Vocal Communication

In the ten years, we have been on the road I have never been a proponent of the citizens band radio (CB).  When we first came out on the road as newbie’s we thought we had to have the CB on to be “real” truck drivers.

I like noise I can control and the CB all the sudden coming to life and someone telling me they have their panties on or that there is a bear at mile marker so and so was more then I could bear.   When we started, the CB volume was set to low, but when we would get close to a town, I was amazed at how the CB came to life.   We were requested to stop in at such and such a truck stop to get our CB worked on.   I thought wow if I can hear you on my CB it must have been working.   While near El Paso, the CB would go crazy with voices advertising day trips to Juarez, Mexico for any sinful delight your imagination could think of.   There were also the constant belittling of other drivers, from women, drivers with an accent or someone asking for a bear report.   Finally, enough was enough and the CB was turned off for good.

Our next entertainment was XM radio and that was a miracle!   We could finally listen to the radio from coast to coast without channels fading in and out as we approached or left cities.   The amazement of that new invention lasted for several years.   We listened to talk shows to improve our trucking business and received a very thorough education.   When driving late at night we are able to listen to broadband of music to suit both of our tastes.   How in the world did we ever drive without XM?

The next amazing gadget to come along was the cell phone that was not in a bag!    We could not talk to family and friends at our leisure and this was a new miracle.   As soon as unlimited nationwide talking came available, we signed up and a completely new world available to us.   No more grabbing the CB mic or changing channels on the XM, push a button on your head set and you were talking to a live person.   What I enjoy about talking on the phone while I am driving is that I can keep my eye on the road not on a passenger.   I do not have to turn my head to talk to a passenger or push a button on the CB to talk.   Both hands are on the wheel and eyes are forward.

Using our phone, I have listened in on many conference calls about our industry that in turn improves our business practices.   I have been able to ask many questions of drivers who have been out here much longer than us on how to handle different situations.   I have a friend who has been driving for over 25 years who has offered many tips on how to handle deer jumping out of the woods at you, why a T/T passing you sways into my lane, how to handle objects in the road, adjust my mirrors for maximum visibility.   Over time, this knowledge has improved my confidence on how I handle unexpected situations that happen on the road.

Through the phone and my network of friends, I have gained and shared knowledge on what gate to use to get on military installations. How to traverse a city while carrying a load of explosives and avoid non-hazmat roads. The proper procedure when an office of the law wants to cut a government seal, and how to handle the many rules and regulations that hit us on a daily bases.  

I have found that the cell phone and a network of friends who drive as goofy of hours as I do help to keep me focused on the road and also keep a positive mind set.   I have found if I get down or out of sorts my friends immediately put a stop to my “victim” thinking and get me back on track.  

We have also found that we stay in touch with family better than we ever have while out on the road.   We used to rely on emails to keep in touch, which was cumbersome for some of our family members who were mistrustful of computers.   Our hours are such that a family member can call us any time of day or night and visit.   Without our cell phones, it would feel as if we were moving back into an abyss of limited communication.

Bob & Linda Caffee

Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical
Saint Louis MO
Expediters 5 years been out here on the road ten years
boblindacaffee@gmail.com

 

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.

Door Knocks

We are a captive audience and easy to harass while sitting at a truck stop waiting for a load by any panhandler working the area.  If we sit in the front seat or are outside working on the truck it is as if we have the welcoming porch light on.

Over the years, many people with a plethora of hard luck stories have approached us.   The stories and the people are endless on what they want to sell us to what they want to give us in exchange for cash.   Very seldom do these people want food or water and if offered will give you a look of disgust and move on the next victim.

Some of these people have a heck of a good story while others I am amazed at their audacity to ask me for money.   One of these are the guys who are driving from truck to truck in their car asking for gas money or if I would like to buy something such as a TV that is in the back seat of their car.   Many of these people are selling DVD’s of all kinds, perfume, and even jewelry.  

