are never on your own...there is always someone there to help you when you need it. We're going to get into the specifics of dealing with the people in your own company and also dealing with the customers you are serving later on.

For now, let's start with the basics of everyday life on the road...eating, sleeping, showering, parking, shopping, etc. The basics. This part of the job is the simplest part to handle. Let's start out with an introduction to truck stops.

Truck stops will range in size from nothing but a gas station with a gravel lot big enough to park one truck out back to behemoth palaces that are basically a small city within themselves. Finding a place to park can be by far one of the most difficult and frustrating aspects of driving.

The truck stops fill up in the evening and most places with large parking lots like grocery stores and malls don't want you there. So anyplace with truck parking, a bathroom, and something to eat and drink is a blessing no matter how small the place is.

The quality of food at the larger truck stop chains has gotten really good over the years. Many of them have excellent seafood, steaks, chicken, and pastas. One recent trend is for truck stops to put in fast food places also.

It makes perfect sense because sometimes you just want to grab something quick to keep rolling and sometimes you want to sit down for a nice meal. The truck stop makes money by renting out the space to the fast food place so everybody wins. You won't hear me complaining.

Many times I've come off the road and had people say, “boy, I bet you can't wait to get a good home-cooked meal.” Of course I don't tell them otherwise but I think you'll be surprised at how good the food is at a lot of truck stops. But unfortunately it's not cheap.

Not even close.