Our guest today is a Class A veteran of our nation’s Military and her open roads. Perhaps owing to his military days, his attention to detail and punctuality have elevated him among the driver ranks. Favion Howard is his name, and we’re pleased to welcome him to the show today as he shares his experiences behind the wheel. You’ll hear about his approach to pre-trip inspections and “backwards planning”; two strategies that help him deliver safely and on time. You won’t want to miss this conversation on today’s episode of the #SixFigureTrucker
Show Notes:
- Welcoming Favion Howard to the show (0:45)
- Navigating a “bump in the road” (1:20)
- On time with backwards planning (5:00)
- Favion’s endorsements, qualifications, and experiences (6:42)
- Crazy stories from 11 years on the road (10:03)
- Favion’s approach to pre-trip inspections (11:39)
- Why he loves Trucking (12:58)
- Learning through Networking and “Youtube University” (14:25)
Keep Trucking, Favion!
The Six-Figure Trucker is a weekly podcast about driveaway trucking brought to you by Norton Transport. For more information or to subscribe, please visit Six-FigureTrucker.com.
Full Conversation Transcript
Intro 00:08
Welcome to Six Figure Trucker, the podcast where we share advice on how to be successful in trucking and have fun while doing so. We'll share stories, news, and advice on how to earn six figures in trucking, and we'll speak to guys and gals that are already doing so. Let's get to the show.
John Madewell 00:27
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Six Figure Trucker, brought to you by Norton Transport. And each and every week, when you guys join us, you know this is a format where we elevate and celebrate the drivers of Norton Transport. They make us what we are. Couldn't do it without them. They're the backbone of our company. We're very fortunate to have them. We got a very special guest with us joining us tonight from the Road, Fabian Howard. Fabian, how are you?
Favion Howard 00:50
Hey, I'm doing all right, sir. Yes, sir.
John Madewell 00:52
I see you're sitting in a hotel room. Tell us where you are and how you got there.
Favion Howard 00:58
Okay, yes, sir. I'm right now. I'm currently in Roanoke, Virginia, right now. I'm under dispatch right now in reference and en route to Chesapeake, Virginia.
John Madewell 01:08
Gotcha. Had a little bump in the road today. You were telling me after you and I talked this morning, I think it was about setting this up and ran into a little bump on the road. Dear, tell us what happened. Yeah,
Favion Howard 01:19
had a little bump in. I had a little bump on the road. So what pretty much happened was I was at the fuel island right after we got the phone. I went to go put the fuel in the to do the last leg of this of this of this load, and then I just always do my normal procedure when I'm fueling. Sometimes I just do my walk around with this not having a trailer in the back, and it was a day cab. So when I once I did my walk around, I noticed that the differential had some moisture around it, and then I I really thoroughly looked again. The other differential had some moisture around it, but it was only on one side of the truck. So I was like, "This is a brand new truck. This shouldn't be here. So at that immediately, then I stopped to I stopped the fuel pump and then I called it in to dispatch, and then they gave me the number to Mac, and Mac did took I took some pictures, sent it up, and they further said that they want to get it told for further investigation on it.
John Madewell 02:14
Well, it should be under warranty, being a brand new track.
Favion Howard 02:16
Oh yes, sir. Yeah, it's brand new. I think I had when I got it maybe 400 miles on it, and it was going to the to the U.S. Navy, so that's when I was excited about it. I knew that you know when you set it up to get up, have a brand new truck, you definitely want to make sure there's no you know nick dings or you know anything on it because it's noticeable and all spill with you know it's very noticeable,
John Madewell 02:38
right? And you were talking about the the decoration or not necessarily the decoration but the layout of the truck it's obvious that it's a navy truck
Favion Howard 02:47
right yes sir yes sir so me being proud military I'm what I call a deuce and a half so this is this is what I call a upgraded new version deuce and a half because it sits high up off the ground normally no a lot higher than your normal de cab trucks, and they already have the the dark hunter green on it already. They already installed the U.S. Army, excuse me, U.S. Navy on the side of it with some some numbers stencils already there. So it's it's obvious that the truck is going to some port in the Navy, where I don't know, but I know it's going to them. So and it's and it's brand new. Still had the plastic Mac seats and leather seats on the inside, but it still had the the outside military and inside to me it was civilian looking.
John Madewell 03:36
How does it drive? How does it
Favion Howard 03:37
ride? Oh, that that right there, going from an old Decent and a half, knowing how that drive, and then this with the with all the new suspension on it, it was a very comfortable ride. You could you really couldn't even tell that you was hitting bumps in the road the way they they had it outfitted. You know the the cushion seat, the air rider seats, the seats was leather, cruise control. It was it was fully like outfitted out,
John Madewell 04:02
and you're in Roanoke now, headed to Chesapeake, Virginia. Is that right?
