00:05 And I’m talking about my dispatchers. They’re amazing.

00:09 You are on Carson’s team. Is that right?

00:12 Yes. I call her Cornflakes. Because they are great.

00:24 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.

00:47 Hello everyone and welcome to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. This is where we really get to know the drivers who work for us who do a great job transporting all of these trucks all over the country up into Canada as well. It’s takes a special breed of person to be a driver. It’s not always easy, but it is rewarding in the end if you take the proper steps, which each of our drivers who’ve been on this program have illustrated in their stories and challenges they’ve faced and rewards that they have come away with. Now, let me set the scene here. We’re in early mid-May on this particular recording session. I am at the quote unquote home studio, which would be my home away from the office there in beautiful Ringgold, Georgia, right off of I-75. And it’s a beautiful night this evening. I would say about 70, 72 degrees here in the evening hours as the sun fades away. And we’ve got a very special guest who is joining us.

01:48 And each of you who join us each Thursday and listen in on the program, you know, this is a space where we elevate and celebrate the driver. And joining us this evening is Richard Plumb. Richard, how are you?

02:00 I’m wonderful, John. How are you doing this evening?

02:02 Doing great. Doing great. Now, Richard, where are you now? I know you’re not driving right now. You’re about to be, but tell us where you are.

02:10 Right now I’m in Chillicothe, Ohio. I am just I’m relaxing in my hotel room. I got my truck picked up today. Hooked up, fueled up, ready to go for tomorrow.

02:22 So, you got a Kenworth there?

02:24 Yes, sir.

02:25 Which kind of— Do you got a big one? You got T880, 480. Which one you got?

02:29 I’m in a T880. Just a day cab chassis.

02:34 Gotcha. What are those Kenworths like to drive? I mean, you got a brand new one you’re about to roll out there. What are they like? They’re—

02:42 The Kenworths make a beautiful truck as far as I’m concerned. It’s kind of a it’s kind of like any other vehicle. It’s per personal preference. I know a lot of people don’t like them, but I personally I like the Kenworth and I like the Peterbilts.

02:58 Well, you know, in the PACCAR family there, you got the Kenworth and the Peterbilt, and a lot of drivers really will praise the Peterbilt as kind of the quote unquote Cadillac of the trucking industry. Do you agree with that as far as one of the smoothest riding trucks? Just my personal experience. Yeah, that’s what I would say. It’s the Cadillac of the trucks. Yes.

03:20 What makes a Peterbilt so special?

03:22 Yeah, it’s just the they’re built for comfort. I mean, they build these trucks, as far as I’m concerned, they build the trucks with the driver in mind. They make them comfortable. They’re easy to drive. And it’s not hard to go across the country in them. It’s not hard to drive them on the road if you like driving.

03:44 You’re listening to Richard Plumb here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Richard, you were talking about the Peterbilts and the Kenworths are comfortable on the inside. What do you look for as far as what achieves comfort for you? What kind of features do you look for?

03:57 The most important thing for me is the seats in them. If they’ve got comfortable seats, I mean, you’re going to be in that seat for a long time. To me, that’s the most important thing.

04:10 That makes sense. Seems very logical. Now, tell us a little bit about how you got into driving because we know you’ve been with us since September of 24. So, roughly nine, let’s see, what is it? Coming up on nine, 10 months there. And—

04:28 Yeah—

04:29 Before that, you drove for about six years. How did you get into trucking?

04:34 A good friend of mine that I used to work iron. Was an iron worker before I did this. He got out of iron work and came into this industry and just kept bugging me, telling me that he thinks I would like it. He thinks I’d be good at it. He knew my work ethics and he just kept bugging me until I decided to give it a shot. And I couldn’t be happier. I mean, I love my job.

04:59 Well, that’s fantastic. We love to hear that and we love the job that you do for Norton Transport. We certainly appreciate everything you do, all your hard work. Now, I got to ask you, when you fir when you first got into trucking, was it in the driveaway space or were you doing some other type of trucking?

05:17 Into the driveaway and that’s it. That’s all I’ve done.

05:21 Okay. What you said you love it. What about it do you love? I love the freedom that it offers me and literally love the opportunity to travel across country and see the things that I get to see and get paid to go see them. I love that.

