Hey all, I'm Brian from Georgia. I'm about 25% trucker, 50% operator, and 25% day dreamer. I started grading around '93 at age 18.... I just got lucky one day when a distant older friend beeped me to offer me a job working for his Uncle's grading outfit. I fell in love the first hour as mud peeled up through the floorboard of the 785 New Holland as it plowed through on steel tracks. His uncle had a new Pete 379 w/a 3406B 425(before the 550 was out) and a new 953B along with a 953A and a 955L. We got a F700 to pull my new Bobcat 853 he bought me and then he got me a L9000 Tandem dump. The other equipment I ran was a chainsaw. I took the CDL in his 379 daycab and got my Class A at age 19, but not after getting stopped in the L9000 with only a learners permit. I fell in love with that 379 back then, but I went for the loader job.
Since then I've fought my way through several grading and pipeline companies. I never liked the big crews but liked the big gear, so I found myself working jobs where I would transport myself. I've spent some time in a 359 lowboy and some Mack trucks. When I was an operator and we'd move all the equip. to new jobs and I'd always call shotgun in the lowboys and those were usually $250k+ rig/lowboys. The biggest I rode with was a D9L and a Cat 245. I know every local lowboy around from a mile away
Fortunately a couple years ago I started my own little business. I had three jobs lined up with no money and no credit. Went to Nasser Heavy Equip., a dealer who rents, sells, consigns, and fixes equipment. I offered the title to my ole F150 as collateral and after some serious convincing from myself they let me rent a 140 excavator for a week and even connected me with a lowboy guy that moved me to those three jobs on my word that I would pay him when I got paid. I ended up renting that machine for an entire year. I found a dump truck and tag along trailer after a couple months of using the lowboy and bought an excavator after a year. The dealer had connections with people who would offer financing and the dealer vouched for my history I had with them. I thought working for those grading companies from 7 am to 7 pm six and seven days a week was hard but I've worked harder these last summers than I've ever known. I always told myself I'd do it before I was 35 and barely did it before turning 36. I've always loved rigs and especially lowboys....and especially Peterbilt 379's. I love everything about class 8 trucks. There is a lot more to do and talk about with trucks than dozers, loaders, and hoes in my opinion.
Sorry so long, I could write a book about this stuff, and my friends wouldn't know the difference between a Frieghtliner and a Ford so not much to talk about with them.
Since then I've fought my way through several grading and pipeline companies. I never liked the big crews but liked the big gear, so I found myself working jobs where I would transport myself. I've spent some time in a 359 lowboy and some Mack trucks. When I was an operator and we'd move all the equip. to new jobs and I'd always call shotgun in the lowboys and those were usually $250k+ rig/lowboys. The biggest I rode with was a D9L and a Cat 245. I know every local lowboy around from a mile away
Fortunately a couple years ago I started my own little business. I had three jobs lined up with no money and no credit. Went to Nasser Heavy Equip., a dealer who rents, sells, consigns, and fixes equipment. I offered the title to my ole F150 as collateral and after some serious convincing from myself they let me rent a 140 excavator for a week and even connected me with a lowboy guy that moved me to those three jobs on my word that I would pay him when I got paid. I ended up renting that machine for an entire year. I found a dump truck and tag along trailer after a couple months of using the lowboy and bought an excavator after a year. The dealer had connections with people who would offer financing and the dealer vouched for my history I had with them. I thought working for those grading companies from 7 am to 7 pm six and seven days a week was hard but I've worked harder these last summers than I've ever known. I always told myself I'd do it before I was 35 and barely did it before turning 36. I've always loved rigs and especially lowboys....and especially Peterbilt 379's. I love everything about class 8 trucks. There is a lot more to do and talk about with trucks than dozers, loaders, and hoes in my opinion.
Sorry so long, I could write a book about this stuff, and my friends wouldn't know the difference between a Frieghtliner and a Ford so not much to talk about with them.
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