Driver Lifestyles

On The Road: Bob and Linda Caffee

"Expedited trucking is the best job in the world!" says Linda Caffee.   

"We're making money while at the same time we're having a great time.  Every day, we wake up in a new place, we get to see new things and we have an incredible amount of freedom!"

As you might have surmised, Linda is enthusiastic about her expedited trucking vocation.  She and husband Bob have been in the emergency freight business for around a year and a half, but spent some time in the truckload business before that.

Linda fills in the details:  "We're originally from a small, southwestern Kansas town of about 2,500 people.  Bob was a shop foreman for a trucking fleet in addition to working as a maintenance supervisor with the county's trucks. He had a total of 28 years in that kind of work. I worked in the courthouse doing data processing for 14 years."

Bob and Linda (both 45 years old) say that their family was close knit and because of their jobs, they were able to participate in their children's activities.

Linda continues, "When our two daughters left for college, it was time for us to do something different.  We went to the Las Vegas truck show and met a lot of couples in truck driving and we began to look into another kind of lifestyle." 

"Bob began driving for U.S. Express and I joined him after six months.  I wasn't ready to pull a 53' trailer, so I rode with him for about 3 years." 

"We also had a lawn care business, so we did that in the summer and drove the big truck in the winter.  We had to make up our minds whether we were going to drive or not, and it was about that time that Bob found some info about expedited trucking."

"To research this business, we went to Expediters Online.com and studied everything on the site.  We attended an Expediter Workshop at the Expedite Expo in Detroit and talked to a lot of people."

Bob Caffee picks up the story:  "Something that was stressed during our research on EO was to become as financially sound as possible. We got all of our affairs in order so we could make as large a down payment as possible and still have operating capital." 

"We knew that as new owner-operators, we would make mistakes that could cost us money, so we wanted to be prepared for that.  It must have worked, because we haven't had to touch our savings yet."

He adds, "Our hometown was a great place to raise a family, but it was bad for trucking because it was out in the middle of nowhere.  From our time with U.S. Express, we knew that it was tough to get home." 

"We determined that we would sell the house and stay with our oldest daughter in St. Louis (she manages an apartment complex and the couple's youngest daughter is a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force) when we come in from the road.  All of the profit from that house is safely banked away for the next home we buy."

The Caffee's say that when they attended the 2004 Expedite Expo, some truck dealers didn't want to talk to a couple with no experience in expedited trucking.

"Then we met Wes Hearne from Middle Georgia Freightliner-Isuzu and he showed some interest in us," says Linda.  "Before long, we ordered our new truck and both Wes and Heath Wood from the dealership treated us great."

She adds, "If we have a question or problem, we can always get an answer from Heath Wood or Wes at Middle Georgia.  As first-time buyers, we didn't have a clue about spec'ing an expedited truck, so I feel fortunate that we found someone like them to help us."

When it came time to look for a carrier to sign with, the Caffee's say that recruiters from different carriers would compare their companies to FedEx Custom Critical.
 
"So," Linda says, "we figured why not just sign with FedEx?"

They say they've been happy with their decision:  "A benefit of being with FedEx is its name recognition. When we walk into a shipper/receiver with our FedEx uniforms, they treat us with respect.  And, if there's a line of big trucks waiting at the dock, we go to the front of the line." 

 "U.S. Express used to promise detention pay, but FedEx actually pays it.  In fact, FedEx has done everything they said they would do."

Bob adds, "We'd eventually like to be in White Glove, but we have two Cocker Spaniels who travel with us.  They're like family to us, so we can't enter White Glove until they're gone or FedEx changes its policy."

"With White Glove in mind, we've since equipped the truck with a liftgate and a tag axle so we'll be ready to go."

Speaking of the truck, the Caffee's pride and joy is a Freightliner M2-106 they picked up in January 2005.  It's powered by a  300 HP Cat C7 running through an Allison automatic trans. The truck also features a 96" King Leisure sleeper and a 24' cargo box.

The truck has just over 200,000 miles on the clock.
 
Linda says, "We stay out for 2-3 months at a time so we wanted a sleeper that we would be comfortable in." 

"We took out the upper bunk and Bob installed a book case.  We do a lot of cooking in the truck, so we have our crock pot, toaster, microwave and coffee pot.  With our large fridge/freezer, we can carry a lot of food and save money on restaurant meals."

Canada
"We turned down the first few Canadian loads we were offered," Linda explains,  "because we were scared to death of crossing the border.  Finally, we said to ourselves, 'we didn't get into this business to turn down loads', so when we tried it, we found it was easy (even haz-mat) if you follow the procedures.  It also seems that we're asked fewer questions and are treated better at the Canadian border if I'm driving."

"Our worst area to find freight has been Canada.  We just don't seem to get loads out of there."

Random thoughts
Linda:  "We've been pulled around the back of the weigh stations several times for Level 1 inspections, but we've never had any problems.  Having a clean, new truck and treating the officer with courtesy goes a long way."

Bob:  "You've got to work first and pay the bills, but after that you can play tourist.  We keep enough in reserve that if we want to do something, we can."

Bob:  "We like to run in the south central states the most For scenery, we love Virginia but because of the traffic, we feel hemmed in there.   For plain old driving, we like Texas for the wide open spaces.  In our time in this business, we've only missed Minnesota and North Dakota; we've been in all the other states and three Canadian provinces."

Bob:  "We know what the Preventive Maintenance calls for on this truck and we've stuck to that religiously.
Plus, I worked in truck maintenance all those years, so I know what's required."

Linda:  "Driving a straight truck was easier than I thought it would be, it's like driving a large van.  It's gotten so that I don't like to drive our small car back home anymore.  In a truck you can see better and you get a little more respect.  I feel like I can control a truck in traffic better."

"Our truck has great visibility in front because of the M2's sloped nose.  We'd like to add back-up cameras, but we're not there yet."

Linda:  "We've learned so much from other drivers - there are so many positive drivers out here who have experiences that they'll share with you.  We have a huge network of people we talk to and stay in touch through email."

"Our family is behind us now that we've been doing expedite for awhile.  They were nervous when we sold our house, but now they see that we're having fun and we've become more outgoing."