Driver Lifestyles

Coast to Coast Expediters

 

"We've been to Niagara Falls, the Little Big Horn, Vegas, Atlantic City and a number of other places. We've also met some great people from all walks of life out here. You won't find a better group of people than truck drivers!"

So says Betty McClung, who along with husband Dean are FedEx Custom Critical White Glove expediters. The couple hail from Leighton, AL and have been with fleet owner David Craft of Knoxville, TN for one year.

Dean McClung was born in Illinois and raised in Alabama while Betty was Texas-born and raised. They have been married 13 years.

Dean's working history includes 4 years in the United States Air Force and employment for 3 years as a cook at Waffle House restaurants. He also spent 15 years as a certified welder until the job market in his area took a downturn.

Dean picks up the story: "I went to truck driving school and spent around 4 1/2 years in the big trucks. It seems like I've driven everything - vans, flatbeds, reefers, you name it. And, I've driven all the major name manufacturer tractors except Western Star."

He tells of an interesting assignment from his tractor-trailer days: "I drove one of the many equipment trucks on a Rolling Stones tour a few years ago. That job lasted for 5 1/2 months and I got to see a lot of places, but I don't think I'd ever do it again."

Dean states that the drivers were not supposed to talk to the band..."in fact, we weren't to get within 1,500 feet of them. At the end of the tour, the lead driver asked them to sign T-shirts for the drivers and they said, 'Sure, for $2,500 apiece!"

While Dean is now into his fifth year in expedited trucking, Betty
is entering her second year of professional driving. She tells us, "This is the only driving job I've ever had and it's a lot different than my previous career - 27 years in the Alabama Head Start program."

"I got tired of staying home by myself so Dean convinced me to retire and go on the road with him. I went to truck driving school at a local college and learned to drive a tractor-trailer.
I have a Class A license with Hazmat endorsement but I like driving a straight truck a lot better than driving a big truck."

When the MClungs decided to part company with their previous truck owner, they placed an ad in the ExpeditersOnline Free Classifieds offering their driving services to truck owners. Dean says, "Within 24 hours, we had over 30 job offers and that's how we met our current owner, David Craft."

"We were in one of David's dry box trucks and we told him that we were interested in trying to run refrigerated freight. He said, 'Alright, I'll start looking for a truck.' Well, he found one at a reasonable price and we've been in it since May."

The truck Dean refers to is a 2006 Freightliner Columbia with a Mercedes-Benz 4000 engine hooked to an Eaton Fuller Smart Shift transmission. The 22' box is cooled by a Carrier Supra 850 unit and the truck is APU- and liftgate-equipped.

The living quarters are contained in a 100-inch Bentz sleeper with microwave, toaster oven, full-size fridge/freezer, flat screen TV with DVD and surround sound along with in-motion satellite. The McClungs' truck is also equipped with in-box and backup cameras.

Dean says, "After six months with FedEx Custom Critical, if your numbers are where they're supposed to be in regards to availability, load acceptance rate, on-time deliveries and so on, you can move into the White Glove division. If you have a reefer truck, you can apply to put the truck on with the TempAssure Validated fleet. T-Val hauls any temperature-specific freight like cryogenics, artwork - a variety of loads."

" Being qualified for refrigerated freight simply gives you more load opportunities. FedEx is a fantastic company, they've been great for us!"

The McClungs give their truck's owner high marks. Dean says, "You couldn't ask for a better truck owner than David to work with, he's as good as gold to us.We have a 60/40 arrangement with David, and we pay for the fuel. I do everything that I can out on the road to help out. If the truck develops a small mechanical problem, I'll try to fix it myself instead of taking it to a repair shop to save him money."

"Some drivers take the attitude, 'Well, it's not my truck.' They lose sight of the fact that if the owner is not making money, he's not going to be around long and the driver will be out of a job. You've got to take care of the equipment like it's your own."

The McClungs say they typically stay on the road for 8 weeks at a time then take 7-10 days at home.

Says Dean, "I guess what we miss most of all when we're on the road is family and friends and being able to go to church every Sunday. I do lead-singing for both our services and Sunday School and I miss that and we miss our church friends.
Betty has family members scattered all over Texas, so if we're in the area, we try to visit and attend church with them."

When asked how they split the bookkeeping chores, Dean says with a laugh, "Betty handles all of our paperwork as well as keeping track of the finances. If I did it, we'd be broke in a couple of weeks!"

Betty says that keeping the couple's food expenses to a minimum is paramount: "We'll treat ourselves to the occasional restaurant meal, like maybe a breakfast at Cracker Barrel, but we also carry food in the truck. We've got a little charcoal grill that we use to cook steaks, hot dogs, etc."

She continues, "We have a ball out here, running up and down the road together. We like the independence of expediting, being out on the road and getting to visit all of these different places."