00:06 A good week for me if I can get three in. And that’s pushing it. If I can get three in, that’s a great week.

00:13 That’s a fat week right there paycheck wise.

00:16 Yes, it is. And the missing loves it.

00:18 I’m sure she does. 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.

00:44 Hello everyone and welcome to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. We appreciate you guys joining us as we drop some knowledge on you each week. Knowledge that comes from the drivers and as you guys know that have listened to this show. This is a an opportunity for us to elevate and celebrate the drivers that move the wheels round and round and make so much of the commerce happen. Of course, as you know, here at Norton Transport, we don’t move freight, but we move the trucks that move the freight. And we’re very honored to have a great guest with us tonight, and that’s Jakee Dixon. Jakee, where might you be right now?

01:20 I’m on I 57 headed northbound headed towards Chicago and Illinois.

01:26 Well, let’s go ahead and set the record straight. Jake is on his headsets right now. He’s being safe using the Bluetooth technology. What part of 57 are you on now?

01:36 I’m on what is northbound. Just passing exit 212. Not familiar with the city right now, but the weather looks like it’s the beginning of fall and you can start to see the leaves start to change, so it’s pretty nice out.

01:52 Cool. Now, you are heading— So, you’re getting closer to Chicago now.

01:56 Correct.

01:57 Gotcha. Now, for those of you who are joining us who may not know Sha Dixon, he is one of our deck drivers. And, you got a four set or a three set?

02:07 I got a four set right now. And you picked those up in Von Army—

02:12 Correct?

02:13 Now, where you’re heading up towards Chicago. How far apart are your drops? Are they all in the same general location or what’s the drops?

02:20 The drops, I guess they’re about 200 miles. The first drop in Chicago, then I got to make my way about 200 miles away towards Indiana. And that’s where it finalized.

02:33 You dropped three in Indiana or—

02:35 Yeah. Uh-huh. Now, for you as a deck driver, how rewarding or how I guess how does it how much does it make you happy if you get to drop all four at the same place?

02:47 Oh, man. That makes a big difference because you know, we’re always trying to, you know, get back to the money. So, you know, if it’s just one drop, it’s easy to get everything off and you can get to, you know, to the to that airplane and get to, you know, to the next terminal either back down to Texas or, you know, in Ohio or North Carolina. So, that that that having one delivery that’s what I prefer. But, you know, you do what you have to do you know, when dispatch asks you.

03:16 It’s not too bad dropping one then three.

03:19 No. No. Now, have you I’m sure you’ve had occasions where you’ve had to go to four different locations.

03:25 Well, fortunately, I haven’t had that to have to do four, but I have had three. And it’s not that bad. Like I said, you know, the thing is is just the timing. You know, you have to plan out your day so you can be productive and you know, so that you can make it back, you know, back to your next terminal trying to get that next load cuz you know, while we out here, we’re trying to, you know, keep the wheels moving so we can continue to make money. So—

03:53 Well, we appreciate that and I’m sure you do too for yourself and for the company.

03:57 Yes.

03:58 Now, I’m assuming out of Von Army, you’re moving new trucks.

04:02 Yes, sir.

04:03 Freightliners.

04:04 Yes, sir. Are these Cascadias you’re rolling out in or what kind of trucks you rolling out?

04:09 The I got a Cascadia. It’s a mixture in some the if tools, the ones that they usually put the you know, they convert them into either box trucks or some type of utility truck.

04:22 Gotcha. So, give us a description of how what order they’re in from the horse back as far as a type of truck on back.

04:30 Okay. Okay. So, the first truck, the lead truck is a Cascadia day cab. And then the following trucks are two M2s and then the last truck seems to be a shorter M2 version.

04:43 Obviously, you’d have to put them that way. There’s really no other way to arrange that that particular configuration.

04:48 Correct.

04:49 Now, they’re all going— Did you say the ones are going they’re all going in the general Chicago area if you draw a big circle?

04:58 Yeah, you might as well see that. I mean, you can pretty much put Indiana as a part of the Chicago metro area because there’s just a hop skip away from each other. So—

05:09 Yeah. Particular if you’re going to Gary or somewhere like that.

05:12 Yeah. Yeah. So—

05:14 Now what’s your next load after this when you are you hop on a plane back to Texas?

05:19 Yeah, just going to hop on a plane back to Texas and get with dispatch and figure something out what else you know. Well, they do give me the opportunity to choose where I want to go. So if I see something or they feel like, you know, it’s something that I might be interested in, you know, they always, you know, suggest it and, you know, we go from there.

05:38 Gotcha. Now, how many deck sets do you like to do in a week? What’s your— What’s a good week for you?

05:46 A good week for me, if I can get three in and that’s pushing it. If I can get three in, that’s a great week.

05:55 That’s a fat week right there paycheck wise.

05:58 Yes, it is. In the in and the missing loves it.

06:01 I’m sure she does.

