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.

00:23 Let’s get to the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport, and you know that this is a space where we elevate and celebrate the drivers each and every week. We’ve got a very special driver on the road with us right now. Durville Christopher, Durville, how are you? I’m doing very well, very comfortable. Yeah, we started off a little bit earlier at a truck stop and the reception, the signal just didn’t work out, but looking good now. Looking great. I still like the air conditioning flows a lot better in here as well. Yeah, that’s important when you’re out in the desert. Tell us where you are now. I am now in a Hampton Inn in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Okay, okay. Where you headed? We are headed to Williams, California, about 45 minutes north of Sacramento. It’s going to be a good one. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you were in the office last week. That’s right.

01:23 We had the I had the pleasure of meeting you and you know, we were talking about after we met, we met and did the handshake, the snap, and I thought about you after that because we thought it was you know, it was common greeting. Everybody does it nowadays. I knew it was called dapping, but I didn’t know until I saw on Facebook where the origin of it and you and I were talking about this off air. Dapping started back in the Vietnam War among African-American soldiers as a greeting they had and it’s actually an acronym that stands for dignity and pride. How cool is that? That That actually as much as I want to say it makes sense, I never put two and two together, ever. As far as I was concerned, it was always just a greeting, just a more urban handshake as far as I was always concerned. Right. It seems like it’s permeated all cultures there now. Everybody does it. And—

02:20 You dig a little deeper into the meaning and it’s about I’m not above you, you’re not above me, we stand side by side. Of course, you know, it came up in war conflict times, so that that makes sense. I guess it would. I always figured it was just a hybrid in between a high five and a handshake. You know, it was pretty informal, but still comfortable enough. Right.

02:55 I wouldn’t assume somebody closes a $1 million deal, $5 million deal with some dap. You know, I you know, you know, so it’s— And that’s a handshake. It is a little more casual.

03:07 Yeah, a little more casual, right. Yeah, but I was just going to segue off that into what’s the brotherhood like out there on the road between drivers? I mean, even if it’s with Norton drivers, without Norton drivers, other companies, how would you describe the brotherhood? That’s a really good question. So, for drivers who are out here already, you may already know this, but for those that aren’t out here, believe it or not, the camaraderie and the brotherhood usually depends on what trailer you’re pulling. Believe it or not. Believe it or not. Like a lot of in the drive van world, I’ve done everything. But in the drive van world, except pull cars. That I’m not pulling those. But the drive van world, it seems like a lot of them they congregate with each other. A lot of times when a lot of drivers have most like How do I say this? A lot of times that a lot of drivers have to communicate with each other is mainly during the loading and unloading process.

04:12 Unless you have a CB radio, you know, you pretty much is talking shop driving down the street. But at a truck stop, everything’s usually in passing. Everyone’s got somewhere to be. Now, if anything, I think the best commodity there is will be with flatbedding. Because everybody knows that takes skill. There’s a lot much more of equipment involved. And honestly, I think flatbedding should be an endorsement in itself. Got you. What do you think I mean when you talk about flatbedding, you talk about with like Moffetts on the back or— Even those guys, but they’re usually home every day. You know, so they— You know, they congregate with their coworkers when they’re getting their stuff loaded at, you know, whatever depot they are. But No, usually just open deck like the flatbed, the RGN guys, the step deck guys. You know, a lot of times I used to haul a lot of steel beams like really long steel beams. And you can go to another driver and ask him, “Hey, you know, do you have any extra V boards or any edge protectors?” Because we all know the safety of the equipment is if it’s more than just closing doors. If you know, this load moves and shifts a little and cuts the strap, number one, we’re all going to be stuck in traffic.

05:19 But most importantly, someone’s going to lose their life because of this. And it can be yourself as well. So, I feel like that’s where a lot of camaraderie comes from in the trucking world is the equipment you’re pulling. Now, you’ve got a lot of experience outside of driveaway. We were talking about that. But let’s kind of hone down on what you have here with Norton Transport. And if you’re just joining us, this is Durville Christopher here on the Six-Figure Trucker are to you by Norton Transport. You’re a Class A driver. Mhm. How long have you been Class A? Just about 10 years now. I think we just crossed the 10-year mark. I think we’re closing in on 11 this year as a matter of fact. Okay. Okay, you’re a KG veteran, KG veteran. And you can drive manual shift and within Norton Transport you also are specialty qualified— Yes. And have done the ride-along, which means you’ve done some garbage trucks. Which means I’ve done some garbage trucks. Shout out to Brent for the future drivers who’ll be doing this and the drivers who are already here.

06:22 Shout out to Brent. We’ve all met him. Great guy. That’s a great guy right there. He knows his stuff. Right. Now, I wanted to brag on you because we were talking about earlier many of the times the guests that we have on the Six-Figure Trucker our drivers are recommended by their dispatch teams. You came highly recommended. Yeah. Absolutely. For your performance on the road, your attitude, and your personality. And I can see it. It’s obvious that you check all the boxes there. And speaking of checking the boxes, you may not know this, but I pulled some of your stats here. They’re good. They’re really good. You got 100% check-in. 100% completion. And 71% on time year-to-date. 83% on time for the month of March. How do you make all of that work? Communication. Communication with the dispatch, that’s going to be number one. The I used to hold my on time 100%.

07:27 I used to hold it near and dear to my heart. But a lot of drivers, especially myself, we all know that once you start getting into the winter months number one rule to survive. If you’ve got to pull this truck over because the winds are too high, if you’ve got to pull this truck over because it the snow is this you know it’s just a statistic. Right.

