Trucker Reveals Biggest Frustrations Of Being A Truck Driver

Alex The Trucking Guy recently discussed some of the challenges of what being a truck driver is actually like.

Trucking isn’t that hard. All you do is drive, right?  

Alex: “No, no, no. We work between 60 and 70 hours a week, every single week. Sometimes I can’t find a trailer, which is kind of important when you’re a truck driver. I can’t exactly put the pallets on the back of my semi. I definitely get pulled over for that. Or sometimes I don’t even get a delivery. There just aren’t any available.”

Do you find trucking relaxing or is stressful?

“This is a really chill job. I mean, chiller than ice. Let that sink in for a second. I’ll just be driving down the highway with my cruise control on, listening to my favourite podcast or music, and then randomly a minivan cuts me off to get to the exit they almost missed, and then my good mood just goes away.

You know, semi-trucks can’t stop as fast as cars, right? We have too much weight behind us. Momentum… There’s a lot of problems that are in-between point A and point B.”

What is something that frustrates you in trucking?

“Going to a shipping warehouse that takes eight and a half hours to put pallets in my trailer! Eight and a half hours? That’s like a full day of work for you.

Or the semi-truck breaks down. It’s bound to break down. We drive these things so much, then we put it in the repair shop and we’re like, well, how long will this take? Four days? Jiminy Cricket.

You got to keep in mind that we make most of our money from driving. So when we’re not, that’s when you get the angry truckers.”

How is the current economy affecting your work?

“It doesn’t help that manufacturing is poopoo, to put it nicely. There’s been an insane slowdown in how fast these people can make these trailers, and that’s putting a dent in every trucking company across the entire industry. 

On top of that, there are talks of a recession, and because of that, there just aren’t as many deliveries to go around for all the drivers.

So can you order something, please? Anything?

You can order a freaking rubber ducky if you want. I don’t care. Heck, that just means what I’m hauling will be really light.

So instead of struggling going 55 miles an hour up the steep hills because I’m hauling something heavy, I can go like Speed Racer, 58 miles an hour when I’m going up a hill hauling.”

Conclusion

Being a truck driver, no matter where in the world you are, can be a stressful and long