Owner Operator Profile: Sammy W.

Sammy served 20 years in the Navy and then Coast Guard before starting work in boatyards. His transition from boat maintenance was influenced by a friend who wisely pointed out that with trucking, you have air conditioning when it’s hot and you can be warm and dry when it’s cold and raining. That buddy also said that there are just two sides to trucking: you either love it or you hate it, and Sammy is definitely a member of the “love it” camp.

Sammy’s truck driving career began with a well-known trucking company, where he went through their driving school, primarily handling dry van shipments. He then transitioned to flatbed hauling for a different company, gaining two and a half years of valuable experience. When he tired of having to break the snow and ice from his flatbed loads in colder climates, he returned to boats. For 15  years he hauled boats to dealerships across the US and Canada until the economy crashed in 2008 and the demand for “high-priced toys” fell. His final years of transporting new boats was mostly spent on roads up to Canada because the Canadian dollar was stronger at that time.

On April 1st, 2014, Sammy joined other owner operators at Trailer Transit with the ability to choose his hauls, work with an understanding and hardworking dispatch team, and have a variety of loads to haul. He values the opportunity to transport everything from military simulators to shows like Disney on Ice and Cirque du Soleil. 

What sets Trailer Transit apart for Sammy? He praises the company for their transparency about pay, miles, and options, as well as how hard they work to make sure deadhead time is kept to a minimum. He understands that the transportation industry can be unpredictable because of election years, the economy, and fluctuating freight demands, but Trailer Transit’s honesty and respect and appreciation for its drivers never changes

As a power-only driver, Sammy plans out his routes. He prefers TA Petro truck stops over all the others for the best fuel discounts and the security of guaranteed parking. His travels have taken him all over the country, from the upper plains of Wyoming and Montana, across the expanses of Oklahoma and Texas (where he makes sure to stop at Bubba’s BBQ). He remembers driving a load through OK and thinking about what it was like for people in the 1800s exploring that part of the country for the first time; their experiences with the Native Americans and the buffalo herds. 

Navigation was much different when Sammy started driving professionally. There was no GPS. Drivers were using maps to find the best routes and calling customers to verify how to best access their drop points. If you talk with him, he still sounds fond of his maps, but he says that GPS is one of several tools that definitely helps. Especially when the shortest route is not always the fastest.