00:05 So, it was actually an Uber passenger of yours that led you to what? That led you to us?

00:12 Yes, sir.

00:12 Small world, man. Small world. You just never know who’s going to walk into your life and why.

00:19 That’s a fact, man.

00:20 Yep. That’s a fact. 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. And each and every one of you if you join us on Thursday, you know that this is a space where we elevate and celebrate the drivers of Norton Transport because without them obviously we would not be a company, wouldn’t have the livelihood that we have and they are the backbone of our company. Now let me set the scene, kind of paint you a picture here. I’m at the home studios here in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. My home just about 10-minute drive from our office in beautiful Ringgold, Georgia, where Norton Transport is headquartered. Right off of I-75, if you’re heading south, and as soon as you cross into Georgia, going south where the first exit, exit 353, you can basically see our offices from the freeway. We’ve got a very special guest joining us this morning, and that is Mr. Clive Williams. Clive, how are you?

01:40 Hey, how you doing, man?

01:41 I’m doing great. If I were doing any better, I’d have to sit on my hands to keep from clapping.

01:47 How are you?

01:47 I’m doing great, man. Just out here trucking, man.

01:50 Out there trucking. Love to hear it. Where are you right now?

01:53 So, right now I’m coming through Chattanooga. And—

01:57 Are you on I-24?

01:58 Yes, sir.

01:59 What direction were you coming from and where you headed to?

02:02 So, I was coming from I picked up out of Delville, Virginia, and I’m on my way over here to Stevenson, Alabama.

02:08 Okay. Okay. So, you’re going to be turning off 24, getting on 72. No, you won’t get on 72. What’s your—

02:18 Yes, sir.

02:18 You are getting—

02:19 Getting right off on 72. Yes, sir.

02:21 Okay. Okay. So, you’re getting close to your drop then before too long.

02:25 Yes. Yes, sir.

02:27 Now, we want to make sure that everybody understands that Clive is on his headsets. He’s driving safely now. He’s not sitting there on his phone. He’s got his headsets on. And you were telling me earlier before we got started recording, traffic’s been a bear today.

02:41 Oh yeah, man. Yeah, it’s been pretty heavy all the way through, man.

02:46 Now, I know since we’re headquartered right outside of Chattanooga, traffic is usually bad here all the time. Did you run into that in what we call the ridge cut?

02:57 Yes, sir. Man—

02:58 Road construction and it’s backed up. How do you deal with that? I mean, obviously you see it every day. I mean, you know, I mean, just like any other driver, man. You know, we get frustrated with it, but it’s just part of what we do, you know. I put my music on, jam it out a little bit, you know, just kind of, you know, just coast through it.

03:17 What kind of music you got? What’s on your playlist?

03:21 You know, I listen to mostly like, you know, I’m a I’m an 80s baby, so I listen to a lot of hip-hop.

03:28 Gotcha.

03:28 You know, so I listen to a lot of that. Yeah. You got some Jay-Z in there, a little him Eminem. What are we hitting there?

03:38 Yeah, a little bit of everything. I like trying to mix it up, man.

03:42 Makes the miles go by faster.

03:44 Yes, sir.

03:46 I got a long playlist. I got a I got my playlist about 12 hours long, man. Get me through the day.

03:51 Gotcha. Is there a on that playlist, is there one that you really look forward to hearing? So I like some of that hype stuff. So, that’s you know, I listen a little bit of Kendrick, a little bit of Drake, you know, some of that hype music with Meek Mill. You know, this a really high energy guy. So—

04:12 Keep you keeps you awake and alert, I guess.

04:15 Yes, sir.

04:16 Now, what kind of truck are you driving in right now?

04:18 I’m in a so this is a it’s International. It’s a bucket truck. One of the Altecs. It’s a pretty big one, too. Okay. Now, that bucket sitting in the back or what’s the positioning of the bucket on the truck?

04:32 So, yeah, this one is in the back.

04:34 I got you. Any idea what the gross weight is on that truck?

04:40 I don’t know. I’m not sure. It’s a pretty big one, though. Oh, I’m so sorry. The bucket part is actually sitting over the top of the truck, I guess. It’s in the front.

04:48 Oh, okay. Okay. So, you’re dropping in Stevenson, Alabama. So, that’ll be a drop tonight.

04:52 Yes, sir. The lady there, she’s she got somebody they’re going to be let me in the gate and she told me to hit them up when I’m about 10 minutes out and I’m about 19 minutes out.

05:05 Okay. Okay. Well, we’ll try to make it quick here so that you can make that phone call you got to make there. Where’s your next pickup after you drop in Stevenson?

