00:05 I was in a convoy that a couple of IAD days. We took IEDs to a couple of vehicles. I had a couple of friends that that we that lost their lives. And you know that’s why I say there’s not very many things that I can experience now out on the road in the trucking industry that my experience in the army being deployed didn’t already prepare me for mentally and emotionally and physically.

00:31 Right. Couldn’t say it enough Venson. Thank you for your service. Eight years in the army.

00:50 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.

01:09 Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Six-Figure Trucker. We talk with truck drivers all across the country brought to you by Norton Transport. We have a lot of drivers that have a lot of experiences to share with you, a lot of lessons, a lot of life stories. And joining us tonight on this episode of the Six-Figure Trucker is Venson Johnson. Venson, how are you?

01:30 I’m great, sir. How about yourself?

01:32 Man, I couldn’t do any better. If I were doing any better to be a Class C felony. Some people understand that, most do not. I know what you mean.

01:40 So, tell us where you are tonight, Venson.

01:42 Right now, I am in Laurinburg, North Carolina. I delivered some trucks here for Madden Transport and just so happens that my daughter’s going to college here. So, I actually was able to take a couple of days off and stay with her. So, here I am.

01:57 That’s the name of the game there, particularly in driveaway trucking, is to plan your loads. But and it’s a benefit, an added bonus I guess when you can do something with your family. Tell us about how that came to be and what your daughter is involved in.

02:12 I started my trucking career out in Tennessee, which is where she started her softball career. And this has been something that she’s been wanting to do and this is actually something that she kind of put together herself. And I’m pretty proud of her to be able to put this together and also, you know, to be able to have had the opportunity to have the trucking entwined with being able to be a part of this experience with her, you know, because it’s a challenge, you know, a lot of times to be a truck driver, but also to be equally involved with your kids as well. So, it’s been a blessing to have that balance and to see this, you know, play out.

02:52 It’s obviously, no pun intended, playing out tonight. Tell us what’s on tap for this evening with you and your daughter.

02:59 Well, she and I have kind of that we’ve been doing for like the last 5 years where we like to challenge each other a little bit of bowling. So, we’re going to grab something to eat and try to get some bowling in because both of us are pretty competitive. So, that’s kind of our way of still being able to challenge each other a little bit and it’s always a good time. Sometimes she kicks my butt, sometimes I kick her butt. Joe—

03:20 That was my next—

03:21 Looking forward to that.

03:22 That was my next question. Who’s going to win? Well, like I said, a lot of times it, you know, sometimes, you know, she gets the best of me and then sometimes I get the best of her. So, like I said, it’s the opportunity for us to still be able to, you know, do something that we kind of created, you know, in the past that that we really still enjoy.

03:40 Gotcha. Gotcha. How long have you been bowling? Is it something that you’ve been doing for a long time or just recently picked up with your daughter or what about that?

03:47 I’ve always kind of, you know, bowled here and there, but you like I said once, you know, her and I kind of took it serious. I’m a little bit more invested than, you know, just kind of doing it casually. And I’m not a great bowler, but I’m pretty decent. And I guess, you know, bowling with her as consistent as I have, it’s got, you know, I’m a lot better at it, you know, than when I first started.

04:06 Gotcha. What do you roll on a good night?

04:08 I don’t know. I’m consistently about 200.

04:12 Nice. Nice. That’s nothing to sneeze at right there.

04:16 Sometimes it’s better than that. Sometimes it’s worse than that. But, I mean, that’s about the average of it. Like I said, you know, being how competitive she and I are, it’s a lot of fun.

04:27 Gotcha. Gotcha. Is she your only child or do you have other children?

04:31 Actually, she have a sister that’s 14 years old that she’s taking the same pursuit that her sister is with softball. She wants to do the same thing with soccer.

04:42 So, I’m having to feed a softball, a soccer player. So, it’s a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun. They keep me young. Now, just if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you, Venson?

04:54 I am 44 years old, sir.

04:56 How long have you been on the road, Venson?

04:58 Since 2005. 17 years.

05:00 Wow. So, this is kind of old hat to you. What pushed you into this industry? And let’s back up just a little bit. What did you do before you got into truck driving?

05:11 I was in the army for eight years. And as far as the trucking goes, I’ve been want to be a truck driver since I was 8 years old. My dad owned trucks. We had a neighbor across the street that which at that time my dad was a local truck driver, but our neighbor had a over the road truck and man that just kind of fascinated me. And then my dad kind of went back and forth with local and over the road cuz they were kind of in the m/lumber flatbed part of trucking. So I mean ever since then, you know, my brother and sister, they’d be out there wanting to play basketball and baseball and all that, but I’ll be out there, you know, I’ll figure out what was going on with the truck. So, it’s kind of been in, you know, instilled in me.

05:50 What about it kind of got in your blood? I mean, being 8 years old, seeing the trucks. I mean, was it just a natural attraction or kind of take us back to that time when you were a young boy and fell in love with it?

