My advice to make the move go smoother is to keep a positive attitude. Just try to get the customer to relax. People can be really uptight about moving and not everyone is moving for happy reasons.

The customer might be moving because of a job relocation. They’re naturally under stress because the company told them they have to move to keep their job. Their boss might be giving them only 60 days notice to move their family across the country. That can put people on edge before they even start packing.

When you think about it, you’re walking up to these people’s houses and they’ve never seen you before in their life. Now you’re responsible for protecting everything they own. Maybe their neighbor told them about a bad move they had. Plus, the person’s company most likely hired you, not the customer, so that can add to the tension. After about an hour of being with them and explaining things, you can get them to feel a lot more comfortable. Inexperience can make a customer feel anxious and I don’t blame them. I’d feel the same if a first time mover showed up at my house. I explain my years of experience. Some will say, “Well, if you’ve been around that long, you must know what you’re doing.” Crews might not have much experience, though, and are often still being trained. That can be a challenge if they’re asked about their experience. I coach my crew to say, “I’ve been with the company for a while.”

To protect myself from claims, I take the time needed during inventory to make careful notes on every item regarding existing scratches or damage. It can take four or five hours to do but it’s worth it. If I have the time and the customer is agreeable to it, I like to come a day ahead of the move and do inventory so that inventory won’t be rushed and moving day goes faster.

Brady B. Suddath

I agree with Mike about the freedom. When my three kids were young, I coached all three of their hockey teams. That let me spend more time with them then because business got busier in the summer. I’ll admit it wasn’t quite as easy as far as summer family vacations go. But I could take a lot of time in the winter for coaching and winter time vacations.

My kids are grown now. They are 29, 27 and 25. My daughter’s in her last year of nursing school. The boys are both police officers. I’m kind of proud, yeah. I did at least these three things right, I guess. My wife and I have been married 30 years. She’s smart and very understanding, especially about the holidays.

It takes a lot for me to miss Christmas with my family. Last year I left on Christmas day, right after the festivities. And I’ve slid in late on Christmas Eve and barely made it. Christmas is really the only holiday I care about. You just can’t plan your loads around every birthday or anniversary or activity. It’s just not going to happen. But big things like a birth, that’s different. When my wife was pregnant, I took the ninth month off and a couple more weeks after the baby was born. I took a few days off when my grandson was born, too. How could I miss that?

 Tom C., Barrett

I just rode I 70, west of Denverover to Utah through the mountain range. Oh that’s beautiful. I try to go west on as many moves as I can. The east coast is just too crowded for me. I live in northern Minnesota. The most beautiful part of the country for me? My front yard.

I know what you mean about married life on the road. I’m married with three kids, 14, 13, and 10. I don’t know if I could do this job without my cell phone. We stay in touch constantly that way. Without it, I’d miss my wife and kids way too much.

If you don’t have a solid marriage before you start driving a truck you’re going to have a hard time making it work. I got lucky with my wife. We’ve been together since high school, married for 15 years. She does all the accounting for the business. When your wife works in the business, I think the partnership and marriage is that much stronger.

Kurt F.

I eat okay on the road, but I stay in pretty good shape just by loading and unloading. That seems to make up for the long periods of sitting and driving.  When you’re loading and unloading for several hours, you get your exercise. I just turned 64 the other day and I feel great. I think the job itself keeps you in shape.

I just got back from a haul in the Pacific Northwest. If I had to choose somewhere else to live, I’d move to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It’s about 30 miles east of Spokane, across I 90. That whole area is just beautiful. There’s a gorgeous lake there, Lake Coeur d’Alene, that’s about 25 miles long. When you’re up in the mountains looking down on that lake, it’s just amazing. My wife and I live in the northwest part of Wisconsin, which is also a beautiful part of theUS, but some day, I’m going to take my wife for a car trip and visitIdaho with her.

Not every woman can be married to someone who’s on the road all the time. She has to be fairly independent. She has to be able to take care of herself, handle the kids and all their activities, get the plumber there, and all the rest. People have asked me how we keep our marriage together with me being gone so much of the time. Maybe my being gone is the main reason we get along so well, I don’t know. We both say to the other one, “How do you put up with me all these years?” so somehow it works out.

Jerry A.