Bob often polishes on the truck while we are sitting and he is often approached by someone wanting to polish the wheels and fuel tanks for him.   Some of these people are pro’s and do a fantastic job and can get a shine out of anything.   Others prefer the cash and they will dust off the wheels and fuel tanks.   

Women also approach the truck wanting to clean, offer their services, or just want money.   A woman in the south who was selling homemade trinkets and had a story to tell about surviving the hurricane approached me after Katrina.   Her I bought from as she had an interesting story and I admired her gumption.   Most of the women we see working the truck stops are sad and are rough looking.  

We have our names on our doors, which has stopped the door knocks in the middle of the night by women wanting to keep a driver company.   We have not had a knock on our door in a few years, which I attributed to either the names on the doors or the lack of women working the night.  This changed the other night when I heard a knock on the sleeper, either this woman could not read or she was hoping the door was lying.   When there is a knock on the door at night I have found if I ignore the knock they knock harder as they figure you are a heavy sleeper.   When I hear the knock now I open the curtains and poke my head through and as soon as they see a women they move on.

I am saddened and irritated by many of the panhandlers that stop by our truck.   I have seen very few of these people that were not young to middle aged and looked as if they were healthy enough to hold down a job.   While we are sitting, we are not making money and I have a hard time handing over cash to a person that looks as if they should be holding down a job.   I am saddened at the women that come by offering their services wondering how in the world they got to the point of knocking on strange doors in the middle of the night.  

Many of the trucks stops we use keep an eye out for panhandlers and ask them to leave the premises.   Some of the truck stops we go to charge to park or if you buy 50 gallons of fuel, you can park for 24 hours with no fee.   These are “gated” truck stops and most of these do not have panhandlers.  

We will continue to polity decline their services and not buy any of their wares as we figure most of this is stolen property.   We will still be cussed at once in awhile for saying no, but we figure that just goes with the person not facing reality of a job.   We have been accused of not understanding which in reality we do not as we have always held jobs to pay our bills.  

Linda Caffee

Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical
Saint Louis MO
Expediters 5 years been out here on the road ten years
boblindacaffee@gmail.com

 

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.

Driver Health Walk

Our organization The Trucking Solutions Group Drivers Health Council has been working very hard with Driver Health and other organizations to have the first fun walk at MATS.  We have been having weekly conference calls for several months finalizing arrangements and we have some great sponsors I want to start sharing.

Our main sponsors are HTAA (Healthy Trucking Association of America), MATS (Mid America Trucking Show), Ramp Media, and Driver Health Magazine.  Without this main group of sponsors there would be no need for any sponsors and the walk would not be happening!  Scott Kinley, and Owner Operator Tanker Yanker leased to Landstar, came up with the idea for a Health Group.  Scott knew that a few of us, including himself, have been focusing on our health and he thought we should get together to share information.  I was discussing information about our group with my youngest daughter, Brandy, and she said "You know you guys all go to the huge truck show. Why not have the group sponsor a walk?" Neither she nor I had any clue what the words would start!  Our first step was to contact Driver Health Magazine and editor Andy Shefsky, and this turned into a snowball that has not quit rolling. Andy's father, Marvin, contacted MATS who stepped up to the plate with insurance and an area to walk and even a room for a pre and post warm up and cool down area.  The walk is not about raising money; the walk is about bringing recognition to drivers' health.  I hope to see lots of drivers walking as well as anyone involved in the trucking industry.  Together we can raise the median are of a drivers life expectancy up from 61!

Check out the sponsors and register here:

http://driverhealth.org/DH/HealthWalk.cfm

Why as an industry do we almost always shun change

Change is a part of life and if we do not change with the times we soon will be no more. We are always looking for ways to improve our business and our lives.  It is hard for me to imagine having in my life without a goal.