06:01 You know, just the I think it was more the mechanical side of it. So, I’d see them, you know, back there working on trucks and working on engines and working on trailers and all of that just kind of fascinated me and I, you know, a lot of times I felt like I was probably getting on their nerves and asking them a thousand questions. But, you know, now this point I’m so grateful that they were patient enough to explain to me all the things that I was curious about, which has me where I’m at today.

06:30 How much did that help you? I mean, you’ve been doing this, what do we say, 17 years? 17 years on the job. How that interest and that passion that you had when you were 8 years old, when you first got introduced to the trucking world, how much does that help you today even? I mean, does the passion carry on?

06:47 Yes, sir. It has a lot to do with it because, you know, you’re able to appreciate, you know, the good days and days because, you know, a lot of days my dad would come home and my grandfather would come home and they would be extremely frustrated, you know, just from, you know, things not going the way that they had it planned out. But also too, there were a lot of great days that, you know, they were, you know, stoked about, you know, driving a truck, you know, being in the industry, you know, and making me understand that it’s a very important piece of America and just, you know, that made me have an appreciation for, you know, the industry and to, I guess, and my desire to get into the trucking industry because you didn’t realize how important the trucking industry was to your day-to-day life. You made a really good point there. You saw at a young age as through your eyes looking at your father and grandfather there the highs and the lows of the trucking industry that’s I would think has proven to be invaluable for you today.

07:49 Yes sir. I cannot describe that enough. And I was always taught that you know a lot of guys that I talked to talk about the money. If you’ll just drive that truck the money will come. You know, they I was, you know, they always said that they, you know, they weren’t doing it for the money. Although, you know, they provided a pretty good living for us, but they never done it to go down the road, you know, for the economics of it. They done it because it was their passion. It was because, you know, it was what they desired to do to make a living. And, you know, they done it because they really love driving trucks.

08:27 Gotcha. And I’m sure that’s something that’s carried on to you. Obviously, you’ve been doing it for 17 years.

08:32 Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

08:34 Gotcha. You know, another thing you mentioned there when coming up with your father and grandfather, them being involved in the industry and you realized at an early age or became more relevant to you later, this is an important piece of America. Tell us a little bit about that from your standpoint because obviously you’re behind the wheel, you know, firsthand. Well, you know, a lot of times, you know, when you talk to people about the trucking industry, you know, they talk about the frustration with the traffic and the going down the road and all of that, but man, you know, I realize that a lot of things that I touch and that’s in my house and that, you know, keeps my household alive comes off the back of a truck or off the side of a truck and it just, I don’t know, makes sure appreciate, you know, industry just you know for me not just as being a driver but just being a consumer that man it’s you can’t you know you can’t live honestly without the trucking industry so when I wake up every day and I feel like and being a transporter that is like the first leg of the trucking industry so it means a lot to make that contribution to be able to start off the trucking industry and delivering trucks to you customers show that you know the trucking industry can turn—

09:57 Right you’re being very modest and humble about it because I mean let’s be real I mean this country would come to a screeching halt without the trucking industry when everything is sure I mean we that’s obvious I mean not only obvious but a fact being a part of that being I guess a spoke in the wheel is how would you describe that feeling that it gives you—

10:17 Well I try you know and in my 17 years in the trucking industry I’ve gotten frustrated ated with it and taking a pause and went down the rabbit hole of sales and like I said and it’s just I don’t know just the feeling that I get from the trucking and driving the you know being a part of the trucking industry. I hadn’t been able to get that from any other occupation or profession that I’ve dabbled in when pausing from the trucking industry. And you know, when I talk to people now that’s wanting to get into the trucking industry, I let them know that, hey, it’s a lifestyle. And if you know, and a lot of people say they want to get into it, and then they get into it and then they realize, hey, it’s a challenge that it’s it’s not, you know, that they can’t handle. And when you know when you hear people say that it, you know, for me it’s just like man I really am tough as nails because a lot of people say I couldn’t do what you do.

11:21 So whenever I hear someone say that to me, it’s extremely refreshing to hear that because it makes me feel good about the choice that I chose to, you know, embrace being a truck driver for personally. I’ve been a truck driver.

11:36 Gotcha. Let’s dive a little deeper and kind of pick apart some of those things you were talking about there when you were talking with people who are thinking about guys and girls that are thinking about getting into the trucking industry, driveaway trucking specifically, and they tell you that you’re a tough guy because they couldn’t do that. What parts are they talking about? What’s the hardest part for people to I guess wrap their head around or say commit to doing? Well, as far as the driveaway goes, I mean, I think a lot of things that gets people is just, you know, you’re driving a truck, you’re pulling two or three trucks, and you know, your length is what really fascinates people. And, you know, I think also too, the not only are you a truck driver, you got to be a little bit mechanically inclined because, you know, when you get the trucks to their destination, you got to put them back together.