My van is like an RV, too. It has a bathroom, shower, sink, full size frig, a double bed that folds up like a murphy bed with a breakfast nook under it, and a microwave/convection oven. It’s nice having your own shower if you’ve ever had to stop at a place with 20 showers for 100 drivers and they aren’t cleaned very often.

It’s a little harder to find places to stop than years before, but if you plan your routes well, it works out. I don’t park in unsecure areas. I make sure I know where I’m going and where I’m going to park.

My wife, Diana, has driven with me off and on over the years. She now works in the office at Barrett, but when she rode with me, she’d make a lot of meals and we’d eat better than when I was on the road by myself. I’m a big boy and have to stay active and avoid bad munching.

I like Sirius/XM Satellite radio, too. It’s nice because you can plug in a station you like and listen to it for the next week or so. It doesn’t fade.

Chuck S

I always listen to Satellite radio while I’m driving, mostly Prime Country and the old 70’s music.

I like to carry a bicycle with me to get cabin fever out of my system. It just depends on what part of the country I’ll be in and what the weather might be like. I always enjoy Seattle for bike riding. North Dakota has some nice bike paths. Many cities are making some very nice paths, but I usually just get on the bike and go.

My truck is essentially an RV, all self contained. It allows me to eat a little better because, with a full size refrigerator, I can grocery shop and make good choices. I know some guys who religiously grill every night. My wife makes quite a bit of food from home that I’ll take with me. It’s easy just to pop something she’s made in the microwave ─ quick and healthy.

Pat M.

Sometimes it’s hard to eat well on the road, but there are a lot more healthy choices at truck stops now than years before. Avoid the fast food and you’ll do all right. Metro Truck Stops are good. They have good salad bars, fish on the menu, and less fatty meals overall. Good parking. Good fuel. Their shops are also handy if I need to make minor repairs on my truck. Travel Centers of America is good, too. They have a good online directory.

Loading and unloading a haul can be a good workout, but I stay in shape by taking long walks, too. Many truck stops now have fitness rooms and I can round out my exercise with good equipment.

Once I’ve had some exercise, showered, and had a good dinner, I relax by watching TV and movies. I also listen to quite a bit of Sirius/XM Satellite radio. My favorite station is the Jamie Foxx channel called the Foxx Hole. His comedy is a great way to end a day.

Bill H.

Sometimes it’s hard to eat well on the road, but there are a lot more healthy choices at truck stops now than years before. Avoid the fast food and you’ll do all right. Metro Truck Stops are good. They have good salad bars, fish on the menu, and less fatty meals overall. Good parking. Good fuel. Their shops are also handy if I need to make minor repairs on my truck. Travel Centers of America is good, too. They have a good online directory.

Loading and unloading a haul can be a good workout, but I stay in shape by taking long walks, too. Many truck stops now have fitness rooms and I can round out my exercise with good equipment.

 Once I’ve had some exercise, showered, and had a good dinner, I relax by watching TV and movies. I also listen to quite a bit of Sirius/XM Satellite radio. My favorite station is the Jamie Foxx channel called the Foxx Hole. His comedy is a great way to end a day.

 Bill H.

When my twin sons were old enough, I took them with me on summer moves. If we had a layover someplace, I’d park my truck, rent a car, and we’d take a little trip of our own. My kids have seen Mt. Rushmore, they’ve been through DC , and have been to the Grand Canyon with me. It was a lot of fun.

I took my boys one at a time. We’d be gone 2-4 weeks, come home for a few days, and then I’d take the other one with me. It was kind of pot luck where you’d end up but back then, I was running coast to coast and with coast to coast you always had a fair amount of dead time between one coast and the other.

In this job, you do miss a lot of time with your kids while they’re growing up. But now my kids have pictures and say, “Hey dad, remember this, when we took that riverboat ride on the Mississippi in St. Louis?” Or, “This is when we went to the Grand Canyon.” When you do things like that with them it makes it a little easier.

A nice thing about my schedule is that I may be gone for three or four weeks, but when I get home, I’m taking eight, nine, ten days off. So, while I wasn’t home every night to see my boys before they went to bed, when I did get home, I’d be there for a good week, long enough to do things with my family 24 hours a day. That right there gives you the freedom to do some things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. At the end of the year, I figure I have just as much time off as the average guy with a regular job, maybe more.

Mike J.