Subscribers Only (2003-2004)              2000-2002

A journal of trials & tribulations on the road....

About

(Please read!)

This journal is written by a female over the road driver and is intended to be a true, real world journal from a driver's perspective.  I have run 48 states with three different carriers throughout the span of this journal.  I've pulled a reefer trailer hauling mostly meat, food products and produce, as well as a curtain side flatbed. 

I returned to the road in May 2000 after an 18 (?) month long break.  I went through burnout being over the road for years and had a local job in my home town.  It hadn't taken long, however, to miss the road. 

With the job I took in 2000, I finally found a balance of trucking and home life that worked well for me.  The job I held from May 2000 until July 2003 was a bit unusual in the trucking industry, but perfectly suited for me.  I drove for one week and was then home for one week.  While I was home, another driver was out driving the truck.  After his driving week was done, I would get in the truck and go run my week.  It was something of a slip seat operation, but I only shared the truck with one other person and it was always the same person.  This job paid a salary as opposed to per-mile pay, which is also highly unusual in the OTR segment of the industry.  In July 2003 I was laid off from this fleet when the carrier terminated it.  I then went to work for what I would call a "renegade" outfit and that lasted about eight months... Probably the hardest eight months of my life.  After a meltdown with that carrier, I took a local/regional job which is unlike anything I've done before.  This is where I am right now, but no promises that this will last, either... :(

I hope you enjoy this journal, I hope you learn some things from it, and I hope you'll take that knowledge with you when it's your turn to go truckin'. 

Please feel encouraged to offer your comments, good or bad.  You'll most likely find it best to read it from the first month to the current month.  I sometimes refer to things from previous months that may not make sense if you skip ahead.

The journal pages are full of photos from the road.  This naturally makes them take longer than average to load.  Many people have emailed me to say they like the photos so I keep taking them and putting them up.  I hope you'll be patient -- I think you'll find the photos help make the journal much more interesting and understandable.

As of 2003, "A Driver's Journal" became a Pay to Read affair.  If you would like to know why, please click here.  If you would like to subscribe, please click the "Subscribe" graphic to the right.  If you have already subscribed, please click the Log In link to the right or at the bottom of this page.  If you have lost your password, please click the Log In link and then click the "Retrieve Your Information" link.

Have a very, very nice day out there and drive safe out there!!!

There have been some changes made to the journal recently... If you experience any technical difficulties, please let me know and I will get them taken care of within 24 hours. Thanks!