12:28 So when you tell mention that to people, I think that challenges them a little bit, you know, in their heads because most people aren’t as mechanically inclined as they are aware of. With cuz I looked that away when I first started. But, you know, the more I done it, I was like, the more I decided, you know, and I’ve worked in a lot of different entities in the trucking industry. But, hey, to me, this is my favorite entity in trucking because you get to drive a new truck all the time. And you really, you really actually get to see the country because, you know, you don’t just bump a dock and go to the truck stop. You actually get to, you know, drive, you know, 5 600 miles a day and stop somewhere and get to check out, you know, really where you are versus, you know, like I said, you know, and I’m not taking anything away from bump and ducks. It’s just in my experience and the different entities that I’ve been in involved in and experienced in the truck industry. This is just to me, you’re really able to embrace seeing the country.

13:27 Gotcha. Now you’re talking about bumping docks there. Did you start off doing that or kind of walk us through your career back in 2005 when you started there? I started out flatbing because and the company that I started out with was TMC and I was just fascinated that they had those shiny black trunks and the aluminum was polished on them and I tell when I first saw the trucks I when I got out of truck when they came and gave us the spill about you know going to work for who you gonna go to work for in truck driving school I said hey sign me up because like I said I guess maybe it was the whole discipline and from the army and I’d heard that, you know, TNC was particular about the trucks and all that.

14:13 So, that was kind of where I got started at and I’d done that for about five years and then I went from that to refrigeration reefers.

14:23 Mhm. Gotcha. Now, you were talking about your experience in the army gave you the discipline. Did you drive any trucks, any heavy equipment in the army?

14:32 I did. I did. I was actually I was a mechanic, but a lot of times, you know, when you when something breaks, you have to go and recover it and bring it back and fix it and drive it back or and when I was deployed, I was kind of a little bit of everything. So, and I’ll say that, you know, driving a truck here, driving a truck deployed gave me a lot of confidence to drive in just about every scenario that I’ve driven in out over the road.

15:03 I gotta— Well, first of all, thank you for your service, Venson. And where were you deployed and for how long?

15:09 I was I deployed to Iraq twice. I was there for a year both times and I went to Afghanistan once and I was there for a year. Were you driving a truck out there on your during your deployment?

15:22 In Iraq, I was. In Afghanistan, not so much.

15:26 Gotcha.

15:27 There wasn’t really a whole lot of trucks to be driven because it was kind of a different experience in Afghanistan versus Iraq.

15:34 I gotcha. What tell us I mean driving a truck in Iraq when that was going on, I would think that would have its challenges and you know kind of you know fearful at sometimes. I mean or at least the potential to be scary.

15:48 Every day that you woke up to drive that truck, you didn’t know, you had no clue what you were going to get. So, it was a challenge mentally, emotionally, and you know, like I said, it, you know, your preparation for that will just about prepare you, I feel, for anything that you’ll experience out on the road. So that’s why I have a lot of guys call me, you know, wanting insight about situations, you know, because when I initially meet them, you know, just in talking to them, they can tell that, hey, a, I take a lot of pride in this and b, you know, I don’t come out here to do this. Of course, like I said, I’m trying to make a living, but I don’t come out here chasing a paycheck because I feel like that you kind of lose sight of, you know, a couple of things that, you know, the trucking industry has to offer whenever if you’re out here just running hard, making trying to make a dollar, trying to make a dollar, trying to make a dollar.

16:49 You lose sight of, you know, trying to do the jobs saved. And you know, I see especially now in my latter days of my experience in the trucking industry that you see a lot of guys that you know, when I first started, you know, man, you still had a whole lot of the old school trucking out on the road and it’s not so much now because I mean, you know, courtesy to other drivers and just guys taking pride in being in the industry.

17:20 Gotcha. Gotcha. You were talking about when you were in the army and being deployed overseas in a hostile environment, driving a truck prepared you for anything. You were a young man, if I’m doing the math correctly here, when you were deployed, what was your state of mind? Were you like, “What have I gotten myself into?” Or what was your state of mind when you were there? I mean, and how did you battle through that? Well, I had an uncle when I joined, he had already been in the armies for like 17 or 18 years. So, you know, whenever he would come home, you know, over the years when I talked to him, you know, prior to my joining, you’d hear about, you know, he’d experience. So, you know, before I joined, you know, I kind of knew what I was signing up for. And you know when your preparation prior to deployment you know you don’t really especially your first deployment you don’t really realize that how serious you should take the preparation and then you actually deploy and you know all the things that you know senior season guys are telling you.

18:24 You don’t really, you know, you’re not able to really appreciate that until you’re on the ground and then you get on the ground and then they say, “Hey, we got to move this here, here, and here, and then here, you know, you’re in that situation.” And the first time that you go out, I mean, like you said, you ask yourself, what have I got myself into? But as you do it more and more and more and more, you get more confident as far as in what to prepare yourself and how to prepare yourself, you know, for that experience.

