Trucking Life

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Kenworth, FASTPORT and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative are again partnering in the search for America’s top rookie military veteran driver who made the successful transition to the trucking industry following military service. Under the “Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence” recognition program, Kenworth will provide the top award for the eighth consecutive year, according to a news release. In recognition of Kenworth’s 100th anniversary, this year’s award is a T680 Signature Edition Anniversary truck. The T680 Signature Edition is equipped with a 76-inch sleeper and the PACCAR Powertrain featuring the PACCAR MX-13 engine rated at 455 horsepower, PACCAR TX-12 automated transmission and PACCAR DX-40 tandem rear axles, according to Kenworth. The T680 Signature Edition Diamond VIT features a black onyx grille and side air intake and prominent Kenworth 100 badges on the sleeper. The truck is painted in Century Platinum Metallic signature paint and features specially designed anniversary wheels in black. It has black interior with legacy red stitching accents throughout the cab and sleeper. The package also includes Kenworth 100 branded GT703 seats with red accents, special brushed platinum dash and door trim, along with the Kenworth 100 logo stitched into the sleeper back wall. “Every year we see a life changed because of this contest and I don’t think it can get any better but each year it does. Kenworth outdid themselves by providing this incredible T680 Special Edition Anniversary Edition truck,” said Brad Bentley, FASTPORT president. “In honor of Kenworth’s 100th anniversary this year, our goal is to receive 100 nominations, and we are excited to award this truck to a deserving driver who has made the successful transition to the trucking industry following military service.” Genevieve Bekkerus, Kenworth’s director of marketing, said that driver nominations can come from small, mid-and large-sized fleets, organizations or CDL schools. “Just last year, winner Ashley Leiva, was nominated by the driving school that trained her,” Bekkerus said. “Each year, I look forward to getting to know the inspiring award finalists and I am thrilled that Kenworth is able to award a deserving veteran the T680 Signature Edition in honor of Kenworth’s 100th anniversary.” The top driver will be determined by an expert panel of judges. To qualify, drivers must meet eligibility requirements as specified in the official Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award rules, including: Being a legal resident of the continental United States and military veteran or current/former member of the National Guard or Reserves. Graduating from PTDI-certified, NAPFTDS or CVTA member driver training school, with a valid CDL. Having been employed by any for-hire carrier or private fleet that has pledged to hire veterans and hired as a CDL driver after Jan. 1, 202 Nominations are open now and the final deadline to submit applications is July 31. The top 10 semi-finalists will be announced on Sept. 1. Finalists will be invited to Columbus, Ohio, to tour the National Veterans Memorial and Museum and attend a reception, followed by a tour of the Kenworth Chillicothe manufacturing plant and MHC Road Ready Center, where the top three finalists will be announced. Public voting of the three finalists will begin Oct. 27 and continue for two weeks. On Dec. 15, finalists will gather at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where the final award announcement will be made — the winner will drive home in the Kenworth T680 Signature Edition. “Transportation is an industry focused on serving community and giving back so is a natural fit for military veterans looking to continue their careers on a service-oriented mission,” said Eric Eversole, U.S. Chamber of Commerce vice president and Hiring Our Heroes president. “Hiring Our Heroes is proud to partner with FASTPORT and Kenworth to promote the hiring of more service members into the trucking industry.” Full criteria and online nomination forms are available now on the Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence website by clicking here.