07:50 Now, granted business is business but you don’t want to be on the side of the road or somewhere off in the ditch that you pull that thing over. Number one thing will be communication with dispatch. Yeah, safety is very safety is right up there, too. Very important and when I call and let them know, “Hey, this thing’s going to have to be a day late.” Or “Hey, we’re going to wait for this advisory to clear.” I get zero pushback. Norton is number one with the safety. And honestly, you wouldn’t think so. You would think that you maybe be able to bend a couple of rules with some of these companies out here. On Norton’s app under their logo, they have like a small description. It says, “Less hassle, more hustle.” Right.

08:29 And that is I love it. And if I wasn’t already a Norton driver and recognized how high they prioritize safety, I would think like, “Oh, okay. They either one or two things. Either the guys may not care or maybe they’re just more about the money.” But no, it’s the perfect blend and safety is number one. Well, thanks for saying that. I know a lot of people will feel good to hear that and it’s good to hear from somebody who’s on the road, boots on the ground, that kind of thing. And you know, we were talking about brotherhood and you’re out in New Mexico now. I think you were telling us prior you had a an occasion to stop last night to lend a hand to someone. What was the situation there? Correct. Correct. I was driving I—

09:14 We live in the south. I’m not too sure how many other drivers live in the south but south dark is very dark outside. It’s a dark almost like no other until you run into desert dark. That is that’s dark for miles is an understatement. There’s just nothing. So, I noticed very far down the road that there was a vehicle on the side of the road with the flashers on. It was a trucker. So, I had a reefer trailer, believe it or not. So, I pulled over and I had just happened to go outside and see if everything was okay with him. Because a lot of drivers just don’t do it anymore. You know, it’s I’ve been in that situation time and time again. And sometimes I would have just wished that if I was stranded in the desert and plenty of people driving past me and see that hey, there’s something’s wrong on the side of the road, that somebody would at least lend a helping hand, if not even some basic knowledge or a ride to the nearest town.

10:05 So, when I showed up to him he was actually excited, yet disappointed to see me. He thought I was the repair guy. So, you know, he I kind of let him up just to let him back down again, but it’s the thought that counts, you know. Absolutely. I mean, is that something I mean, you’d certainly want somebody to check on you. Is that, you know, the same reason you check on others? Oh, for sure. When I got back in the car or well, when I got back in the truck, I thought to myself like, wow, you know what? I probably should have kept minding my business cuz I went to go give him dap and he was reluctant. I could just see that he was just very sad that I was not the repair guy. And—

10:42 But when I got back in I said, all right. But when I got back in, I said, you know what? Maybe when the repair guy comes, he’ll look back at this and say, you know what? The next time he sees somebody on the side of the road, maybe he’ll stop and maybe he’ll check. Just to see whether it’s in the desert, populated city, Lord knows. I mean, it’s in my blood. I’ve been training drivers for years. I mean, I’ve been responsible for a multitude of drivers getting their CDL and being safe and confident on the road. And a lot of people that I know who are older than me have been in the trucking game a lot longer, they’re all packing their bags and saying that it’s not the same that it used to be. So, I’m trying to do my best to reintroduce that back into trucking, you know, one pull over at a time. Have you had some situations where things in a pull over where things got a little squirrely, or is it usually pretty good reception as far as when you try to help somebody out? No.

11:46 I wouldn’t say it no situations ever gone south. If anything I’ve received nothing but, you know, I don’t want to say praise, be but gratitude. That’s a better word. That’s a way better word. I’ve stopped for plenty of car accidents that I’ve seen happen. I’ve assisted the local sheriff or fire department and highway patrol with being the first on scene to assist with putting out a fire and grabbing other drivers around me to pull over and grab their fire extinguishers. We’re all required to have one. To help put out a fire with the camper rescuing people out of the trees who’s got ejected. I mean, it in South Carolina on I-20, it happens all the time. So, it’s definitely gratitude whenever I show up. I make sure my presence is felt. But, for some reason I just feel like I just need to be there. You know, you understand.

12:37 Well, that speaks highly of you. It speaks highly of you. Not surprised. I mean, from what meeting you personally and, of course, what the dispatch team said about you. What’s it like driving a garbage truck versus say a tractor? I’ll tell you what. With a guy of my stature, I have to be comfortable in the fetal position. There’s almost—

13:06 I’m 6’3, 330 lb. It’s going to take a bit of, you know, but it’s not that bad of a drive. Only because the tanks are usually only about 50 gallons, give or take. They’re never really much higher than that. So, it gives you that opportunity to keep getting out and getting back in, getting out, getting back in. So, it— So, it definitely makes it a smooth thing. But, at the same time not all contracts with Norton Transport, to my understanding, but some they issue a hotel credit just to ease and assist with being able to stretch out at night. And thankfully, it’s not on your dime cuz they understand that the discomfort with those trucks. But, but not all garbage trucks are made the same. There’s some that have adjustable seats. There’s some that have lower ceilings where you’ll actually forget you’re in a garbage truck. They get so comfortable.

14:03 So, it’s not always a bad thing. No, not at all. I’ve done a number of garbage trucks. It’s cool. Now, speaking of trucks, we appreciate you joining us here, but I want to join you next week because we know there’s something there’s a special truck that comes near and dear close to your heart. And you’ve become sort of the go-to guy on one particular truck. Can we talk that next week? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. All right. Durville Christopher, thank you so much for joining us, and we’ll continue chatting with you next week on that truck that means a lot to you. Yes, sir. Thank you.

14:39 Six-Figure Trucker is brought to you by Norton Transport. Norton Transport is—

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14:51 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.

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