06:03 How many you going to get in this week? We’re talking to Jakee Dixon here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Jake, it’s Thursday. Thursday now. How many do you think you’ll get this week?

06:14 Well, I picked up last Friday. I delivered this Monday. Picked up this Wednesday. I’m going to deliver everything by tomorrow. So, if I can pick up Saturday and deliver by Monday, that’ll be three within an 8 day 8 day span. So, I’ll hit the quarter that I’m always looking for.

06:34 That’ll make the Mes happy.

06:37 That’ll make them very happy.

06:38 Now, when you get a good check like that, you bring home the bacon bring it home to the family. Is it a special night out with you and the Mes? Yeah, sometimes, but for the most part, I like a home-cooked meal. So, I prefer like a home-cooked meal and being at home. But yeah, we do occasionally go out and hang out this what it was two weeks ago was the youngest birthday. So, we went out to the Outback Steakhouse and celebrated his ninth birthday. So—

07:11 Okay.

07:11 So, we do tend to go out in enjoy, you know, spurs sometimes. Now, you said the youngest one is nine.

07:18 Yes.

07:18 Okay. How many children do you have?

07:21 Two.

07:23 Nineyear-old. And how old’s the oldest one?

07:26 13.

07:27 Gotcha. So, you got a teenager in the house and a nine-year-old?

07:31 Yes, sir.

07:32 And I wanted to ask you this question. You said you like a home-cooked meal. Now, are you the cook or is that the mizes?

07:40 Oh, we start time to share the responsibility. I make good breakfast and she make some great pork chops. So yeah. So whenever you know I get the opportunity to you know cook I will cook in the mornings. I make great scrambled eggs.

07:56 Gotcha. Now what’s the secret to your scrambled eggs? You put a lot of milk, beat them a lot.

08:02 Oh man. Well I guess you would say I beat them a lot. Add a little milk and cheese and just make sure you know I don’t burn them. Let the rest of the magic work itself out.

08:15 That’s it.

08:16 Now, you were talking about your wife’s pork chops. Now, do you guys throw them on the grill? She put them in the oven. How does she cook the pork chops?

08:22 Oh, I like mine fried.

08:24 I like my pork chops fried. Yeah.

08:27 Gotcha.

08:27 So—

08:28 Now what kind of batter are we talking about here? Are we talking about a cornmeal based batter? Flourbased? What are we looking at?

08:36 Flower based. Flour base with seasoning and pepper salt. I believe I think believe she dill weed.

08:44 That’s my favorite.

08:46 Now what goes with those pork chops? What’s on the side?

08:50 She going to have some cornbread muffins, macaroni and cheese, some greens, and probably some baked beans.

09:00 Man, I’m getting hungry. I’m getting hungry just hearing this rundown.

09:05 I am too. Now, are you do you like to take to the grill? Are you a bit of a grill master?

09:12 Yeah, I can throw it down a little bit. When we have get together and stuff, I’m the one that normally that does the grilling and stuff like that.

09:23 Any specialties on the grill? I mean, any particular cuts of meat that you do better than others?

09:29 Well, everyone loves my salmon. It’s like a—

09:35 Yeah, it’s like a I use a brown sugar and honey and stuff like this. Like a brown sugar, honey glazed salmon. But I just I always go to YouTube to learn the new, you know, new ways of making food and stuff like that. So, I just learned how to smoke. So, I’ve been smoking ribs lately.

09:56 Gotcha. Now, ribs are not easy. I mean, you got to know what you’re doing with ribs.

10:01 Exactly. I did want to ask you about the salmon though. Do you smoke it on the cedar planks or straight on?

10:07 Cedar planks through it or cedar planks.

10:09 Do you leave the skin on?

10:11 No, I take the skin off.

10:12 Gotcha. Gotcha. Now, let’s go back to the ribs here. You know, and talk about some fingerlicking good stuff there on the ribs. What’s your secret on the ribs? I mean, because like we were talking about, ribs are not easy. You really got to know what you’re doing.

10:25 Well, you know, I remove the membrane. I get me some like a carry wood or whatever.

10:33 And, you know, I—

10:35 I get that ready. And then also, you know, I get it ready, you know what I’m saying, by putting my seasonings on it. You know, I cover in mustard. And then, you know, I add my different seasonings on it and stuff like that. So, it stick it in the grill and, you know, I let it you know, I let it do its thing, you know, my smoker, should I say.

10:54 Gotcha. Yeah. I’ve got a smoker myself and there I was skeptical of these wood pellet electric smokers because I was always thinking a smoker it’s got to either be charcoal or wood, you know, that’s just the way I thought about it. But it’s convinced me. It’s I’ve come around I’ve turned I’m like it’s pretty easy. You just, you know, fill it up with the pellets, hit the temperature, turn it on, and put the meat on there and walk away. It’s pretty simple.

11:22 Well, I Well, I haven’t tried that way. I always you the you know I still use fire. So—

11:27 Well that’s where I was coming from cuz it took me a while to break from that. I was like man I you know it’s got to have fire. But—

11:35 I know that’s right.