  PATTERSON, Calif. — It’s not too often you’ll hear even a novice compare a golf cart to an 18-wheeler. But for a portion of Patterson High School’s truck driving education program, students find the two interchangeable. Innovation is an important part of planning and operating one of the country’s few high school-based truck driving programs. Launched in 2017, Patterson High School’s one-year course meets the FMCSA Entry Level Driver Training theory standards and prepares students to earn their commercial learner’s permit. For program coordinator and instructor Dave Dein, golf carts are just one of several of his program’s tools. “We incorporated the golf cart into the program about two years ago,” Dein said. “I was investigating ways I could provide engaging hands-on experiences.” The program already had two Advanced Training Systems simulators, but Dein wanted another, more “hands-on,” alternative. “The golf cart is used to create a sense of ownership in the vehicle the students drive,” Dein said. “It teaches the same sense of ownership a trucker has in his truck when he enters the industry. The students must sign out the cart and perform a pre-trip inspection. (Students) are held accountable for the safe operation of the vehicle.” The golf cart helps the students experience and practice space management in a controlled environment. But one of its most useful purposes is in teaching students the basics of backing up a vehicle — something many professional drivers admit they struggled with in training. “The golf cart is connected to a 7-foot utility trailer,” Dein said. “Students can practice straight-line, 45- and 90-degree ally, offset, and parallel parking. Once the students perfect their backing skills on the golf cart, we then transfer them to a full-sized semi truck.” Another innovative aspect of the Patterson High School program came in the form of a gift from Loves Travel Stops. “The Love’s donation provided the materials needed to purchase the infrastructure for a golf cart ‘course’ on our training site,” Dein said. “Not only that — it also allowed us to purchase a pair of ‘Fatal Vision’ goggles.” These goggles allow students to learn about driving under the influence by replicating the effects of alcohol on vision. The exercise makes traversing the golf cart course much more difficult, Dein says, and helps students understand what they’ll be facing on the road if they operate a vehicle while intoxicated. “It is so important to give students an experience to emphasize the dangers of distracted or impaired driving rather than just telling them not to do it,” Dein said. To help ensure using the goggles and experiencing “drunkenness” had a meaningful impact on students, Dein asks the young drivers to become familiar with personal stories from people who have been impacted by impaired driving. “It allows them to put faces behind the staggering statistics,” Dein said. It doesn’t matter whether a vehicle is a golf cart or a semi, it can still be deadly in the wrong hands. Both the golf cart and the “Fatal Vision” goggles help Dein drive this point home. “Regardless of a person’s age, climbing into a commercial motor vehicle for the first time can be a little intimidating,” Dein said. “We found that the golf cart is a nice bridge in building those skill sets that are transferable to the trucks. It all is part of building confidence.”

  Husband and wife team drivers Ryan and Bernedette Hood came to the truckling life by very different routes. Ryan, a legacy driver whose love for the open road runs generations deep, was destined to live life behind the wheel from an early age. Bernedette developed an interest in the industry later, in 2015, while seeking a change in professional direction. Once the two fell into each other’s orbit, however, the future was set for the Canadian born and raised drivers. “Ryan and I had met in high school back in 1991, but our paths went different ways,” Bernedette said. “We reconnected in 2015 or 2016, somewhere around there. When we got together, I decided, ‘Well he’s a trucker and I’m a trucker, why don’t we truck together?’” It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. “We decided to drive together, and we lived together in the truck for two years solid,” she said. “After two years, we realized we actually liked each other enough that we wanted to get married. Once you live in a shoebox for that long you get to know somebody very intimately.” One of the biggest issues the couple had to navigate together had less to do with where they lived, what they hauled or where they went on their runs — and everything to do with what they brought along on the road. Trucker cats, to be specific. “Traveling with animals was something brand new,” Ryan admitted. “I had a dog that I had from a previous life, and I would take him now and then. He and I would go exploring together. Before I met Bernie, before we got together, I had a dog once in a blue moon.” The couple laughs over those pre-feline days now, and with good reason. The couple has a total of seven cats. While usually there are only a couple along for any given ride, there have been periods in their relationship where as many as five felines made themselves at home in the cab. “We’ve had five of them in the truck at one time because we didn’t know how long we were going to be on the road and we had a pretty big truck,” Ryan said. “At the time, it was our own truck, and it didn’t happen very often. We were just kinda stuck for a little while and we had nowhere to put the cats, so we said, ‘You know what? Let’s just take them with us on the road.’” Today, four