Favion Howard 04:06
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'm in Roanoke right now. We did have to tow the vehicle just for protocol, just to know not not mess up anything. It was still drivable, but they wanted just you know not drive it because it was differential. So that we drove it where we pulled it into the MACK facility, and the first thing in the morning they're going to investigate it. One technician did go out there and look at it, and he said that it might be possible that the oil was coming out of the overflow of the differential. It may be overfilled when they first manufacture it, and that's normal for it to spit out oil on the overflow. That's what it. That's what it is designed for.
John Madewell 04:44
I got you, got you. Now, hopefully, you can get back on the road in the morning and go ahead and take it to final.
Favion Howard 04:50
Oh yes, sir, yes, sir. That's that was the plan because I had already had prior planned everything all the way up into Chesapeake on up until the weekend.
John Madewell 04:58
Gotcha. Listening to Fabian Howard here on the six-figure truck, brought to you by Norton Transport, and you may have heard Fabian talking about being able to deliver in the morning. Because Fabian, I wanted to brag on you here for a minute. I looked up your stats; they're impressive. 89% on time percentage. That's very good. 89% since you've been with us, and you've been with us for I think about six weeks, six seven weeks.
Favion Howard 05:26
Yes, sir.
John Madewell 05:27
Is that right?
Favion Howard 05:28
Yes, sir.
John Madewell 05:29
83% on time in August, but 89% overall. That's fantastic. How important is it to you to be on time?
Favion Howard 05:38
Oh, that is very, is very, is very, very, very sincere to me about being on time. It goes back to my military days. If if if you if you plan accordingly, you would be on time. So if you already know what I do is I backwards plan my day from the time that I looked at the time that I need to be there, and I go backwards always from the time I started. So and I also plot in if any roadblocks or hiccups come in. Even though, like even tonight, even though I didn't foresee myself having a hiccup, I had already allowed me enough time to get to the delivery. So if I did have a roadblock, I could still be on time. So I do that on every load, and and saying right now that's pretty much I really you know like I said you looking at statistics I really looking at how to get the load there on time I didn't really look at it you know I'm making it every time I know I'm I'm getting to the destination but it's good to know that I do have a up a good high percentile
John Madewell 06:35
yeah well you get that on time bonus too
Favion Howard 06:38
oh yes sir yes sir
John Madewell 06:41
that never hurts. You're listening to Fabian Howard here on the Six Figure Trucker, brought to you by Norton Transport. Kind of open, peel the onion back a little bit. Fabian is a Class A driver. Been driving for a long time. He's new to Norton, but he's not new to the road. Tell us, you've been on the road for more than a decade. That is that right?
Favion Howard 06:58
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I started driving back in 2015.
John Madewell 07:02
Gotcha, and you've been Class A ever since.
Favion Howard 07:05
Yes, sir. Yep.
John Madewell 07:07
Now you've got number of a number of endorsements and qualifications. I looked you up there. You've got your manual certification and specialty certification, which for those who may be joining us, don't know what the specialty is. You can drive garbage trucks, dump trucks, any of those trucks, fire trucks. You're good to go.
Favion Howard 07:29
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I did. I have my experience with a garbage truck. I can tell you a story about the garbage truck. It was. It was a. It was an interesting piece of equipment, but it was a piece of work too.
John Madewell 07:41
Did this garbage truck come out of Alabama?
Favion Howard 07:45
Actually, it came out of Ringo. It came out of Ringo. So I picked up. I picked up a. Actually, I guess I did a partial garbage truck, and then I got to do a full garbage truck. I brought the chassis down first, and then once I got to Ringo. I came in to Ringo over the weekends, and then they had me pick up an actual full size garbage truck along with the with the with the bend on the back. Big big difference in weight. Big difference in weight, and big difference in stability and handle. Yeah. So I've come down with nothing but the chassis, and then I said, "Okay, this not bad. You know, even though I was seeing the stern and wheel turn on the side, you know, when I turned, and but then when I got there and switched over and went to the actual full garbage truck, I was like, "Yeah, salute to the garbage truck drivers that do it full time because it's a piece of work. The garbage truck is not really made to go cross country, but I did take it through several states,
John Madewell 08:41
you go up to Cleveland in it by chance. Yes,
Favion Howard 08:44
sir. That's exactly what I took it to. I took it for Ringo to Cleveland, Ohio.