11:36 Yeah. You know that’s the way I was looking at it. But it you know I’m in that camp. It converted me.

11:42 Yeah. You been converted. Well one of these days when I get one of these checks I might have to invest in one of those new electric smokers like you got there. It they will generate the smoke, but I still have my old school smoker. I’ll break it out from time to time if need be.

11:58 Yeah, you got to. There’s nothing like being old school, you know. There’s nothing wrong with new school, but old school always, you know, is going to be there, you know.

12:05 That’s right. That’s right. You’re listening to Jakee Dixon here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. He is up in the Midwest right now delivering a four set four-way some new Freightliners. I think he’s got three M2s on the back and the horses of Cascadia. If you’re just joining us now, he says the weather’s nice. He’s seen the leaves change. What’s it like for you being a driver being able to see— Well, the change of the seasons, for instance.

12:34 Well, I’m from South Florida, so we don’t have seasons. We just have hot. That’s it. So for me to be able to you know go see you know the different parts of the United States and you know see the different seasons you know it’s great because like I said we don’t get this in South Florida. So I enjoy it you know and while I get to see this I’m getting paid to do it.

13:02 Now you were talking about being from South Florida and the different seasons you get to see. Do you have a particular season you like the best from the cab of a truck?

13:13 I like fall. I like fall. It’s not too hot. Not cold. It’s just right. So when you get out there, you know, you start undecking, you know, the heat ain’t beating down on you and your fingertips aren’t freezing. So the fall is my favorite season. So, you know, I prefer fall. And also you know his football’s here. So of course Paul—

13:40 And that’s a practical season for decking and undecking. So give us the straight skinny on what it’s like. Let’s take it to both extremes. Let’s start with the summer since we just came out of summer. What’s it like decking and undecking? Let’s say you’re in Texas and it’s 105 degrees.

13:58 Oh man. I mean, you feel like you know, some someone’s got to, you know, you in the oven and you got to work out, you know, work in the oven while you know, while that sun beating down on you and you know, you’re trying to work as fast as you can to hurry up and get done or, you know, some guys they’ll start in the evening time and you know, start it early in the morning. If they can’t, you know, you have to deal with that that that Texas heat where they that can be trouble sometimes. So, I mean you know, some guys I’ve learned from some of the veterans out here, like I said, you know, they’ll either start working in the evening and prep the trucks or they’ll get up early in the morning so that so they won’t have to work too long in the heat.

14:41 Makes a difference.

14:42 It does make a big difference.

14:44 Well, let’s take it to the other extreme. You kind of touched on it about your fingertips, but let’s say you’re dropping or decking and undecking in Buffalo in let’s say mid January. Oh man, I haven’t un decked yet in the winter. So I can’t give you guys you know a read on that yet. I have done it when in another part of trucking, but I can tell you this, that’s the worst. I’ll rather work in the Texas heat than in that cold.

15:15 Gotcha. Not looking forward to that, but enjoy the fall while it’s happening.

15:20 Yes, sir.

15:21 Now, you were talking about you had done it in another line. Trucking is not a new thing for you. You’ve been Tell us how long you’ve been doing it.

15:30 I got my license back in 2012. I became an owner operator 2016 and then I started my own trucking authority in 2018 and I closed it December of last year, 2022. And then that’s when I started working with Norton.

15:51 Gotcha. Now, you started as a company driver back in 2012. Is that right?

15:56 Yes, sir.

15:57 You don’t have to name the company, but what was it like being a company driver?

16:02 Well, you don’t have the freedom that you have here at Norton. And, you know, you don’t have much input or where you what you’re doing or where you going. So, I mean, you know, you take with the good with the bad. It was for me to get started in the industry. So, you know, you have to put your dooms in, but it doesn’t come close to working with the decks and working for North.

16:29 Gotcha. So, I guess you know when you started what’s that 11 years ago? That was a force dispatch, I guess, as a company driver.

16:38 Yes. Yes, sir.

16:39 How do those compare working under a force dispatch atmosphere versus what you have with Norton now? Well, I mean, it’s going to be a clash because with force dispatch, you’re just another number and you know, dispatch is trying to do their job. So, you know, they hear what you’re saying is whatever your concerns are, your problems or you know, if you know, you’re trying to get home, but they’re trying to do their job. So, you what you have going on comes, you know, on the back burner because they’re trying to get their jobs done. So it can be, you know, personalities clashing because, you know, you’re not getting along with your dispatcher because they’re not hearing you out. But here at Norton with my dispatcher Ashley and Britney, I mean, they hear you out, they work with you. And, like I said they, you know, Norton to me, you know, the best thing since sliced bread, so I can’t complain.