of the couple’s cats take turns traveling the road in pairs. “Bullet and Nefer are the original two and then we took Cleo and Narmer,” Bernedette said. “We got all our cats as kittens, and Nefer and Bullet kind of are like a pride. Bullet is the alpha male and Nefer is the alpha female. Bullet would nurture the kittens as we brought them in and Nefer would keep them in line. “It is quite an interesting dynamic for cats when you start introducing kittens. And then when you put them in a truck together, it’s even more curious,” she continued. “Bullet really takes his job as head very seriously. He won’t even play with the laser pointer. He’s like, ‘These are my kids. I’m watching them.’” While Bernedette’s love of feline fluffballs brings one dimension to the road-worthy relationship, Ryan’s lifelong devotion to fitness brings another aspect to life in the rig. Weights and dumbbells travel wherever he goes, the better to help him stay toned and in shape. He says it’s a habit he developed early in life. “When I was in high school, I actually wanted to be a firefighter because I realized I had a lot of energy and I needed to put that energy to good use,” he said. “Plus, I also liked to work in the community and be involved with people. So, I was striving to be a firefighter coming out of high school. “I’m very conscious of my health. If you were to meet me, you probably wouldn’t think that I’ve driven 3 million miles over almost 30 years of driving a truck, because I don’t look like your stereotypical truck driver,” he continued. “One of the biggest things that I started right out of the gate was eating right and making sure whenever I’ve got down time — whether it’s a 30-minute break or my 10 hours, whatever it is — I will make the time to be active.” Not unlike Ryan adjusting to having cats in the cab, Bernedette had to get used to Ryan’s workout regimen. “One thing Bernie had to get used to was my up-and-down, always-on-the-go, always-moving, can’t-sit-still lifestyle,” Ryan said. “She had to get used to me being outside at four o’clock in the morning at a rest area, working out with my barbells and plate weights and dumbbells. Even when I’m driving a truck, I have to have music going. I’m constantly moving at something. It’s something I’ve always had. I’ve always been a very active person.” For her part, Bernedette says she’s paid more attention to her health and fitness since marrying Ryan, but she hasn’t quite reached his level of intensity. “I work out sporadically. I don’t like effort like that; I don’t like sweating,” she said. “You put a cheesecake or a barbell in front of me, I’m going for the cheesecake, hands down. But I’m more disciplined in my eating and looking after my physical health now. “I had a bit of a medical scare two years ago. At that time, I was quite chunky, so being with Ryan helped me to get that scare under control,” she explained. “I’m eating better, losing weight, getting healthy and getting my body back to what it should be. But I’m not going nuts for exercise. I walk more than I lift weights.” The duo, who haul tankers for Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Jade Transport, just switched from a Volvo tractor to a 2020 Peterbilt Model 567. During their driving career they’ve traveled all over the lower 48 U.S. states and every Canadian province except Newfoundland. These days, they’re on a dedicated run between Imperial Oil in Sarnia, Ontario, to a paper mill plant in Tennessee, enjoying the partnership they’ve forged in life and in work. “We know each other’s habits,” Ryan said. “We know each other’s likes and dislikes when we’re on the road. We know what to do and not do.” It’s the “purr-fect” match. “When we’re in the truck together, it’s our own little world,” Bernedette said. “Ryan and I get along famously. We bitch at each other like everybody else, but in our little world, everybody else is out of it. When we’re in the truck together we’re home.”

This year, Estes Express Lines, based in Richmond, Virginia, celebrates a milestone — the 20th anniversary of the company’s in-house driver training program. If you’re looking for a success story from this dock-to-driver (DTD) program, look no further than driver-trainer Ryan Bell. “Back in 2007, I was in a minimum wage job with a wife and a baby. We were living in my dad’s basement because we couldn’t afford an apartment,” said Bell, now 37. “I got started at Estes, worked the dock for a year and started seeing better pay checks. I moved to the switcher yard, and eventually bought a house and nice vehicles.” Bell’s story doesn’t end there, however. “After four years in the switching yard, I was asked if I wanted to do the driving school. I was, like, ‘Absolutely!’” he said, adding that he’d wanted to attend the school for a while — but back then the training program was held only twice a year. Estes’ DTD program is open to all employees; anyone within the company can attend driver training with the approval of their terminal manager and regional safety manager. The DTD program guides students through the process of earning a commercial driver’s license (CDL), obtaining clearances and undergoing the required drug tests. From there, it’s a two-week trip to driving school for a combination of classroom and field training. Estes even pays transportation costs and per diem expenses for employees. “I went to driving school in December of 2011,” Bell said. “We were a class of 12. We stuck together, learned how to do pre-trip (inspections) and handle a 10-speed transmission. From there, I spent two weeks learning to drive city routes and eventually was sent