18:52 Right. Right. Did you see any close calls? I’m sure you saw, you know, some friends that got into some very sticky situations. And what about for yourself first? Let’s start there. Did you see have any close calls? Personally—

19:05 I was in a convoy that a couple IDs. We took IEDs to a couple of vehicles. I had a couple of friends that that we that lost their lives. And you know that’s why I say there’s not very many things that I can experience now out on the road in the trucking industry that my experience in the army being deployed didn’t already prepare me for mentally and emotionally and physically.

19:32 Right. I mean that’s like a teacher that few people have ever had. I mean, when you see that kind of thing up close and personal and do you draw back on that that exper I guess that mental toughness on a daily basis? I do and I try to convey that, you know, to especially new drivers and a lot of times I’ll see drivers at the truck stop and I’ll see them doing small things and, you know, I used to not chime in, but now it’s, you know, even if I know that it may trouble them a little bit for me to chime in with them. I chime in with them to make, you know, to try to raise their awareness to let them know that, hey, although, you know, we’re not in a hostile situation, but you have a lot of responsibility in, you know, holding a commercial driver’s license and operating a commercial vehicle to, you know, to appreciate, you know, the fact that, hey, you have the qualifications and you have the skills and you have the mindset and obviously in doing the job every day, you’re making yourself more and more mentally and emotionally tough to do the job.

20:41 So that’s what I usually, you know, try to convey to guys that that I stumble upon, you know, at the Fuel Islands and, you know, or you know, whenever I’m delivering trucks, you know, you know, a lot of people, especially when you’re delivering trucks, you know, they don’t understand all the things that comes with getting a load of trucks from point A to point B. And then you know they come out and they start talking to you then you start to fill in the gaps that you know that they’re kind of vague about and they’re able to appreciate you know the job that you’re doing.

21:12 I guess you know when you look at it when you see a deck load and it’s— Do you take three four at a time usually?

21:18 Yes sir.

21:19 I mean I guess that’s a thing that’s naturally interesting to a lot of people out on the road. Is that what you find?

21:25 Yes sir. I mean like you know you have guys that’s been doing them a long time and you know they know oversized guys or you know guys that are hauling you know wide loads and you know even they’ll say I don’t see how y’all do it you know because you know you got two or three pivot points and you know if you’ve done it long enough you know you can’t back up but if you have to back up now that requires you know some time and some skills but also too you know you have to be a little more detailed in planning your trip, you know, versus a regular, you know, traction trailers. But, you know, a lot of guys that, like I said, you know, are fascinated, you know, the fact that you, you know, you’re driving a truck and you’re pulling the truck and all the pivot points and your lane.

22:10 Yeah. I mean, you’ve got a horse and three behind it.

22:21 We’ve talked to a lot of deck drivers here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Venson Johnson, if you’re just joining us now, but I wanted to kind of circle back to what you were talking about. You can’t back up. Have you ever had to back up?

22:34 I have. I have.

22:36 And tell us about that. Well, there’s a guy that’s the yard guy and he kind of, you know, sets trucks and parks trucks where situates trucks when it’s supposed to be. And I watched him a couple of times and he was backing up, you know, three ways and four ways. And I had to ask him, I said, “Man, what is the key to doing this?” And he said, “You know, technically, you know, with the Dr. The trailer, you know, you’re trying, you’re focused on what’s going on with, you know, the back end of the trailer versus, you know, with a three-way. He would he told me several times, “Hey, don’t worry about what the front truck’s doing.” So, you’re trying to steer the front truck to control the second truck to make the third truck do what you want to. And it is extremely complex”

23:29 And you have to be extremely patient. I could only I couldn’t even imagine trying to do that. I guess the way you were describing it there, it’s kind of like a sort of a domino effect as far as what impacts the truck behind it. And I mean, when you were able to back up, I mean, I’m sure that’s an extreme level of concentration to do that.

23:49 It is. And like I said, you try not to put yourself in those situations by paying attention to, you know, where you’re going, paying attention to, you know, where you’re going to stop. But there are certain situations and there’s certain times that you just you can’t do anything about it and you know you can either a cost yourself a lot of time and cost the company a lot of money by you know having you know somebody come out and have to undeck you and redempt or you can take the time and be patient and teach yourself how to get yourself out of those situations. And I just I’ve been blessed to have those, you know, that skill to be able to be patient in the times that I’ve gotten myself in situations that I had to get myself out of. And like I said, I wasn’t trying to cost myself any more time. And I also wasn’t wanting to cost, you know, the company more money that was, you know, in ter and transforming that load of truck.