17:39 Well, we love to hear that. That’s a nice compliment. We’re lucky to have Sha Dixon as one of our key drivers here on the deck side here at Norton Transport. And wanted to ask you this question. You mentioned Ashley and Britney and I have to, you know, full disclosure here. Britney’s the one that recommended you to be on the podcast. She said Ji would be a great guy. What’s we talk about this a lot with our guests on the podcast here, the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport about the relationship between a driver and a dispatcher. Let’s talk about who do you deal with more, Ashley or Britney or about the same?

18:16 I deal with Ashley more. I deal with Ashley more. But I also deal with Britney. But Britney is like you know she at the boss and you know Ashley is just like you know the lith between the two of us if I have any concerns. But Ashley she can take care of a lot of things. So they make a great pair. I can’t complain.

18:41 Gotcha. Now, making a great pair, what I mean, as far as a driver, you’ve got the, let me do some quick 11 years experience on the road in different capacities. What kind what do you want to bring to the table as far as communication with your dispatcher and what do you expect in return from them? Well, I just want to be open and honest with them and you know, I want to be straightforward where you know, they can trust me with you know, with the information that I give them if something goes wrong. And yeah, that that’s basically it. And what I expect from them is the same thing. And you know, to have my back, you know, if something goes wrong with a customer or something like that, you know, to have my back and you know, vouch for me basically. Gotcha.

19:32 Now, you know, I talked to Britney. It’s been some time back that she had recommended you to be a guest on the podcast. And just a few minutes ago, before we actually started this evening recording, I talked to a former dispatcher of yours, Jessica. Now, do you remember working with Jessica?

19:50 Yes, I worked with her during the singles. Correct.

19:53 Now—

19:53 And she was great, too.

19:55 She said the same thing about you. She said, I asked her, I said, I said, “Give me some skinny on Jak before I get in here and start talking with him, and she said you know, we talked about it for a minute and she described your actions and interactions and we came up with the two words self-reliant.” Now, I know you’re a modest guy, but would you say that description fits?

20:16 Yes. Yes. I mean, in trucking, you have to be. I mean, that that’s what makes it great, you know, pair with your dispatcher. If they know that they can rely on you, they don’t have to babysit you. That’s where that the trust comes in that where you know they’ll have your back if you know if you give out you know you make a opinion or something like that because they you can be trusted because of your previous actions. So that you know I can agree with that. They don’t suffer. Right.

20:45 Now you know you talk about the benefit that it gives you in that relationship with your dispatcher but it would seem obvious in extension that it would give you a great benefit with the customer.

20:57 Yes, of course. So with the customer you know I try to you know practice you know professionalism you know which is a big thing here at Norton. Try to be the best professional I can represent Norton the right way. So, you know, if when if I ever have a problem or anything like that, I know that that customer probably recognizes me or knows me and you know, something goes wrong, you know, again, they trust me enough to take my word for it.

21:30 You know, we both know from both ends, both sides of the fence here that not everything goes as smoothly as we would like it to in this logistical world. That’s just the nature of the business. Sometimes, you know, things come up. How do you approach it? What’s your attitude as far as unexpected things? Be it traffic, be it units not ready, waiting on a part after a breakdown. How do you deal with those things?

21:56 Oh man, you know, from dealing with, you know, being in trucking 11 years, you know, it’s just patience, you know, not overreacting, not getting upset. I mean, like you said, in the logistical world, it’s always going to be a hiccup somewhere, some type of chaos or, you know, something not running smooth. So, you just got to take it for what it is. You know, it’s transportation. You know, you can’t get too high, too low. You know, just stay even, kill, and, you know, keep a good attitude. Positive attitude and everything will work itself out.

22:26 Did you develop that positive attitude when you got into trucking or did you have it before?

22:32 Really trucking? I can’t say that I was always positive, but trucking definitely helped. You know shape me and give me character because I was really impatient when I was younger. And basically you know trucking you know it brought out some good qualities in me. So you know trucking really it I’m like I can say that it saved me. You know it saved me.

23:01 Yeah. You told me earlier before we started recording that it changed your life. Yeah—

23:07 In 2012. Did it I mean did it tap down into you as what you are as a man as far as showing you some things that you may not have known that you had within you?

23:16 Yes. Yes, of course. Like I would have never thought I would had the courage to drive up and down mountains and you know handle a big rig, you know, over 80,000 lbs. You know, I would I you know I had some insecurities about what I could and couldn’t do in life. But I mean trucking has basically broken all my fears. Like I don’t have I don’t fear anything anymore. I mean trucking was one of the best decisions I made in my life.

23:45 Now, going back to your days as an owner operator, owner authority I would imagine that presented a lot of challenges.

23:52 It did.

23:53 Kind of tell us what some of the harder parts of that side of trucking were for you personally. Well, I mean, I also had a couple of drivers owner operator. So, you know, these dispatches, you know, what they go through, you know, they angels from above that can, you know, to work with knucklehead truckers because I know what it’s like to deal with the different personalities and, you know, that can be challenging and you got to deal with the customers that can be challenging. So, I mean the breakdowns, I mean, it’s a lot of overhead and hard work behind the scenes that us truckers out here driving. We don’t see behind the scenes what the dispatcher, the owner, the mechanics, you know, the company is going through, the safety, you know, we just out here driving. And, you know, some of us might, you know take for granted what the back office is doing.

