Trucker FAQ, with Derek Goodfriend

Trucker FAQ, with Derek Goodfriend

1. How often do you stay in hotels?
Never, I have a New York apartment behind the driver seat.

2. What kind of stuff do you deliver?
I have delivered aircraft parts, hazardous chemicals, wooden boxes that
are mysterious, solar panel parts, small electronics (one was a box no
more than 16 inches square)

3. What's the coolest thing you've ever delivered? Worst thing delivered?

Coolest things: probably one of those mystery boxes to Boeing, a 747
inflatable emergency slide from an aircraft bone yard, a 1200 lb
container of vanilla extract (because I got a bunch of free ice cream. 

Worst delivery, there were 2: the first one was a hazardous materials
load from a rendering plant where the hazmat paperwork was so poor I
had to wait on site 12 hours (where the smell was awful) before they got
it fixed then was told if we got there after their regular shipment
arrived then we would be turned back, it was at least 8 hours one way.
We beat the other truck by 15 minutes. Also the containers broke the
wheels on my pallet jack. The other delivery was from LAX airport to the
middle of nowhere northern California, I thought the mountainous roads
would be fun and scenic, but forgot that I wasn't driving a sports car.
Turns out I'm driving into a forest fire fireman's camp and one of the 2
items was damaged beyond use by a forklift, probably at the airport.

4. What do you do on the weekends?
Hopefully on a long drive across country so I don't have to wait for
Monday morning to unload. Sometimes though I'm busy enough that I don't
really know what day of the week it is. If I'm in the truck I want it
moving because then I'm making money.

5. Are lot lizards real?  

I have only heard about this on the radio and I
think it was from the Howard Stern Show. The lot lizard business used
to be conducted over the CB radio, now it's more high tech and done with
good old Craigslist.  Have you ever seen one? I have never seen one. I
try to park as close to the store as possible to avoid any shady
dealings that may go on in the back of the lot.

6. What do you eat? 

I eat fast food now and then. On rare
occasions I will eat at the truck stop restaurants. The only good ones
are Denny's which are at Flying J's and the one at I-80 (the biggest
truck stop in the world). Otherwise I have a fridge/freezer and microwave
so I shop at Walmart to save money and my waist line.

7. How do you go to the bathroom? 

I find rest stops or
truck stops and try not to drink too much. I usually have to stop every 4
to 5 hours for fuel or a mandatory 30 minute rest break. It's also good
to keep an empty bottle around so if you're in the sleeper with the
curtain closed, you don't have to make the driver make extra stops,
because every stop at a gas station cost about 20 -30 minutes. And if we
are parked over night and there's no truck stop around, I find a Walmart
so at least I have a bathroom any time of night.

8. Where do you sleep? 

In the sleeper of the truck. It's
about 8 feet long which is deluxe. I have a full size bed on the bottom
and there's a smaller bunk above. It's very comfortable.

9. Where do you shower? 

I shower at truck stops. With fuel
purchases I get more free showers than I can use. The Pilot and Flying
J's have the nicest ones, they are like private hotel bathrooms. There's
no time limits and they give you a clean towel, wash cloth, and floor
towel/mat.

10. Trucker showers sound scary. What happens when you drop
the soap? 

It will sit on the ground until you pick it up, it's your
soap I'd suggest you keep it. Unless you have a family member with a
soap factory where you get more free soap than you can use, otherwise I
wouldn't throw money down the drain. You are the only one in the
bathroom so it's safe to pick it up.

11. How long are you gone at a time? 

On average about 5 to 6 weeks.

12. How long are you home? 

About 7 days maybe 10 for Christmas holiday.

13. Do you like being by yourself all the time? 

I have a
co-driver named Larry that I work with so I'm rarely alone. Although
when we're at a truck stop, he likes to eat at the restaurants and hang
out in the TV room and I prefer to eat in the truck and avoid the
truckers inside who think they know everything. If there's more than 5
people in the lounge, one of them is an asshole who will tell you what's
wrong with the world and who's at fault.

14. How often do you switch who you drive with? 

I stay with
the same person unless we can't get along or they move to another
truck. So far I've worked with 3 people. The first guy trained me and
then he bought his own truck. The second guy I had to fire because he
was a dumb ass, he liked to talk a lot but never listened, was very
self-centered and inconsiderate, and had terrible hygiene. The third guy
is ok. He's from Boston and seems to be annoyed with nearly everyone,
it must be an Irish "you wanna fight about it" personality.

15. Wait, so you are with the same dude 24/7 the whole time
you're gone? Does that get annoying? Do you guys get along? 

Personalities do make a difference but since it's a working relationship
and we are both sacrificing our time away from home to make money, we
have a level of respect for each other. If there is a decision to be
made we have to agree on it, especially since we share the fuel cost, we
might have to decide where we want to wait for our next load. Do we
stay at a nearby Walmart or drive 45 minutes to a truck stop on our own
dime?

16. Do you and Simone Skype like every day? 

What's this Skype thing? We talk almost every day and text back and forth.

17. What kind of unexpected challenges have you run into?

I've taken some loads that paid well but went to destinations that were
hard to get out of. So after sitting for a couple of days without pay I
contemplated my decision. And one time we lost our license plate and
didn't find out until a Friday at 5 o'clock. Although they did overnight
it to us, nothing got started until Monday morning and it had to go
from Ohio to California. So we didn't leave until Wednesday morning, so
we lost 5 days of work

18. Do you always go to the same places? 

No, we usually go
to different places since our work is based off of businesses that have
something that came up at the last minute and it needs to get there. We
are the overnight delivery for stuff on pallets. Although we do have a
couple of regular runs, like LG appliances, there is a warehouse near
Dallas and one near Atlanta that sends out stuff regularly. The limit is
500 miles. So if you buy one of these appliances from Home Depot or
Lowes and are having them installed, we bring it from the big warehouse
to the local warehouse where the installers will bring it to your house.

19. Where is the coolest place you've been? 

The Boeing
plant near Seattle was cool. Also went to a 747 bone yard in Arizona.
Minnesota was nice, got to see a piece of the great lakes. One drive
stands out in my mind. It was between southern Utah and Flagstaff
Arizona, it's the road that goes to Zion National park, the Grand Canyon
and a few others.  So it was a moonless, cold, crisp night between midnight
and dawn, few cars were on the road, I stopped to see the stars in the
night sky and it was amazing! There were so many stars! It was actually
like what you'd see on tv when they show the Milky Way. Aside from that,
the next best thing I get to see on occasion are meteors. I've seen at
least 3 big ones.

20. What do you do when you're not driving? 

I play on my
phone, Internet and games. I have the Melissa Joan Hart book that my
wonderful wife got me, along with an autographed cover. Some trips I
bring magazines. And watch tv, I have a few movies and the Breaking Bad
series, my antenna usually picks up football games on weekends. And
sleep, definitely sleep.

21. Can you just come home whenever you want? Like, will
you be at my birthday party? 

I can adjust my schedule a little but if I
come back earlier than 6 weeks I might have to make it up later. We'll
see about birthdays.