When I talk to drivers about what the good old days were like,  I am amazed by their replies. In some areas of their lives they were treated with respect and they always stopped and helped out any stranded motorist. In other ways they had a very rough life. I am very spoiled as I expect a lot out here on the road. I do not want to run like the outlaws by avoiding scales, using drugs, to stay awake and in reality driving their lives away. I want my cell phone and my QUALCOMM, I do not want to stop at all pay phones and have to stand out in the cold while waiting for a dispatcher to pick up the phone and tell me nope no loads. I like our 96" sleeper with the many amenities we have such as large refrigerator, microwave, oak floor, and lots of cabinets, small sink, and a large bed. Living in a truck with no air conditioning and a coffin sleeper is unimaginable to me and I have nothing but respect for the guys that did it.  We have a truck that has no problems with mountains and when I have talked to the older truckers they talk about walking up hills beside their trucks as they lumbered along.  Without change where would we be now?

Roadside Medical

 

I wrote an essay on why I would like to be chosen to be one of the participants in the Women in Trucking and Bob Perry, The Trucker Trainer Health Challenge. I was lucky enough to be one of the ten finalists. I have been working on losing weight for the past year but...

I lost weight steadily until about November and I came to a standstill.  I could not get past that plateau no matter what I did.  When I read about the Health Challenge I was very intrigued as one one of the benefits is to get to work with Bob Perry.  Bob is very familiar with truckers' lifestyles and our sedentary ways.  As a finalist we get to work with Bob weekly on exercise and nutrition which has given me great insight.  We also get to try out the Driver Body Fuel Kit which consists of a Protein Shake, Vitamins, Power Bars, nutritional charts and a nice bag to carry all of this in.  I have found that the Protein Shake in the morning boosts my energy and gives my mornings a kick start. In the afternoon when I get a bit drowsy I have a Honey Cashew power bar and I am ready to go again. Bob has looked over what I have eaten in the past and made suggestions going forward and he has analyzed my workout given me additional suggestions to better tone and get more out of my workouts.  Knowing what I know now I would have been much farther ahead if I would have started this program last year when I made the decision to get healthier and to lose weight. I feel as if all ten of us finalists will win in this situation as we have the additional support and direction of someone who understands we cannot go to the gym each week, who have crazy working hours, and never know what city or situation we will be in next.

Dirty Truck

It amazes me how much our truck wash bill goes up in the winter.  A typical truck wash at the Blue Beacon costs between $45.00 to $60.00 depending on what we have done.  We often have the truck washed more then once a week.

There are not a lot of options out here to get our truck washed.  We rarely find a self-serve truck wash and we just do not fit in the car washes!  So we are at the mercy of the commercial truck washes.  We often wait in line an hour at a commercial truck wash that has two wash bays and where the truck is hand washed by a crew. Sometimes they do a good job and sometimes Bob has them wash the whole truck again.  We often open our lift gate for them to wash off.  I also usually have them wash our floor mats.  After we get the truck washed it is up to us to dry it off or uses the blow dry method going down the road.  If we wait too long to wash the truck the salt starts eating at the chrome and that can take Bob hours to buff out.  We have found is it much better to spend the money and maintain the truck then to be reactive and try to fix the damage the salt has done to the undercarriage.  We do not feel as if our customers need to see a filthy truck coming on to their property if we can keep that from happening.  In the summer time when the truck does not get this grimy Bob often just uses a bucket and a brush and washes the truck down himself.  Bob always says "A clean truck is a happy truck".

Packing the right clothes

We have found that we need to keep at least one set of good clothes in the truck. We stay out long enough that we never know what we might get ourselves into. If we meet up with someone and want to go out for a nice dinner we something different than jeans and a t-shirt.

We carry a hanging bag in the back of the truck with two pairs of good slacks, nice shirts and dressier shoes that are appropriate for a nice night out or to attend a business meeting. We are involved with enough groups that sometimes out here on the road we need to attend a meeting and we need to be dressed in business casual.  We also carry two sports jackets for Bob and one suit jacket for me.  We have found the hassle of having a hanging bag in the box of the truck with our personal supplies is worth it.  The bag takes up very little room and lets us dress for any event that we might have to attend on the road.

To see more here you go:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/trucking/writer1/index.html