to Aberdeen, North Carolina; (that was) my first real experience in a city.” Bell’s love for the road has grown by leaps and bounds. “I’ve been driving 12 years now, and I still love it every day,” he said. Aside from driving for the company, Bell now has the opportunity to train new drivers through the Estes driver training program. He has been a driver-trainer at Estes’ High Point, North Carolina, location for three years. From High Point, Bell says they offer training to recruits from a large part of the country. “The driver training program started in 2003 with the idea of offering in-house employees the career opportunity of driving a truck,” he said. “High Point was our first location.” Estes now operates a similar program in San Antonio. “We do a class just about every month,” Bell said. “People from the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast all come to North Carolina for their training.” The typical class ranges from eight to 18 students, although with the growing demand for training, Bell says he’s seen classes with as many as 24 students. “There’s no shortage of students,” he said. “We want to offer employees already with the company the chance to grow and succeed. “Back in 2011, I wanted more for my family — a better job — plus, I’ve always wanted to be a truck driver,” he continued. “This program made that a reality.” While other carriers offer DTD programs, Bell says there are few things that set Estes’ training apart from the rest. First, he said, Estes pays employees their regular salaries while they are in training. “We pay you to learn,” he said. “There are schools out there charging $5,000 to $7,000 to teach you to drive a truck. I’ve heard people say they learned more about playing poker than trucks while in the class.” In addition to an automatic transmission, Estes trains its drivers to operate a 10-speed transmission. “Our drivers can have no restrictions on their licenses,” Bell said. “Being able to drive only an automatic is a no-go.” This requirement, he says, is good overall, but students vary in their ability to learn the 10-speed transmission. “We teach students to upshift, downshift and double clutch,” he said. “A lot of our students have never even driven a stick-shift car — but that’s often a good thing. Many who drive one have invariably learned some bad habits along the way, and we have to overcome them.” Estes’ DTD program originally had a minimum age requirement of 23, but it has been lowered to 21, Bell said, bringing a new dynamic to the classroom. “Some of the younger students haven’t even been driving a car very long,” he said. “While they have a learning curve in terms of driving, they are often far ahead of older students in terms of technology.” Mastering the use of hand-held devices and computers in trucks — learning what is really a step beyond driving — is typically easier for younger students, Bell noted. To better serve the students — and ultimately the carrier’s clientele — Bell says that Estes’ DTD program is constantly evolving to match changes in the industry. However, he noted, the base education remains regimented. “Driving a truck isn’t too different today than it was when I went through the training program in 2011,” he said. “It’s electronic logging, devices that track pick-up and delivery, and other technological changes that drivers have to adjust to. We just teach them how to drive the same way we have for as long as the program has existed.” Bell is particularly proud of the success rate of his students. “I can say that there have been only a handful who haven’t been able to pull-through the program,” he said. “And we don’t want to see anyone go through the program and not accomplish their goals. We do everything we can to help students succeed.” Overall, Estes’ DTD program has a high success rate and turns out good drivers in terms of their level of safety and mindfulness when driving a truck, he added. Since the program’s inception back in 2003, the number of drivers trained annually has generally trended upward every year. That first year, about 60 students successfully completed the program; in 2022 there were nearly 300 graduates. While the training program does not produce the majority of Estes’ new driver hires, the percentage is increasing, and that includes women. “We are seeing an increase of women employees coming through,” Bell said. “And we’re seeing a much better turnout in diversity throughout the program in general. We want to hire from within, and this program allows us to do so.” Bell says he does notice a few students who struggle — but not because of a lack of ability. It’s typically because of a language barrier. “We have had a few students from foreign countries who have difficulty with the language barrier. This usually creates problems in classroom training,” he said, adding that, for the most part, the students and instructors are able to overcome these barriers, resulting in successful completion of training. When asked about his memorable moments in teaching students to drive, Bell said, “It’s very humbling. You don’t realize what graduating from our program means to people. Some are crying when they get their certificate.” Most students, Bell said, enter the program with the same goals: to earn more money, give their family a better opportunity and to see the country. By graduation day, however, being given the opportunity to grow and thrive in a driving career means much more to students. “It means a lot to me to be able to teach them and be a part of their lives,” he said. “I just want to help them along their way, and it is very humbling.”