24:48 So, yeah. That yeah, trucking can be challenging, especially from the back office standpoint.

24:54 Now, do you have a good working mechanical knowledge or is that something that you’re just more a driver or do you know some things? Could you solve some problems if they’re minor on your own out on the road?

25:08 Yes. I learned a couple things from a couple drivers. Avery Whitten, he’s a driver here. He’s pretty good mechanically inclined. So, he showed me some things. And then also I got an uncle who’s been in trucking and he’s also showed me some things because before that I didn’t know the difference between the wrench and a screwdriver. So trucking definitely has expanded my knowledge and being mechanically inclined.

25:36 Gotcha. And that helps.

25:38 Yes, it does.

25:39 Now, you know, you were talking about Jessica was your dispatcher back in the singles days. How long were you driving singles for us? Maybe three and a half weeks, four weeks.

25:50 So you didn’t stay in that long?

25:52 No, no, I was focused on getting to the deck side. Like I said, I got a couple friends over here, couple drivers over here and it got me interested and I was all geared up. I just was locked in and loaded trying to get to the deck side for the training.

26:09 Well, who are some of your friends that are I’m assuming they’re Norton drivers, but you can go ahead and name drop.

26:14 Yeah. Germaine Tatum, he’s one of the good drivers over here. I mentioned one early, Avery Whitten. You got Jethro, Monte. Those just a couple guys name.

26:28 Now, do you guys obviously you network together? How do you do that? How do you keep the information flowing?

26:34 You know, we I mean we just always on conference calls and stuff like that. You know, we always talking, you know, meeting guys at the yard, stuff like that. Meeting new, well, not new drivers, but we might meet someone we never knew. And, you know, most of the guys at Norton are, you know, they’re friendly and you know, we just build relationships off of that.

26:58 Do you guys ever spend any time together? I mean, I know a lot of times your paths are not going to cross, but if they do, do you guys spend some time together socially?

27:07 Oh, yes. I mean Germaine, he comes down to South Florida and he hangs out with me. I go up to Atlanta, hang out with him. Avery, he’s local in San Antonio. I spent the night at his house several times. So, yeah, we hang out. We’re close.

27:25 Pretty tight.

27:26 Yeah. Yes, sir.

27:27 Here’s a question. If I were a fly on the wall and we had three deck drivers together hanging out at the bar, what kind of things do you guys talk about? We always talk about our mission, you know, basically, you know, you know, we can’t wait to get away from when we on the road so we can hang out, you know.

27:47 You know, a lot of people that work in different professions, you know, they talk shop even when they’re away from the shop. Is that true for deck drivers, too? Do you guys do you talk about the day what it was like? What it the way you wish it had been or the way that you were thankful that it did work out that way? Do you guys talk a lot about the life on the road when you get together?

28:09 Yes, we do. Yeah, we talk about it. You know, you know, some days, you know, is, you know, some days it can be you know, dragging, you know, when things are slower that or they’re not going the way you want to go. But like I said, you know, you keep a positive attitude and it always works out. And then when you got, you know, a support system of other drivers, you know, with friends, you know, they cheer you up and, you know, you just keep it moving. You know, you keep pushing.

28:33 Gotcha. You’re listening to Sha Dixon here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Sha joins us. He’s from the he’s in the Midwest right now. Gonna be dropping in the greater Chicago area. Ford X set if you’re just joining us now. Now, Jake, just kind of recapping here, has been doing this since 2012, and he said it changed his life and he’s I don’t want to put words in your mouth, Jake, but I guess you’re at the apex of your career now.

29:09 Yeah. Yeah. I can honestly say, what did he say? 10 years, what no 10,000 hours makes you a master of your craft. So, I can say that I am a master. I’m a journeyman in and as the unionized world would say, I’m a journeyman. So I figured that you know I have an expertise in driving trucks. Now I don’t know everything but I am knowledgeable.

29:32 Now you were talking we kind of talked a little bit more about it before we started recording here on the Six-Figure Trucker about how important family is to you.

29:41 Yes. I mean I love my family. I get up and I come out here for my family. Like I said I got the misses and my two boys. I got a mom and sister, niece and nephew that I look out for. You know, so trucking affords me, you know, to be able to you know, provide for my family and, you know, look out for my family when I when they call on me.

30:05 Now, are they all in the South Florida area with you that you just named off?

30:10 Yes, everyone’s in South Florida.

30:13 What part of South Florida you guys live?

30:16 Fort Lauderdale.

30:17 Oh, man. Been down there several times. There’s some great food in Fort Lauderdale.

30:22 Yes, it is.

30:23 I can’t I will never forget being down there with a girl I was dating at the time. It was mid December. We went down for Christmas and we were in the ocean and I believe memory serves me correctly. It was like 86 degrees and I’m like there’s no wonder everybody comes down here to retire.