John Madewell 08:48
So you picked it up at the office at the North Transport office.
Favion Howard 08:52
Yes, sir. I picked it up at the North Transport office all over the weekend.
John Madewell 08:56
Yeah. Okay. Good deal. As Fabian alluded to, we're in Ringo, Georgia, right off I 75, first exit if you're coming south out of Tennessee and made your way up to Cleveland. I guess you could make that in a day. That's about a day run.
Favion Howard 09:10
Yes, it's about a day run. I end up I end up once again like I backwards playing. I knew my time was going to be running short once I came in. So once I came in, I think I had a little, maybe a little over two and a half hours left on my clock, and I was able to make it to Cleveland, Tennessee, and I shut down in Cleveland, Tennessee, and then I pursued on the next day.
John Madewell 09:33
Gotcha. Now those garbage trucks, I guess top speed is about 62 miles an hour.
Favion Howard 09:38
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. That's all you want to go at 62, with that weight going on. The this is it's a it's a pretty top heavy vehicle. So you know you you you get on there. I feel like he was a little stale on the road, but I think I kept it at 5558, miles per hour, and that was that's why I wanted to handle it. That because you feel every. Off every ding in the road, everything.
John Madewell 10:03
Now driving for 11 years and six seven weeks with us, I'm sure you've seen some crazy stuff out on the road. Give us an idea, a story, if you will. One of the craziest things you've seen as a professional truck driver.
Favion Howard 10:17
Ah, one of the craziest. I say the craziest in my 11 years, a 18 wheeler flip with the all the way over, and you want to know how did how did how did that happen when there's no other vehicles around? But I've seen I've seen where the wind has blew over vehicles. I've also seen you know most of the thing has been mostly wrecks and and some like unusual wrecks that you kind of sit there and wonder like how did that happen, and so of course I can't sit there and investigate. And you know I you know I say a prayer for the drivers and I just pretty much have to keep it moving because you know I'm not the investigator. But most of the time the the incident has already happened and I'm just driving by it. But yeah, most of the time it's just been wrecks and unusual wrecks that you may see.
John Madewell 11:07
I guess when you see wrecks like that, you you have compassion for the drivers, but it also reinforces the importance of safety.
Favion Howard 11:16
Yes, yes, it reinforces of safety, and it goes back to you know what you have been taught throughout the years, what you've been taught in school is doing a thorough pre trip because a thorough pre trip can can last you a long way, and even like even like even goes into the day. You know, I caught that deficiency right off the bat. I called it in, and I I wasn't a hazard on the road.
John Madewell 11:38
Gotcha. Give us an idea what Fabian's typical pre-trip is. What do you do in your pre-trip? What kind of things do you do?
Favion Howard 11:47
Well, normally in a pre-trip, what you would do is you would you would check your lights, you would check for leaks, you would check your tires. That's that's your number one thing is your tires. Why you checking for leaks? You looking for no cracks, no dents, you know, no illegal rails, nothing that was going to be going to pre-hinder your drive driving capability. You're going to listen for air leaks because we are driving air air suspension vehicles, and air is the main thing that stop these vehicles. So, if you do have an air leak, your stopping capability is going to be different, and that's the difference between having hydraulic system and air system. If you have an air leak, your brakes not probably going to be function as much. So when I do my pre trip, I'm almost like I said in a fire truck. You listen, listen, and feel. So I'm listening for air leaks. I'm looking for looking not looking for air, but looking for things that don't look right. And I do this as a as a repetition, and it started becoming muscle memory.
John Madewell 12:45
Gotcha. And you talked about the importance of it not being a road hazard for your own safety and for everybody else on the road.
Favion Howard 12:53
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
John Madewell 12:55
Now, tell us. I mean, you've been doing this for 11 years. What do you like about it? What what is something that gets Fabian going?
Favion Howard 13:04
The the biggest thing that gets me going coming from a person that likes to travel. So of course, with with with with transportation, you do definitely travel a lot. So what gets my understanding that I went from moving freight goods and services, a good and product, to now moving vehicles, and instead the same goes hand in hand because you're going to do a pickup and you're going to do a delivery. So in between the pickup and delivery, you have to have a passion in doing everything. Pretty much, I say in in in step order or doing things in order to make sure that your delivery is going to go successful, so you know if you get a passion into your job and you love what you do, you love coming to work on time, you love you know being there, you you you take pride in what you do, and I definitely take pride in what I do.