Bryan and Nikki Larrea share two loves. They both love trucks — and, more importantly, they love each other. The Idaho natives, who own and operate Larrea Trucking Hay Company LLC, both grew up in the Meridian area of the state. Although the two crossed paths many times over the years during their youth, they didn’t actually meet until both were adults. “It’s kind of a funny story,” Nikki said. “My husband grew up in the trucking business with his dad. I would be walking to school and see the orange and white hay trucks. That was their colors. It amazed me to see a huge load of hay going down the road. I was always interested in trucks growing up.” As a locally and nationally ranked No. 1 BMX racer growing up, Nikki knew where her passions were. What she didn’t know was that those passions would eventually lead her to the love of her life: Bryan was a state champion motocross competitor. “I would go out to OMC, which is a racetrack in Boise, Idaho, and I would actually flag when I was 11, 12, 13 years old,” Nikki said. “It turns out I was actually flagging for him when he was racing a CR-500 dirt bike, which is a very powerful dirt bike. I knew of him and as time went on, my grandma and I went on a road trip when I was 14 years old. I was just ‘trucks, trucks, trucks!’ the whole time.” As the two returned home from their trip, Nikki caught sight of one of some orange and white hay trucks coming across an overpass. “My grandmother turned to me and said, ‘Honey, promise me one thing. Don’t ever get with a hay hauler like that, because they are dangerous,’” Nikki said with a laugh at the memory. Nikki never dreamed that, years later, the young man she flagged for — and later spotted on the overpass — would turn out to be the love of her life. When the two first met as adults, each was in a relationship with someone else. Nevertheless, Nikki and Bryan forged a solid friendship, bonded by their mutual interests. As fate would have it, they both found themselves single a few years later, and the friendship was rekindled. This time, the relationship blossomed into not only a loving marriage, but also a prosperous business partnership. Almost a year into dating, in December 2005, Bryan asked Nikki if she wanted to go on a road trip with him for his dad’s trucking company. “He took me out on the road, and we went to every state,” Nikki said. “This one time we were coming back through and we had a drop in Las Vegas, Nevada. He looked over at me and said, ‘You wanna get married?’ and I said yes. We stayed a couple of nights, walked out on the boulevard and got married — and we’ve been best friends ever since.” As the proud owners and operators of Larrea Trucking Hay Company for the past six years, Nikki and Bryan have a long history in the trucking industry they both know and love so much. “This is my 47th year in trucking,” Bryan said. “My dad owned a hay company. I worked for him for many years until he passed away. I have an old cabover that my dad bought me in 1982. I was blessed with that, and still own it. “Me and Nikki worked for another hay company for about eight years,” he continued. “We started our own company, and we own three trucks, five sets of doubles. I’ve always had a good work ethic and worked hard.” Bryan is proud of his bride’s accomplishments. “Nikki is very good at what she does,” he said. “She is very good with the books, and we have succeeded because of her.” According to Nikki, Bryan has an affinity for Peterbilt 379 extended hoods. When she was in her late 20s and Bryan in his early 40s, she says, she used to tell Bryan that if they worked hard, they would someday have one of their own. “I promised him that by the time he was 60 years old, I would have him a 379 Pete,” she said. “He laughed and said, ‘That long?’” Nikki also recalls mentioning to Bryan that, when she looked at the men driving those long-hood Petes, she noticed “they aren’t young.” It would take hard work to be able to buy Bryan his dream truck, but Nikki believed they could do it. “We actually beat our goal by two years,” she said. When the couple decided to launch their own business, Nikki was apprehensive at first. “I was scared,” Nikki said. “I didn’t know how to find loads or things like that.” Their first success came when contacting a local company that offered guaranteed loads in 2018. Then she discovered a source for online load boards, Truckstop.com — and she says things took off from there. The company now has dedicated contracts, and the business continues to prosper. They attribute their success to maintaining a great safety rating; in addition, they pour what profits they make back into the business so it can grow and improve. “Our favorite part of being in this business is being together,” Bryan said. “We are best friends, and we never argue. We are hooked at the hips. She is my best friend, and I love her to death.” Nikki added that the pair’s pure love of trucks also helps deepen their relationship, and that they have met many new friends along the way. Even when they’re traveling in separate trucks, they communicate constantly via CB radio. For many years, the Larreas shared the road with one other traveling companion. Their faithful canine trucker pal, Baby, traveled with them for 14 years. Nikki and Bryan said the dog never met a person she didn’t love. “We miss her dearly,” Nikki said. “We were heartbroken to have to put our baby girl down in 2020 after she got hip dysplasia. In the end she couldn’t walk, and I would have to carry her. “After months of trying to find her help, we realized that it was her time,” she shared. “As we put her sleep, I whispered in her ear that if there was any way for her to come back to us, to do it. I don’t care how, just come back to Mom and Dad.” The wish was granted when Nikki found a feral kitten near their house in 2021. In the 14 years they’ve lived in the house, she says, they had never spotted a cat, let alone a kitten, on the property. After many attempts to catch the kitten, a female, Nikki finally succeeded, but it still took time to win her over. “She now goes with us (on the road) every time,” Nikki said. Both Nikki and Bryan are confident that their discovery and adoption of the kitten, now called Angelene, is because their beloved Baby kept her promise.