Officially Got A New Job Hauling Fuel Tankers. Goodbye Prime/OTR

Congrats Daniel. Just don't forget us out here. Keep in touch. I will give you a shout the next time I stop at the 49er.

Just turned in my truck and leave on my flight home in a few hours.

OTR has been great, but I'm sort of relieved that it's finally over. Truthfully, it was never supposed to last over 3 years. Just had my final talk with my DM and he said he doesn't blame me for taking this opportunity. That's what I like about the guy, he's very understanding. Though I'm no longer an employee of Prime, they are still giving me a free shuttle ride to the airport. I know just about everything at the SLC terminal so I've said my goodbyes to them and have received nothing but positive feedback. Everyone has been great at Prime and I would highly recommend them to anyone. Top starting pay in the industry and plenty of miles for good drivers, fantastic company.

As I sit back and reflect on the previous 3 years I'm shocked. I remember all the blizzards, the times I was on the road when I shouldn't be because there was no where to pull over, all the times I dodged a bullet. I got hit with a wall cloud and that was the first time I had a legit adrenaline rush, I thought I was going to die that day. Somehow I survived with my empty trailer and the brutal tornadoe winds, and I remember parking that evening at a Walmart and seeing the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in my life.

Nature's beauty - I can write a book about it and the average person will not be able to read it because it will be foreign to him. We truckers see so many beautiful scenery. My small taste of Heaven that I've experienced is driving on a flat road in the middle of no where taking in all the surroundings while drinking a hot cup of tea.

There will be things I miss about the open road without a doubt. But I'm ready for this new adventure... and to sleep on my bed everyday and hopefully become a gym rat again!

I already have my trainer assigned to me on Monday and everything is lined up with this new tanker company. New profile picture coming soon.

To all my Prime friends out on the road, keep the rubber down, eat carrots to improve your vision, eat cucumbers to help you stay awake at night, and replace energy drinks/soda with tea. Tea with mint leaves and honey will keep you driving like they did back in the 30's when Old School was just a teen. I've enjoyed the talks and I'll try to stay in touch when I can.

So I came out of hiding and researched you Daniel and low and behold I see this post! Props and congrats and the local gig!! I recognize the Williams trucking logo on that door from the many many years I lived in Sacramento. I almost went to work for a local Hazmat company here in Florida by the name of Florida rock and tank. I declined because of the low pay and long hours. (Ironic though the company I work for now I'm averaging 60-70 hours a week but only 5 days) FR&T works you right up to your 70 hour limit every week. They put in alot of 6 day weeks if they have enough time on Saturday to run a route. Long story short $16.00/hr wasn't worth the long hours. However, I guess the trade-off would be that my job now is very physically demanding. I move over 3,000 cases of food a week. I've lost all the 30 lbs I gained while driving OTR for 13 months. I may make close to double the pay but my body is taking a beating for it.

I'd like to hear an update on how things are going with the new gig! Also do you know if Tom's Sierra is still hauling fuel out there? They were based out of Colfax if memory serves me. For sure I'd like to hear about how many stops you average a day as well as driving miles. Have you got a regular route yet or are you running like a relief route?

I'd like to read about other people's local driving jobs. I'm just not interested in the OTR thing anymore. It was a means to an end for me. Once again congrats on the new job!! I know it feels great to be home every night! Good luck to you sir!

I'd like to read about other people's local driving jobs. I'm just not interested in the OTR thing anymore. It was a means to an end for me. Once again congrats on the new job!! I know it feels great to be home every night! Good luck to you sir!

Hey Terry. We haven't conversed much on here, but I know who you are and have read your posts since you joined. I have a thread on a local driving job. It's all about LTL and linehaul , although I do touch on some P&D stuff and general things about what it's like to have a local gig. Based on your post, I take it you're in food service? The big one on the East Coast here is Sygma, a branch of Sysco.

Daniel, looking forward to hearing some updates. I had looked into hauling fuel locally as well.