John Madewell 13:55
You know, Fabian, I love to hear that. That's great words, and it's great to hear from one of our better drivers, and we really appreciate everything you do. And we came across each other's paths because you took one last week and you really took initiative on this because you've driven manual before, but this was a big record as they call a heavy 18 speed. How did that? And obviously, I didn't hear anything about it, so it must have gone well.
Favion Howard 14:25
Oh yes, sir. So it's funny we talking about that because I was wondering we were going to get to that. So yes, I've been driving when I when I came out of school in 2015. I did get manual on my driver's license. The first truck that I got when I was driving was a 10 speed, 10 speed. So I stuck with 10 speed, and I switched over to 13 speed just a little bit. And then, of course, in the industry today, 90% Now, if I say about 80% 90% of your choices are going to be automatic, but you still have that skill. That's one thing about experience. You still have it in the back of your back of your head. So you know how to go through. The the sequence and so then when here I get to Norton I get to I get to do a record so I'm always being pulled by records but never driven one and so I get there and then I called ahead to make sure like they told me to make sure that the the unit was ready and I just just just having to ask they say sir is it automatic or is a a 10 speed? He said, "No, it's an 18 speed. And once he said that, I kind of paused for a second, and then he said, "Can you drive it? And then I paused again. I said, "I can drive it. I said, "That driving is not the issue. I just want to know just the sequence of the of the gears. At that point, then what I do is what I call I go to my university, and so I did talk to my dispatch, and then they they plugged me in with a guy that have driven it, and then also I I went to my university, which I call YouTube. I call YouTube University. So I got on YouTube. I talked to the driver that also told me how to what what the pattern did, and what I end up doing was taking what he told me, taking what I already know about a 10 speed, and then what I did was just shadow box what he did as he was doing it. And so when I got to the actual 18 speed, I actually went through the same pattern, and it just clicked. And then once I went through the first series of gears, and I shift it over, and then with these newer trucks, they tell you what gear you're in, and the next thing I know, I was in 18 speed, the 18th gear. So I learned how to skip the gears because, well, you know, I wasn't pulling, I wasn't pulling nothing in the back. So most of the gears are for pulling, and since I was going, what we call like Bob telling, I didn't need to go through the whole 18 gears. So he showed me the short to to go through half of the gears on low and half of the gears on high, and then when you get to that last gear, you you at 18 speed, and and then the rest is history. After that, then it kind of like I figured it out in route, but I was confident. I got my, I built my confidence up because I once I told the dispatcher I was going to do it, I felt confident. I waited after I watched the videos a couple of times and then talked with the driver, and he built my confidence up. His name was Collins. I don't really know him personally, but he just you know he we talked. And the one thing about drivers is even though we may not see a driver, you know, we talk with them. They and they know exactly what they're doing. He said, "Hey, look, if you just go through the pattern twice, the same exact pattern, go through it twice, and treat it like a nine speed, and then flip the switch one time, and you'll switch on 18. And he was dead on, and that's exact same guy with the guy also said on YouTube, so it built my confidence up.
John Madewell 17:44
Gotcha. How how reassuring is it to you to have not only your university, but to have that in person network with another driver?
Favion Howard 17:53
Yes, that that right there showed me to have that in person network was real, real, real. I say like golden to me because, like I said, I am just six weeks here, and I, you know, I don't know everything. And one thing about a driver, you know, as a driver, you're always willing to learn. I didn't, you know, I didn't come in here thinking I knew everything. I just wanted to, you know, do my job. And then all of a sudden, I got to a challenge. And then all of a sudden, when I get to a challenge, it's like, okay, am I gonna let this challenge defeat me or not? But then having somebody that you can reach out, other dispatchers knew somebody you can reach out to to re-insure your confidence, and you know, and they and they have been here for a while doing it, and then they know how they made it happen, and they're able to tell your story, and then you can relate to it, and then and then, then, like I said, the rest is is it be history because I'm I'm I'm really fortunate to be able to, you know, you know, raise like you say, raise up the red flag. Say, hey, I never did this before, but if you can, you know, link me with somebody who done this, maybe they can coach me through it, and then I we can get it done. So I was still able to do it, still able to be on time and and and no hiccups.
John Madewell 19:04
That's awesome, man! Now you've done it. You've got that. It's another tool in your toolbox, and you've done it before. And I love what you said about how much you take pride in what you do and love the open road, Fabian. I really appreciate you joining us here. And I noticed that you said a couple of times about your background in the military.
Speaker 1 19:24
Can we join
John Madewell 19:25
you next week and talk a little bit about your military career?
Favion Howard 19:28
Okay, yes, sir. All right, we'll
John Madewell 19:29
see you next week. Thank you very much, Fabian Howard, here on the Six Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Tract.