30:42 I told you that’s that perfect, you know, that’s that that that one season, you know, basically summer all year long. You know, you can be in the beach during the— You can go to the beach during December and not have on your sweats.

30:54 Yep. Now, we were talking about your family. Your son’s playing football. Is that right?

30:59 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He’s playing football. He This might be his last year, though.

31:04 Now, let me— This—

31:05 Might be his last year.

31:06 He’s the 13-year-old, correct?

31:08 Yeah. Yes.

31:10 Might be his last year. Is that because I guess he’s about to head to high school.

31:14 Yes. Yeah. He’s about to head to high school and he finally decided to play tackle football this year and he did his best, but I think he says that you know he’s not going to be the next you know Trevor Lawrence, you know. Yeah.

31:29 Well, you know, it’s good to know. I mean, he’s at a decision point in his life. I mean, when you’re you know, making transitions between middle school and high school, that’s a good time to make that decision. How long did he play?

31:42 He played the last two years. He played flag the previous year and then he said he wanted to give tackle a shot and you know I guess he is not what he thought it was going to be. You know like I told him it was going to be hard work. It wasn’t the flag football. He just show up for one practice before the game. You know it’s multiple practice during the week and I don’t think he liked that. I think he’d rather be playing you know his PlayStation 5. So—

32:08 But I made him stick it out.

32:09 I got you. Now are you a Dolphins fan?

32:12 Yes sir. Well, they’re having a season.

32:14 True and true.

32:15 Yeah, we’re having a season. Hopefully, you know, tour can take us all the way there, you know.

32:20 Did you catch that game against the Broncos?

32:23 Yeah, I caught it. Yeah. Yeah, we made Sean Payton want to go back in retirement.

32:30 Yeah, you probably made him want to go into a cave. What was it? They hung 70 points on him.

32:36 They hung 70 on them.

32:38 Wow. That’s amazing. Now, how long have you been a football fan? All your life. All my life. South Florida, that’s the number one sport. My dad was a big Dolphins fan and Florida State fan and I just you know just fell in line, you know.

32:56 So Florida State’s your college team?

32:58 That’s my dad. Well, my dad, well, he passed away, but that was his team. As I got older, I always wanted to do opposite to my dad. So I became a M fan.

33:08 Okay. Okay. Well, they’re having quite the season as well.

33:13 Yeah. Yeah, we having quite the season. Just hoping to get back to the glory days.

33:18 Well, they’ve been you know, the Wolverines have been right up there the last few years. They’ve been, you know, sniffing at it and certainly contending—

33:29 Now.

33:29 Oh, no, not the Wolverines. The hurricane is—

33:32 Oh, you— Okay, Miami. I was I got you. I got you. I thought you were talking about University of Michigan. Sorry about that.

33:38 Oh, never. Never.

33:40 Okay, that makes you’re keeping it local. Keeping it local right there. Now, the Hurricanes, I guess their signature victory so far this season was that win over Texas A&M, I guess.

33:51 Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, we lost two, but one I don’t know what the coach was thinking against Georgia Tech. And I mean, North Carolina, they’ve been surging the last couple years. So, yeah, they put it on us last week.

34:05 That was a shocker against Georgia Tech. I saw the way that one ended. It was—

34:09 Yeah, exactly.

34:10 Well, yeah, like you said, what was he thinking? What was he thinking? But are you more of an NFL guy or a college guy?

34:19 To be honest, I’m more of a college guy.

34:23 I like to see the different guys, you know, the seniors moving on and then the next, you know, underassman stepping up. So, you know, it’s always a change.

34:33 Senior’s next.

34:35 Yeah, basically. Yep.

34:37 You’re listening to Ja Dixon here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Jake is a deck driver for us. He was a singles driver for a very short period of time. He’s no stranger to driving. Been doing it since 2012 and has worked just about every facet. Was a company driver, owner operator, owner authority. Now he’s a deck driver working in the driveaway space. Says this has been the best thing since sliced bread for him. And I wanted to kind of drive it home here with your family now being a deck driver and we talked about some of those fat loads when you can get three of them in a seven eight day period. Have you been able to do anything where you could splurge on your family?

35:20 Oh well this past well me and my misses we like to take trips. So, this past June, we went to Jamaica and hopefully for the new year, I wanted to probably try Paris cuz we get everywhere to the Caribbean. So, I’m hoping that you know those that that you know that the deck sets keep rolling in and you know I can you know get those lows and keep them moving and you know hopefully you know I can do that for you know a holiday you know present for her you know. Is this going to be a surprise?

35:57 Yeah, I’m gonna try to surprise you. I don’t know how to surprise a woman. You know, they know everything. So, probably got to get my sister involved or something to make that happen where, you know—

36:09 Got to get some help on that. You get some help on that part.

36:12 Well, make sure she didn’t listen to this podcast. We don’t want to give it a flip.