Congratulations Daniel on the new gig. I've enjoyed reading your posts and insights, and in fact it's partly because of you that I'm considering Prime. I begin school in late May. Thanks for all of your input here, and good luck in your new endeavor.

I'd like to read about other people's local driving jobs. I'm just not interested in the OTR thing anymore. It was a means to an end for me. Once again congrats on the new job!! I know it feels great to be home every night! Good luck to you sir!

Hey Terry. We haven't conversed much on here, but I know who you are and have read your posts since you joined. I have a thread on a local driving job. It's all about LTL and linehaul , although I do touch on some P&D stuff and general things about what it's like to have a local gig. Based on your post, I take it you're in food service? The big one on the East Coast here is Sygma, a branch of Sysco.

Thank you for the reply 6 string! I'll look up your thread here and dive right in. And yes, you are correct, I work for US Foods in Florida. USF is the 2nd largest food distributor in the US. They tried merging with Sysco last year but the government stepped in and blocked it.

I see not only Sysco but US Foods all the time around PA. I'm wondering if they have a hub in northern / central PA because I often see their trucks on 81 if I'm going up towards Scranton / Wilkes-Barre area. We've got lots of OD drivers that came over from foods service as they got older and were looking for jobs that weren't as physically demanding. I know you can make a lot of money at food service.

I'm wondering if we could start a "Local Drivers" section on this website with the endorsement of Brett. Maybe there are enough of us here that could populate it with meaningful posts. A section of TT that would give local drivers a place to chat and share, and a source of information for drivers or prospective drivers who are looking to learn about local. It'd be an opportunity for experienced and prospective drivers to share in. We already have the three main areas of local trucking covered: Terry with food service, Daniel with fuel hauling, and myself with LTL linehaul.

I will still frequent other sites because they have more of a presence for local trucking. It'd be great to have that here with the positive culture that is unique to this website. And while I understand that this site's mission is to prepare new drivers in the industry, and that that goes hand-in-hand with truckload / OTR gigs, it'd be great to offer some exposure to other opportunities in trucking once some experience is gained. For a lot of drivers, OTR is a stepping stone, like Terry mentioned. Some of us have been able to not only gain entry into local trucking right out of trucking school, but have also been able to be successful. Some local trucking jobs are more 'risky' than others, probably P&D being one of the top difficult trucking jobs because of the propensity for accidents due to the nature of the job. But these are the types of things we can discuss in a section dedicated for local trucking. I think having more exposure to local driving would be beneficial to the TT community and specific families looking for local work for their trucking members. Not every family is built for OTR, and some areas will support local trucking. I know the subject comes up enough, in my opinion, to warrant an area where local trucking can be discussed. And also in my opinion, I believe that unlike the topic of owner / operator and leasing in the context of a new driver (or even an experienced driver for that matter), the opportunity for local trucking jobs is an important and viable option to discuss in a responsible manner. I say 'responsible manner,' because there are pitfalls and challenges that goes along with local driving, and talking about these things will help expose the inherent difficulties to certain local driving jobs - like P&D.

Cool profile pic by the way Terry.

Mr 6 string.........To satisfy your curiosity about a USF hub near Scranton....There is a USF Distribution Center (D/C) in Pittston PA. Next I think you have a great idea with a "local drivers" section or thread or whatever Brett is behind. I'd be more than happy to share my insights into the food distribution side of trucking, simply because the new hire turnover rate at my D/C is very high. I'm sure that's why USF in Florida is sooo particular on who they hire. It's a big pain in the ass I suppose to the company to set up all the benefit packages to new hires and spend the time to train them, to just have them quit 3-4 weeks into it. It's a VERY physically demanding job, more so than you might think.

I would also like to learn more about the other aspects of local driving as well. So hell yeah, great idea 6 string!! I pull an occasional set of doubles and have past experience in doubles but I'm curious to know more about the tanker set up.