24:49 Gotcha. You know, being a deck driver, you got to be forward thinking, no pun intended, because you were talking about don’t put yourself in those situations. I guess you’re always thinking about how am I getting out of here, wherever here may be—

25:02 Right? And a lot of guys want to go from driving a tractor trailer or hauling singingles to hauling deck loads. And undecking the truck requires some training, too. But I also think that there’s a lot that comes with the training that you know a great trainer will show you. You know, you know, it may be cool to stay in a place that you would prefer to stay, but if that place doesn’t accommodate you to stay there, that you can’t stay there. Or, you know, a lot of times what I what I’ve learned is that you got to kind of put yourself on a schedule where you can get yourself off the road and in situations where, you know, you don’t put yourself in bad situations. Mhm. What about when you’re making a delivery and you know you’re talking about there like the hotel I mean you as far as accommodating you the parking lot can you get the four trucks in there can you get them out but I was just thinking about you know you probably do most of your driving try to do it on the freeway but what about when you get on some of these backcount roads that take you to where you got to drop them how difficult is that?

26:08 Well, like I said, that’s a part of planning your, you know, planning your trip. A lot of times when you get a load of trucks, they may have it laid out to deliver it this way. And, you know, if you plan your trip and it’s a road that doesn’t accommodate, you know, you having, you know, three or four trucks, you may have to change your strategy and how you’re going to deliver those trucks so that you don’t put yourself in those situations. And you know, like I said, if you if you’ve done this long enough, you’ll know that how important it is to plan your trip. Now, you may want to do 600 miles, but you know, the parking scenario or the parking situation may not accommodate you. So, you may have to stop short. It’s just small things like that, you know, prevent you from getting yourself in situations that you probably shouldn’t be in.

26:59 I got you. Now, you started on a flatbed and now you’re driving four trucks at a time. What happened in between those times when you started with a flatbed? Kind of move us through the progression of what got you to, you know, what some sees as the pinnacle of obviously in driveaway trucking. You moving forward at a time, but kind of fill in the blanks for us from the flatbed to where you are now.

27:18 I drove flatbed like I said with TMC for I think right around 5 years and I went from there. I pulled a reefer out over the road for I don’t know three or four years. And then I got kind of curious about the a side of trucking and I had an opportunity to work for a farmer which man I learned so many things I mean around trucking and the a aspect of trucking. And then I kind of got into a phase where my daughters were getting a little bit older and I kind of felt like I needed to take some time out from over the road and I drove a dump truck for probably about five years. And hey, that right there is an experience as well.

28:04 I bet.

28:05 It’s an experience as well. And then like I said, I’ve always been kind of curious about different entities of the trucking industry. So that’s kind of what steared my, you know, what I chose to do in regards to, you know, jobs to hold in the trucking industry. I’ve never I never, like I’ve always needed to provide a living for my family, but also too, my curiosity about trucking. I kind of balance the whole making a living, but also being able to feed my curiosity and different entities in the trucking industry.

28:38 Gotcha. Now, take us to through one of each there in the agricultural aspect and in the dump truck. I’m sure you’ve got some funny times that came out of both of those. Some very memorable experiences that happened in either one of those. Kind of relive one of those for us. Take us down memory road and share an experience with us that you had in those two different types of trucks.

29:02 Well, on the act side of it, you know, you just attention to detail. It taught me attention to detail because I was pulling a grain hopper and we were shelling corn. It was corn harvest time and I just dumped a load of corn and I was moving faster and thinking faster than I needed to be doing. And when I pulled up, he pulled up with a combine to dump corn on me and I didn’t have my doors closed on the bottom of the hostel. Oh—

29:32 We dumped about 2,000 bush about probably about 500 bushels of corn on the ground.

29:38 Oh boy.

29:39 And you know that that was an expensive lesson, but like the guy that I was working for was a really good guy. And he said it happened to us all. He said just try to learn from it and move on. And when I was driving a dump truck, I had learned to spread rock. And I was working for an asphalt company and we were building road. And when you’re spreading rock, you have to hook your chain. So not bad was only the road grader and he wanted me to spread a load of rock out in front of him. So we’re finishing putting the base down so we can start paving and I felt good about you know, you know, he told he was talking to me on the radio what he wanted me to do and I felt really good about it. So I get up there in front of him and I raise my bag up and I take off and I pop my tailgate and I forgot to hook my chain.

30:27 So instead of sprayed it out two inches, I left it about 24 in.

30:34 You got finished with the job a lot quicker there, but then you had a lot of clean up.

30:38 I did. I did. So, you know, those experiences like that taught me, you know, things in regards to your attention to detail and also too, I you know, I had, you know, the chance to learn how to operate equipment that’s around the trucking industry, you know, like I learned how to run a combine. I learned how to, you know, drive a tractor, you know, with a grave card. I learned how to, you know, haul dirt with a track loader and, you know, by myself, you know. So, I’m so grateful and so thankful for each experience that I’ve had in each entity of the trucking industry because I’ve learned so much. You know, I learned how to haul equipment, which when I first started out at the off at the asphalt hauling job, I was just a dump truck driver—

31:21 Right?