05:38 That’s a wonderful combination. And talking about get the things you get to see, what are some of the things you have seen that have stuck in your mind that have been memorable, things that you won’t forget and that really made an impression on you? I’m going to say some of the people that I’ve met. I met some really I’ve met really wonderful people along this path that have become really good friends of mine and that’s what’s special to me.

06:08 Any particular ones come to mind as far as how you met them and what they have meant to you since then and that you’d mentioned how you’ve they’ve become friends. Obviously, you’ve made some bonds with some people out there. Anyone that comes to mind as far as something special, something unique, something different about that person?

06:27 Yeah. Well, when I first started in this industry, I worked with just one company and I was working for that company. I was in Chillicothe here and I was at the lot trying to pick up a truck. My truck wasn’t there. I was waiting for him to bring it. And a person came up and asked me if I could help them. They were having problems hooking up. He just couldn’t figure it out. So, I took the time. I went over and helped him. I helped him get hooked up. And the next day, he called me and said that, you know, the person that he worked for wanted to thank me. And that phone call turned out to be a job interview for another company, his company. I got signed on with them and that that person that I helped, he and I have been friends for two years now. We go on the road a lot together.

07:24 That’s awesome, man. That’s great.

07:25 And then through that company, I got to meet another friend of mine, Chad Gillespie, that drives for Norton. And I call him the mighty Mississippi. And the mighty Mississippi is a good person. I like him. We’ve had Chad on the Six-Figure Trucker before and I would agree with you is a fine guy. Great truck driver. Knows his way around a truck and the challenges that may come with driving a truck. He certainly knows his way around a truck. And I understand you guys like to run together when possible.

07:59 Yes, sir. We do what we can to run together. He’s taught me a lot. Coming on to Norton. Norton kind of runs different than I’ve ever ran before with the other companies. And Chad was there to help guide me through that, you know, that those learning stages and that new process. And—

08:19 I guess he was your orientation leader, so to speak. Wanted to talk to you about some things we had kind of covered before we got on the Six-Figure Trucker here. And I was looking at some of your stats, some of your accomplishments, and you are a Class B driver. Is that correct?

08:38 That is correct. Yes.

08:39 And one thing we were talking about before we dive deep into the stats is a challenge the no the restriction on manuals because you can drive a manual. Correct.

08:51 Personally, but not legally for DOT. Because of this restriction and the restriction is simply because when I took my test for my Class B I could not get a truck with a manual transmission so I had to take it in an automatic.

09:09 Understood.

09:11 And now it has become a royal nightmare to try to get this fixed. It’s obviously something that you want to get corrected so you can open yourself up to all possibilities of trucks to drive. But when you stopped in the office a few weeks ago, you were explaining to me it’s been quite the process or it is quite the process to get that restriction removed.

09:34 Yes. It’s just it blows my mind how hard it is. I’ve had people tell me that I’ve inquired, you know, and asked for help and they’re like, “Well, don’t worry about it because all the trucks are going automatics anyway.” And I’m like, “Well, you okay, I understand that, but listen, in this industry, I get to move used trucks and stuff and things like that, and I need to get this restriction removed, but it is hard.” Well, I know with the persistence that you have that is borne out in the statistics that you’ve compiled here as far as your qualifications and achievements you’ve made, you will stay on top of this and we want to hear back from you when you get that restriction removed. I feel confident it will happen—

10:22 Somehow someway. One way or the other, I will find the person that will be able to help me get this fixed. Yes.

10:29 Well, let’s look at some of the stats here. So, your check-in percentage is 100%, completion 94%, but the one I want to draw down on is your on-time percentage. Now, this is since you’ve been with Norton, it’s very good. 83% and you’ve off to a great start this month and this quarter, second quarter right now, quarter two, 100%. How do you do it? I honestly would just have to give my father that credit. It’s just he raised me, you know, to work hard. If you’re going to do it, do it right. And I love my job. And when I make a commitment to do something, it really bothers me if I can’t keep that commitment.

11:17 So, I just do everything I can do to keep those commitments, those on-time commitments. Well, you’re doing a great job at it and we want to applaud you for that because it makes your life easy, makes our life easy, and most importantly, the customers, they are thrilled when their trucks get there on time.

11:40 Right. Well, Norton makes it easy for me to do my job, and I appreciate that. I the people that that I say work for me. I work for them. They work for me. And I’m talking about my dispatchers. They’re amazing.

12:00 It is clearly a two-way street. You are on Carson’s team. Is that right?