36:17 No, I’m not going to let her listen to it cuz he, you know, I try not to let her know how much money I make. You know, I tell her I’m doing two loads a week when I’m really doing the three. So, I keep that one to myself, you know.

36:28 I got you. I understand. I understand. Now, you were talking about you went to Jamaica. Did you do the all-inclusive?

36:35 Yeah, we did the all-incclusive. I can’t remember the name of the resort, but we swam with the dolphins and we did the it was like a canoe. Canoe? I can’t think it. The guy was on a boat and we were sitting down. He was using a long bamboo to push us around, but we did that and you know, we just hung out and had a good time and sip on Bob Marley.

36:59 Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now, that water down there is unbelievable as clear as it is.

37:06 Yeah. Yeah. It’s nice, you know. I still, you know, I’m I got home bias, you know. I’m from Fort Lauderdale and I think we got some of the most beautiful beaches, you know, in the world. So, but yeah, it does compare. It does compare. Very nice.

37:22 Now, you were talking about sipping on some Bob Marley’s. What was in a Bob Marley? I’m guessing there was some rum in there if you’re in Jamaica.

37:30 I know it was rum, but it was a it was some type of frozen drink. I don’t know. It was red, green, and yellow. And I know it had rum, but I didn’t even ask. I just kept drinking them and having a good time.

37:45 Absolutely. You know, Bob Marley quite the I guess the favorite son out of Jamaica. Did you get to check out any of the local music scene or did you guys just stay on the resort?

37:57 Well, we just stayed on the resort. The mission she’s not one that likes, she’s not adventurous, than I am as far as going out and meeting the locals, but she likes to do those what it is when you what is it called when they—

38:13 The excursions? Sliding down. Discouraging. Yeah. And I really don’t care for those, but you know, you know, you know, whatever she says goes on those trips. So—

38:23 Happy wife. Happy wife. Happy wife. Happy wife. I got you.

38:26 That’s right.

38:27 Now, on the Paris trip that we’ll obviously keep it between us, but on the surprise portion of it, is this something she wants to do, something you want to do, or the both of you want to do?

38:38 We both are avid travelers. We like to travel. And I told her I didn’t want to go any more Caribbean islands or you know cruises or anything. And I told her I want to see Europe. So—

38:52 I was thinking you know Paris is what do they say the love capital of the world or something like that. So—

39:00 So I figured you know I try to be romantic cuz she says I don’t know how to be sure. You know—

39:05 You got to prove her otherwise.

39:08 Yeah that’s right. What? So, you say in January?

39:13 Yeah, hopefully in January. You know, once you know, once the winter gets here, you know, I want to want to go over there and experience Paris, you know, while it’s cold and stuff like that.

39:25 Gotcha. Gotcha. Now, what’s your you said, what’s your next deck se deck set going to be after you drop these? You’re going back to Von Army. Is that right?

39:36 Yeah, going back to Von Army. We going to get back with dispatch and you know see what we can put together.

39:42 Okay. So you don’t know your destination yet?

39:44 No, not yet. No.

39:46 We got to be clear here. We set the record straight at the beginning. We’re talking with Jakee Dixon here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Now Jak is on the road, but he’s on his headsets being safe. What do you do when you’re on these long runs and you know you’ve got a long run. How do you pass the time? Normally I e ether listen to some podcast. Now that I’m aware of this one, I guess I can, you know, I can start to chime in, you know, and listen. But I usually listen to audible books and you know listen to you know the news and stuff like that. Listen to music here and there.

40:24 Gotcha. What book are you listening to these days? I mean are you more of the crime romance? What kind of things do you listen to on the books?

40:34 The last book, let me see here. I was listening to some financial stuff trying to start you know I should have already been doing this but I have to take it more seriously as far as you know financial stuff as far as like you know planning for the future and stuff like that. So I’ve been listening to some books like that trying to you know get insight and trying to learn more about investing. Well, that makes sense with a nine and a 13-year-old in the Miz there. I mean, you’ve got, you know, possibly college coming up for those two and of course, you know that even before college, there’s a lot of expenses associated with a daughter and a son.

41:15 Yes, of course. So, you know, I just want to be prepared. You know I kind of, you know, got a little bit of a late start, but you know, I’m trying to you know, catch up and like, like you said, I’m trying to make sure that, you know, the kids are being are able to, you know, be provided for if they choose, you know, to go to college or whatever their next endeavor is. And as I get older, I know I’m not going to be able to, you know, drive, you know, all my life. So, I want to be prepared for retirement. How do you manage your finances as an independent contractor since you’re one of our deck drivers here at Norton Transport? How do you manage that as far as there’s a lot of ins and outs to it as far as you know taxes, expenses, and so on and so forth. How do you keep a rain on that?