31:21 But I mean, I ended up, you know, when I left that job, I was hauling equipment for him. So I like I said I’m so grateful and so thankful for each experience because I learned so much from each experience.

31:33 How much does that carry over to what you do now? I mean all that that you learned I mean from different facets of trucking but you know I’m sure that they are relatable to decking trucks.

31:44 Oh I got to be honest with you. I don’t think I would have the confidence to do this job had I not experienced you know each entity of the trucking industry that I you know that I’ve chosen you know to be involved with you know hauling equipment is really close to you know hauling deck loads of trucks because you know yeah you know if you’re loading a piece of equipment you got to tie it down you know you got to make sure that your load secure but also too with all the deck trucks you know you got to make sure that your loads secured. But also too, you know, you don’t want to hurt yourself in undecking trucks. Same as you don’t want to, you know, hurt yourself with, you know, loading a piece of equipment or spreading rock on a truck or, you know, just huge experience, you know, like I said, has prepared me to have to do this job with a lot of confidence.

32:35 Gotcha. What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen as a deck driver? Probably. I know I shouldn’t say this is funny, but—

32:43 Hey, we’re wide open here on the Six-Figure Trucker. You can talk about anything. So—

32:49 Lay it out there, Venson.

32:50 So, so, so I pulled up to a place to undeck a load of trucks and there was a guy, he had the same setup that I had in three-way. Well, when I pulled up, there was oil all over the ground.

33:03 Mhm. And I was trying to figure out how in the heck did he bust that oil pan? Because I knew that that much oil he actually busted the oil pan—

33:11 Right?

33:12 So I was trying to figure out how did he bust that oil pan. So of course I couldn’t deck cuz they didn’t want me in there cuz they were trying to clean up all the oil cuz you know you got you know eight or 10 gallons of oil all over the ground.

33:26 Mhm. And then I get to, of course, you know, I walk up there to see what’s going on and I ask him what happened and he said, “Man, I forgot to scotch the wheels and the truck rolled back and the block on the back of the FB.” And I was like, “Oh my.”

33:45 Which I kind of I knew. And that’s and it could happen to anybody, but I mean, you know, to me, guys that do that kind of stuff, you know, it’s all about the training. And I said like the training that I got was phenomenal.

33:58 Now, you’ve been on both sides of training, right?

34:00 Yes, sir.

34:02 Which one did you enjoy the most?

34:03 I don’t know. It’s all equally the same because you know, you get to leave your fingerprint and you know, but also too, it’s a you know, when you’re receiving training, it’s a gauge of what to do, what not to do, and because everybody has their way of doing things. I would think from what we’ve heard from you when you went through your training, you were very much a sponge.

34:28 Yes, sir.

34:29 And is that something that you try to impart upon the ones you’re training?

34:34 I like it that you know, you’re going to learn some bad habits and a lot of the habits that you learn are good habits. I tell guys, hey, try to keep the bad habits at a minimum. But if you know, if you plan a load of trucks for when you get them until you fly back to get the next load of trucks, if you can keep the bad habits at a minimum, you’ll succeed because, you know, obviously we’re trying to do the job effectively, but we’re trying to do the job safely, but you’re trying to be as cost effective as you can, too. You know, if you haul 10 loads of trucks and you got claims on 10 loads of trucks, I mean, you to me, you kind of worked against the purpose—

35:12 Right? Right. You strike me as a system guy. Do you have a system that you follow? I mean—

35:17 I have a system for every setup that that I haul. And the guys sometimes they’ll want to help me undeck my trucks. And I’ll say, honestly, to tell you the truth, you’re just going to get in my way it by helping me because I’m more effective with sticking to my system.

35:34 What is your system? I just, you know, I, you know, when I pull up, I start from the front of the, you know, my lead truck and I work my way to the back and then come back around. And I and you know, I’m trying to accomplish a couple of things. I one, I don’t want to leave a mess.

35:52 So, I’m cleaning up as I go, but also two, I’m trying to be effective with my time in breaking these trucks apart and putting them back together. But I’m also too trying not to, you know, damage the trucks or bring harm to myself.

36:05 Gotcha.

36:06 So I found a system that works for me where I can accomplish all of those things. I can keep my claims at a minimum and I’m, you know, doing the job effectively as far as time goes as well. Gotcha. You’re listening to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport and we’re listening to Venson Johnson right now. He’s a veteran driver and also a veteran. And as we said, we couldn’t say it enough. Venson, thank you for your service, eight years in the Army. And what we’ve gathered from talking with Venson here for a little bit, you take a lot of pride, as you said, in what you do. And what for you, kind of give us an idea of what you take the pride in? I think the trucking industry has still has a black eye from you know from the older days.