12:04 Team. Yes. I call her Cornflakes.

12:09 What’s the nature behind that nickname?

12:13 Because they are great. And that’s why I nicknamed Carson Cornflakes.

12:20 Oh, that is great. I’m sure she’ll love to hear that. And is it Carson you deal with?

12:26 Laughs all the time.

12:27 Oh, yeah. She’s a very—

12:28 I mostly deal with Courtney. I mean, I deal a lot with Carson, but most of the time I’m talking with Courtney.

12:38 Now, Courtney’s very detail-oriented as well, being on Carson’s team.

12:43 Yes. Yes. They’re both just I can’t say it enough. It’s something in this industry that as far as I’m concerned can make or break a company. The dispatchers and the dispatching team at Norton is just amazing. Well, we certainly appreciate you saying that and we it’s good to hear and we know it internally, but it’s good to hear from someone on the outside who’s on the receiving end of that type of quality and that type of excellence. We, you know, it really makes us feel good to hear that. And you know, you are on the Six-Figure Trucker because you were recommended by Cornflakes. She told me about you and of course you were there in the office a few weeks ago and my first impression of you which you said no one else has ever had. I thought you looked like John Daly—

13:42 Right? That just put a big smile on. Nobody has ever said I look like anybody famous, especially John Daly. But I’ll take it. I like John Daly. So—

13:52 Do you play golf? I guess if you I go out and I beat a little ball around a very big piece of property. I guess you can call it playing golf.

14:02 That’s great. That’s great.

14:04 Now, Richard, how old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?

14:08 I am 56 and I will be 57 on May 26.

14:14 So, you got a birthday coming up. Anything special planned for it?

14:17 I hope I’m driving down the road in a truck.

14:20 Well said. Well said. Richard Plumb here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Richard has been with us since September of 24. Outstanding driver. We really appreciate everything he has done. Richard, you were talking about the relationship with the dispatchers, but what about your relationship? You mentioned Chad Gillespie, but with other drivers. We hear from drivers on here from time to time how they help out each other. Is that something that’s sort of an unspoken loyalty or an unspoken bond with other drivers?

14:53 For the most part, yeah. I mean, I get a chance to talk to it, of course, you know, hook it up in these lots and go into these different places. It’s very common to have another driver come up and just start talking to you or I’ll do the same thing to them. Just for the most part, they’re very approachable and always willing to help out.

15:15 Cool. Cool. What’s your secret to succeeding in driveaway?

15:19 Oh man, my secret to succeeding, I just I try as hard as I can to pay attention to the details. I don’t know how else to say it. Just I try to pay attention to the details.

15:34 That can bite you in the backside if you don’t.

15:36 If you don’t pay attention to the details, yes. And I mean I know I am human. I am not perfect. And this can be another shout out to Norton and the other companies I work for is when things do happen and I might forget something or miss something, they’re right there to help me pick it up, fix it, and keep everything straight. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate enough.

16:07 Keep on trucking, as they say.

16:09 Keep on trucking. Well, Richard, we certainly appreciate you joining us on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. We know you’re back on the road tomorrow. Where are you headed?

16:19 I am heading to Hartville, Ohio.

16:21 So, you got a short run then.

16:23 It’s just a beautiful short run. It’s very straightforward. I love it. I pick them up as much as I can and the other the person on the other end of this run, I get along good with the young man and I enjoy stopping there and dropping off for him. That’s good to have friends in all kinds of places there.

16:42 It makes it easier to do your job. Every once in a while, you come across a person that whatever they might be having a bad day or they just might be having a bad life, but for the most part, I enjoy the people I meet and get to work with.

16:58 That’s fantastic. Richard, thank you so much for joining us on the Six-Figure Trucker and dropping some knowledge on us and that on-time percentage. I know everybody in the building is applauding that 100% this quarter and that’s something to be proud of.

17:14 Well, thank you very much. I am proud of it and I didn’t know my percentages are like that, but I appreciate it.

17:20 Now, Richard is quite the accomplished driver. We’re going to talk with him next week about some of his passions and his hobbies. And here’s a little bit of a teaser. Now, he was inspired by one person that most of you will not know, but another person that most of you, almost all of you know. That will be next week on the Six-Figure Trucker again with Richard Plumb. Thank you, Richard. We appreciate you.

17:47 Thank you, sir.

17:53 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.