05:16 I got to head over there to is it— Oh man, I can’t remember the it’s in it’s in Fayette. The one in F Alabama.

05:23 Ox Bodies.

05:24 Yes. Yes, sir.

05:25 Going over to Ox Bodies. You got a dump truck there. What are you picking up there?

05:28 Yeah, it’s a dump truck going down to Orlando.

05:31 Okay. Is I’m assuming it’s a new dump truck. It’s probably just been upfitted over at Ox Bodies there. What’s it like driving in a dump truck from Fayette, Alabama to Orlando? It’s sometimes a little bouncy, but the last one I drove it was the Mack the granite model with the gold dog on the front. Man, that thing was nice, man.

05:53 That was a nice ride.

05:56 Those Mack Granites are really smooth.

05:58 Yeah, man. It was nice, man. I like how you sit up real hot, too.

06:01 Yep. Now, you’ve been with us, I think since September of last year. And kind of give us a, you know, the feeling from 35,000 ft up from the whole thing. What’s it like? Is this your first experience in driveaway? We know you got a lot of experience, but is this your first experience in driveaway or did you work driveaway before?

06:21 Yes, sir. This is my first experience with driveaway.

06:24 Now, you came highly recommended by Mason, your dispatcher. And, what’s drive what’s driveaway been like for you since September?

06:34 I’m gonna be honest with you. At first, man, I was like I was always upset, you know, cuz I had I didn’t realize how spoiled a lot of drivers are in those company trucks, man. And, you know, anytime you got that bed back there, you could just kick back, relax, you got the fridge and microwave. Well, when you out here doing what we do, man, you know, it’s a little bit— It’s a tougher job, you know? But I mean, I love the challenge. You know what I’m saying? So, it’s definitely not the traditional trucking, man. This is this ain’t for everybody.

07:07 You know, we’ve heard from many guests here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. There is a learning curve when it comes to— Yes, sir.

07:15 Driveaway trucking. And once you get that mastered or once you get your hands wrapped around it, things seem to fall in place.

07:24 Yes, sir.

07:25 Have you—

07:25 I’m loving it, man.

07:26 Oh, okay. That was my next question. I guess you’ve gotten the ironed out some of the wrinkles, so to speak. I wish I would have got to this sooner, man. I actually so when I’m home and I’m not really doing much, I do like Uber and Lyft. And I actually picked up a driver last year. He was actually driving for you guys. I can’t remember his name, but I met him at an enterprise. I picked him up right there in Lake where I live at. And you know, I was just kind of fussing with him about what I had just dealt with a trucking company. And he’s like, “Man, you ever thought about driveaway?” My at this time I had been driving a little bit over eight years and had never heard of driveaway.

08:08 And man, he told me about you guys. And so I got looking around. I was like, “Man, this is what is this?” You know, and I said, “I’m going to try it out.” And man, I’ve been I just been hooked ever since.

08:20 That’s good to hear. So it was actually an Uber passenger of yours—

08:24 That led you to us.

08:27 Yes, sir.

08:28 Small world, man. Small world. You just never know who’s going to walk into your life and why.

08:35 That’s a fact, man.

08:36 Yep. That’s a fact. Last question I wanted to ask you here that now that we’ve talked a lot about your history, your professionalism, your on-time percentage, and your love for the job. What would your advice, your counsel be for someone who may be considering moving into driveaway?

08:54 Come in with patience, open-mindedness, you know. I would say more so coming in as a student. You know, if you know you’re coming into this and you’re hard up your heart up for money or you know you’re kind of financially strapped, this it wouldn’t be the wisest move because you know a person especially they’ve been like a they’ve been like, you know, maybe they coming from being a truck driver or they’re coming from being, you know, maybe just doing Uber or Lyft or something like that. They’re really not going to you know, know what to expect right off the rip. And I know a lot of drivers, man, they’re going to complain big time about spending all that money. You know what I’m saying? And that’s and usually that’s from what I can see, that’s what makes a lot of people quick like, man, you know, not making any money, but it’s like, yeah, I mean, you I came into it with the mindset, I’m here to learn something new. And so the, you know, not making as much money at first it did hurt me a little bit, but it didn’t, it didn’t make me run away from it.

09:46 So, I really like the challenge. Not to put words in your mouth, but if I hear you correctly, you’re saying once you get past the learning curve, it certainly improves.

09:54 Yes, sir. Absolutely.

09:56 All right. You’ve heard it from Clive Williams here on the Six-Figure Trucker joining us here. Clive, thank you so much for your time and your expertise that you’ve shared with us, the wisdom, the knowledge. We appreciate it. And be safe out there on the open road.

10:10 Yes, sir. Thank you so much.

10:13 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. They 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.