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- Tracey Price was couchsurfing when she took a long-haul training contract in 2012.
- She told Insider that she has a “healthy fear” of the 80,000-pound truck she drives and sleeps in.
- Her favorite thing about long haul trucking is all the different places she gets to see.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 39-year-old Tracey Price, a long-haul truck driver for aifleet in Texas. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was couchsurfing when I got a training contract in 2012 with CRST, a transportation company, as a long-haul truck driver. I wanted to do something different with my life.
CRST paid for me to become a licensed trucker with a Hazmat endorsement in exchange for an eight month employment contract. It was a great way to make a career when I had no money to train. I worked there until early 2022.
I had very little training before I hit the road. We learned to drive manual trucks. Trainers taught us how to shift gears and handle a vehicle this big on the road. I was at school for two and a half weeks and had practiced behind the wheel for about two hours before the trainers tested us.
In the end, I learned the most while doing the work. The company I first started with was a team-based setup, so I rode with a trainer for a while.
I was terrified when I first got into the truck because it was huge
I’m driving solo in a truck that weighs 80,000 pounds. I still have what I call a healthy fear of trucks. I can maneuver the truck just fine, but I can’t control how other people drive around me, so I’m always careful.
My usual driving day starts between 2am and 4am. I wake up and get some coffee, then I check that the truck is in good condition.
When I get to the delivery or pick-up stop, I speak to the people in the warehouse and figure out what stock I’m delivering or picking up. I wait for them to load or unload my truck, and then I’m on my way again. I supply all types of dry vans, or anything non-perishable.
We are only allowed to drive for 11 hours in a 14 hour shift. So normally I drive about 10 hours per shift.
At the end of my shift I look for a parking space where I can sleep. I sleep in my truck while on the road.
I try to avoid the main truck stops at night because they get crowded, and someone hitting your truck or someone asking for money can disturb you while you sleep. I normally stop at rest stops or mom-and-pop truck stops that aren’t that busy.
I feel safe traveling alone in the truck. But when I’m in a sketchy area, I try to stop early or park under traffic lights.
When I drove a trainer, I slept on a bed in the back of the truck while driving. It was a bit unusual, and the truck bounced me around in bed, even with a safety net.
I can adjust my driving schedule to when I have visitors with my daughter. I ride for three weeks, have a weekend off, ride another week, another weekend off, and then another three weeks. I like being on the road, but sometimes I get homesick.
Why I like being a long haul truck driver
Truck driving is the best way I can provide for my child. I like to be my own boss. I tell myself when to get up, and I tell myself the route I’m taking.
The best thing about my job is everything I get to see.
I am very big on landscapes, sunsets and sunrises. I watched the sunset one day in Arizona and watched the sunrise in Tennessee the next. I love watching the seasons change while I’m driving. I live in Texas, but I mostly drive through the Midwest and the Northeast.
Disadvantages of Long Haul Truck Driving
Long-distance rides have drawbacks due to the weather. I choose not to go where it snows and icy, and avoid certain states that don’t take care of the roads.
The job gets lonely, especially with the hours I drive – there are only a few hours a day when I can talk to people. Sometimes I go three or four days without talking to another human being I know in my life. I’ve found that I need to connect with friends and family while driving. A two minute conversation with the shippers or receivers consisting of “I’m here to pick up” or “I’m here to deliver” is not enough.
I ask friends to let me know if they will be up early or stay up late for phone calls
When I’m driving at night, I distract myself by listening to music and audio books.
I have some friends who are truck drivers, and I sometimes meet them when we are on the road. Sometimes I have lunch with a friend who works at AI Fleet when we are both in the same area.
Men are less helpful to female drivers
I struggled to get into a parking space and saw five guys watching me struggle, then saw a male driver pull over and they all ran to help him. In my first two months behind the wheel, I learned that guys probably wouldn’t be as helpful to a female driver as they are to other men.
I have been yelled at several times by male drivers. They don’t think women should drive, but I just think to myself, “It’s your opinion, and I can probably reverse the truck in a spot you can’t.”
I plan to get off the road for a while
My daughter is 5 so I want to spend more time with her. But I’ll most likely get back into a truck when she’s a little older.
When she is older I hope she can come with me to see different states. It’s one thing to talk about a place, but it’s quite another to actually go and see it. I want to share that with her.
My advice to other women who want to get into long-haul transportation is to just do it. Don’t let people tell you you can’t, or that you don’t belong in a truck. Get in a truck, handle it and prove everyone wrong.
@ Insiders