36:59 So whenever I speak to people about being in the trucking industry and especially being a transporter is that hey you know how the trucking industry used to be isn’t how the trucking industry is today. So what you know when I tell someone that I’m a transporter or I’m a truck driver it’s not about the pride that I take in doing the job. It’s also the pride and I you know in saying that—

37:24 Because you know you never know who’s listening to you or who’s watching you that’s curious about getting into the trucking industry. So, I try to be a great spokesman with my actions and how I speak about the trucking industry because I mean, don’t get me wrong, there’s things about the trucking industry that frustrate me, but I’m not going to let that affect, you know, how much pride I take in doing the job and being a part of the trucking industry.

37:51 I got you.

37:52 So, the trucks have changed a lot. And even though, you know, the newer trucks are a lot different than the older trucks, I’m still able to appreciate, you know, just the trucking industry, just the trucks just, you know, and all the people that are involved to make the trucking industry, you know, happen. You know, whenever I go to the if I have to take a shower in the truck stop, I think, you know, I think that the people that are cleaning the showers because people don’t realize how important that is. If they don’t do their job to pay what, you know, a shower is important to a driver.

38:26 Oh, absolutely.

38:26 So, I just try to I try to appreciate every single aspect of the trucking industry. You know, nobody to me is more important or less important than anybody because we need all these pieces a part of the trucking industry to make it run smooth or as smooth as possible.

38:46 Well said. Well said. How important is it to you to be a part of changing that perception that some people may hold against the trucking industry? How important is it for you to be an agent of change? Like I said, I try to, you know, whenever people ask me about the trucking industry, you know, I do everything that I can to bring awareness to let them know that, hey, it’s a different age. It’s a different era. The people that are in the trucking industry are, you know, you know, it’s different. You know, there’s, you know, there’s people out here that that that do take pride in doing this job, you know, and there’s a couple of bad apples that are out on the road, but I mean, I tell them all the time today, don’t get, you know, don’t let that be your perception of the trucking industry because you had a bad experience out on the road with a bad apple because there’s a lot of great drivers out here and there’s a lot of, you know, drivers out here that take a lot of pride in doing this and we don’t want to have that black going on and on and on and over and over.

39:47 So, I try to when it doesn’t matter if you’re a new driver or a seasoned driver, I just even if you can appreciate it or if you can’t appreciate it, I try to at least my legal prick with everybody that I talk to try to, you know, change the perception of the trucking industry. You know, some people have been in the trucking industry for a long time and just have a bad attitude about it, which especially those people, I try to tell them, hey, you know, obviously for you to be in the trucking industry, as long as you’ve been in it, there’s something about it that you’re able to appreciate it about it. And there’s something that you want to change, the only way that you’re going to be able to change that is to have a voice. And you know, you see somebody doing something that you know, you feel like that would make it better. Hey, you have the opportunity to use the voice that you have—

40:33 You know, and you never know who you talk to that you may be able to influence to change their perspective just a little bit just by, you know, having a chat with them briefly about, you know, the industry. Okay.

40:44 Or the job—

40:45 And the impact it may have on them whether you know it or not.

40:48 Yes, sir.

40:49 Gotcha. Now, you’ve been in it 17 years. How much have you seen the industry change due to technology? I mean, we know on our side here at Norton, we value technology a lot. The h the technology we put in the hands of our drivers. From a driver standpoint, how much have you seen it change and how much has it advanced and helped the whole industry?

41:09 Well, I got to be honest with you, I can’t imagine, you know, still running paper log. So, at first I was like, “Oh, I can’t do this. I’m not, you know, with for with for with for the ELDs and the electronic laws where I, you know, I went on a campaign for months where I swore I was going to get out of the industry, but you know, just like anything that that’s new to you or to an environment, you know, you’re not going to prefer it. But the more that you know you embrace it, the better that I’ve learned that it’s made the industry because you know yeah there are times that you would probably like to cheat the system or cheat it and get a little further up the road but I’ve seen you know situations and heard of situations where a situation probably could have been prevented had it you know had this been in place or had this been you implemented or, you know, has this been taken more serious? Kill. I think that the advancement of technology has probably made trucking a little bit safer and some people are disagreeing with me about that, but I mean it’s, you know, if you’re smart and doing your job, you know, it’s I guess technology is doing its best to try to prevent some of the black eyes that the trucking industry has had.”

42:33 Clean that clean some of that up. I got you. I got you. You’re listening to Venson Johnson here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. And Venson, you said a few minutes ago that you look at it as not chasing a paycheck. Kind of elaborate on that and because I think you had also said you’re missing out or you lose sight of what this industry has to offer. Well, like you know, a lot of guys, you know, that that have a job that’s paying this per mile or this percentage of the job. I always ask guys, my dad said this to me and it always stuck to me. He told me, “Don’t you never start a job break.” And he and I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, if you start a job not in a good situation, you will never, you know, or either a you’ll never be able to appreciate that entity or that job that you chose because you’re always trying to get back to the good. Or you’re going to be so reckless with doing the job because you’re just chasing and chasing and chasing and chasing.”