42:00 Well, I always use QuickBooks when I was have my own authority. So, I still use that. I have an accountant and basically you know my accountant basically tells me you know basically you know how much I should you know put up you know as far as towards taxes for the quarter and then also you know what I should be putting inside of my IRA. So you know like I said we’ve been working on a you know a strategy to make sure that I’m taken care of in the future. You’re listening to Jakee Dixon here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. And of course, Ja’s talking about finances and how he handles his own as an independent contractor. And I guess what would your advice be to other drivers? I guess you did a little you were a singles driver for just a blink of an eye and then you moved into the deck side, but would your advice be different for singles versus deck drivers as far as how they handled their finances? Well yeah there’s a difference as far as the expenses.

43:08 I mean the single driver you’re responsible you know for your transportation to the load and stuff. So it’s better to you know pre-plan you know your load. So you know you can be closest to one you know to your next load so you don’t have to come out of pocket as much to get to your load. And you know basically you know with the deck you know they Norton is very fair. They do a good job with you know the expenses. So I mean I don’t have a complaint about that. I mean you know you just make it work for you. I mean some you know I’m not going to tell it all but what I’ve learned from some of the experienced drivers you know you try to make sure that you get you know close to a city that has a international airport so you can get to your next load—

43:52 Without it being too much of expense. Yeah. I got you. How far will you be from an airport after you drop this quad set?

44:00 Probably 40 miles.

44:02 Okay. Okay. And will you be flying out of Chicago?

44:07 No. No. I’ll be flying out of I believe it’s going to be Lansing. I’m not sure.

44:13 Okay. Out of Michigan.

44:14 Out of Michigan there.

44:15 Out of Michigan.

44:17 Wanted to ask you this question. Been a deck driver. You know, Norton just obviously we support our deck drivers and their expenses on the road, but do you have a preference? Don’t have to name the brand, but as far as hotel accommodations, how do you like to get your rest in when you’re I mean, obviously you got to be on top of your game when you’re, you know, when you’ve got four big pieces of equipment under your control. Do you have a certain type of hotel that you like to stay in?

44:46 Yeah. I like a hotel where, you know, preferably I can look out the window and make sure I can check it and make sure that load is you know, it’s secure and safe, you know, under some lights. Preferably, you know, some cameras pointed at it cuz it can be nerve-wracking. You know, you going to sleep and you got your valuable tools in there and you wake up and, you know, somebody probably, you know, been vandalized the truck or, you know, took your property. So I try to, you know, go to well lit, you know, places where I can, you know, get the truck in at. But my preference is you know, if I can, if I can find one with truck parking and Marriott.

45:23 Gotcha. That’s a nice place to stay, obviously. And, how important how much value, I guess, better way to say it, do you put on a good night’s sleep?

45:33 Oh, man. You got to have a good night’s sleep so you can be on top of your game when you out here because you know you’re not only driving for yourself, you’re driving for the motorist. And you know some of these guys can get you know pretty out of hand with their recklessness. So good night sleep you know it keeps you sharp when you wake up you know good breakfast and you know it helps you get you know get you to your final destination you know without any problems.

45:59 Now do you drive most of the time conventional hours? I mean the 9 to5 8 to 6 whatever the case may be.

46:06 I confer early in the morning like 3 4 so by the time I probably get to a major city I pass through it and I can beat the rush hour in the morning and I can beat the rush hour in the evening so I can shut down.

46:20 It goes back to what you were talking about as far as proper planning.

46:23 Correct. Would you say of all the qualities that you need, the characteristics, the traits that you need to be a successful deck driver, is planning the most important, patience? How would you rank them as far as the most important things?

46:38 I’m always going to say patience because like I said, like you said earlier you know, our logistics is it’s never perfect. So, you know, you have to be patient and you know, keep a positive attitude and you know, the planning you know that it falls right in line. You know, you’re patient. So, you know, even if something goes wrong with the planning, you know, you’re patient and you’re not, you know, you even kill, you’re not too up, you’re not too down about the situation.

47:03 Now, J wanted to wrap up with you here. We enjoy the roughly the hour you’ve spent with us dropping a lot of knowledge on us. Wanted to ask you kind of tap into that knowledge. For other drivers who may be considering this and unless they had your kind of background, they probably wouldn’t start in decks, probably start in singles. But what would your advice be for somebody who’s maybe on the fence, thinking about it, considering it moving into driveaway? What would your guidance be?

47:33 I would tell them not to think about it and just do it cuz like I said before, this is the best thing sliced bread. I mean, you get the independence without having to own the equipment and having the overhead of owning a company and you make good money. So, I would definitely say, you know, don’t even think about it. Just, you know, get into it. You know, you can follow the training or, you know, whatever Norton asks you to do, do it because at the end it’s going to pay off and you will be happy.

48:04 Well, you know, the next time we talk to, you may have already seen the Eiffel Tower. Hopefully so. Like I said, I want to make this happen when get with my sister, like I said, and we do some proper planning and hopefully I can tell you guys about the trip. Thank you very much, Shaki, for being on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Sha Dixon on the sixigure truck.

48:26 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.

49:16 Everybody.