Who Here Has Experience Driving A Cattle Truck Or Hauling Other Stock?

Try hauling pigs and then do the double deck trailer washout.

I think JBS Carriers Is a big cattle hauling company out of Greeley, CO. Maybe the biggest company of it’s sort.

Trucking involves work. If you want to avoid work and sacrifice you'd be better doing something where livestock and trucks are not involved.

Who knew Todd was into cattle?

Kind of makes me wonder too, after reading all that.

My thought is that the 1000 mile hauls were not to a slaughterhouse. Maybe transporting breeding stock, etc., not in a semi trailer, but in a smaller trailer pulled by a heavy duty pick up.

Laura, how close is my guess and is there a prize for that? Lol

Bruce, LOL both correct and incorrect. I hauled dairy breeding stock from Oklahoma and Texas to Idaho. I also hauled Boer and Boer cross meat goats from MT and WY to Texas to a goat sales ring for slaughter. The price down there made the trip worthwhile for me and everyone else that shipped with me. I used a friend's gooseneck trailer for those trips.

I did not unload the goats....too many to worry about. Most goats tend to lay down on a trip, tho there are some that stand the whole way. I stopped several times to stretch and water them. Prices got better up north and I stopped. Plus I got known for having meat cross kids that grew out well. Since I also allowed butchering on my property, I sold directly to my customers.

Laura

If home daily is what you're looking for a quick search on indeed.com will show you several LTL companies hiring for apprentices that will help you get your CDL.

The bit about German shepherds.....ugh. usually Aussie shepherds, border collies, although they don't herd cows as well as sheep. Catahoula and Australian cattle dogs.

Being a librarian requires work too. Some people do it because they enjoy peace and quiet (shhhh! while people are trying to read books) as well as a lot of home time. That said, some drivers, I feel, are going to favor certain companies, certain ranges of driving (local, regional , over the road) working and living in certain parts of the nation (South Dakota is cool without all the crime and big-city hoopla) , certain pay levels and benefits and certain load and trailer types (hogs vs logs vs tankers vs goats vs cows vs produce vs sand vs grain vs hay vs dry vans vs vs flatbeds vs reefers vs stock trailers vs intermodal hauling and so on). It's a matter of what floats one's personal boat and figuring that out. Certainly, each and every one of these types of truck is going to have its own pros and cons. There might be a reason somebody here hates intermodal but loves stock hauling. One man's ***** cat might be another man's tiger. Somebody in this biz might be a home body who doesn't like to get his clothes and hands dirty. I personally hate hanging around for a long time in a vehicle that is not rolling. I used to be a mechanic by trade. I don't mind putting my coveralls on if I have to lie down in the grease or oil. Surgical gloves keep hands clean. Could local linehaul or intermodal be the right kind of trucking for that clinically-clean home person if a somewhat meager pay level is no object? I don't think intermodal involves much load touching or laborious securement work. I don't think a stackable shipping container is going to kick you or horn-gore you like an angry cow. It certainly should not smell of manure or jiggle the truck around like a loaded milk tanker. I don't think intermodal is going to involve a lot of waiting around in a truck that isn't moving. Am I not correct on most or all of those counts? Money is not everything. One has to consider one's level of quality time and quality of life as well.

Oh, Davy A, on herding dogs. German Shepherds were originally bred to tend sheep and defend the herds against possible wolf attacks in Europe. Now they are mainly for police work, military canine work, companion dogs, leading the blind and for security. My brother uses figures of these shepherds on his model layout's ranch scenery because he doesn't have the more cow-worthy types as you mentioned above. The only other scale dog figures he has is black and white beagles, golden retrievers and Doberman pinschers. I once read in a dove hunting book that the best "dove retrieving" dog the author ever saw happed to be a German shepherd in Texas. Farmers and ranchers might also have this German shepherd breed mainly for security, their main purpose. I would say the best cattle dog to push stubborn bovines into a truck or elsewhere is the black mouth cur, Old Yeller types. Good hog dogs too, I've been told.

Ive used Rotties to herd stubborn cattle, They will get the job done, but can get a bit overzealous. Yes, GSDs will work, theyre smart and can definitely work stock if they are trained to, but I have yet to see a working farm running em. The kill drive is to high in them and many other breeds. Herding dogs are using their prey drive instincts, they stop short of killing though. Aussies and heelers make the best cattle dogs because they are tough and move them by biting. We used our border collies because that was what we had to work with, but they herd by space and eye contact, most cattle dont respond well to them until they learn to nip and bite, which then can ruin them for sheep.

Who knew Todd was into cattle?

Funny, I just started reading this thread and by his 3rd post I was thinking sounds an awful lot like Todd.

I see I wasn't alone!