43:39 Where if you’ll put yourself in a situation where you don’t have to start a job out that way, you’re able to start that job with ease and no stress and you can truly decide if this is the place for you versus I need this job or I need this opportunity to make this—

44:00 Right. I got you.

44:01 And I just I’d always just, you know, that’s always kind of stuck with me. And I always try to tell guys, you know, say, “Well, I hate this job.” Well, how did you walk into that situation? Most guys that I talk to, when you listen to them talk, they start out a new opportunity at a job and they started out, you know, where—

44:22 Down in the hole.

44:23 It’s from a negative down in the hole. So now it’s a climb where if you’re able to start out and there’s so many things that comes from that where if you start a job in a good way, nine times out of 10 you left the last opportunity in a good way.

44:39 Right?

44:39 So there’s just so many things that I’ve learned that that you can set yourself up for the you know the future opportunity in a good way and you leave the last opportunity in a good way.

44:52 Right? So, I’ve always tried not to start a job, you know, in the home.

44:58 You’re listening to the wisdom of Venson Johnson here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. And, you know, we had talked a little bit at the beginning of our conversation about your family. And you said you’re not chasing a paycheck per se, but I guess being a deck driver, it’s been nice for what you can share with your family. My father and my grandfather, you never wondered, well, when are they going to be home because you know, you kind of had even as a young kid, you had figured out their scheduling and their timing. So, that kind of stuck with me because it doesn’t, you know, and my oldest daughter made me understand the pain. I don’t care about the money, I care about the time. So, I always tried to make as much time as I could for my kids because like she said, they don’t care about the I think a lot of times the adults are putting way more emphasis on the economics of versus the time. And my kids taught me that, hey, understand that you’re trying to make a living, but hey, we want you to be a part of our dayto-day as well.

46:02 So, I’ve always tried to find the balance and making a living, but also to giving them the most valuable thing that I have, which is my time.

46:11 You know, being a parent of two daughters there, you talk about the time, you know, they’re not going to be children forever. I mean, you know, you take that into consideration as far as putting the value on time over money.

46:25 Yes, sir. I’m grateful that that I’ve had that appreciation because, you know, I’ve got friends that have been in the trucking industry that, you know, that yeah, they’ve had a successful trucking career, but man, that you know, you talk to them about family life and it’s not the greatest. So I always tell guys that man like if you can find the balance in your family time and you know take some pride in driving that truck and you pick the right entity and the thing that you want to do the money is going to show up if you keep that left door closed.

47:04 Gotcha. Keep that left door closed. Yeah. Now, what would you say to people who are listening to the Six-Figure Trucker and have come across this podcast and maybe considering moving into driveaway transport, driveaway trucking, and maybe graduating up to being a deck driver? What would your words of advice be, Venson, to those people?

47:23 Well, a couple of things. One, set yourself up for the transition because there’s a transition phase, especially if you’ve been doing some been in a certain end of the trucking industry and it’s provided you the economics and a living that you prefer. It’s a learning curve. It’s a transition. So, set yourself up for it. And the second thing is is that that try to try to go somewhere where you’re going to get some really good training because I can’t speak enough about the training because I was truly blessed to get to really good training, you know, I started out with the company and, you know, and then I transitioned over, you know, here to Norton. And I think the reason why I’ve had as much success at Norton since I’ve been here is because of the training that I got.

48:17 So do a little bit of research and get an understanding for what you’re getting yourself into because it’s holding, you know, deck loads. It’s different than any other entity in the trucking industry.

48:31 Gotcha. You’ve heard a lot of wisdom nuggets of knowledge here from Venson Johnson here on the Six-Figure Trucker. Venson, we’re about to wrap up here because I know it’s getting close to that time where you’re about to have some dinner in bowling with the daughter there. So, how do you feel about your chances tonight on the bowling alley?

48:49 I got to be honest with you. You know, there’s been nights that I felt really good and she crushed me and then there’s been nights and I that that I didn’t feel really good and she was off. So, we’re it’s hit or miss. We it all depends on how I feel after we get done eating dinner. Venson, thank you so much for joining us here on the Six-Figure Trucker. We’re honored and pleased to have you here at Norton Transport and we’re honored for you to be on this show with us tonight and be careful out there and have a great time with your daughter.

49:17 Yes, sir. Thank you.

49:19 All right, Venson, catch you next time on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport.

49:31 Six-Figure Trucker is brought to you by Norton Transport. Norton Transport is a driveaway trucking company that customers can rely on. It offers excellent independent contract driving opportunities to professional, courteous, and qualified drivers that can provide the kind of service we deliver. If you’re interested in learning more about Norton or just want to subscribe to the show, check out Six-FigureTrucker.com. That’s Six-FigureTrucker.com.