A recruiter for Dart Transit recently learned a lot more about the life he's signing people up for. Chris Peplinski got more than he bargained for when he took a trip with two Dart owner-operators.
Writing in Dart's "Advantage" newsletter, Peplinski left on a winter Monday morning with contractor Ron Kirkpatrick, picking up a load of cans in Minnesota bound for El Paso.

"I was pumped from the start, getting to ride cross-country in a big truck!" he writes. "I've always wanted to have this experience. The trip was fun, aggravating, slow, and educational."
Along the way, Peplinski got to experience severe winter weather and the delays it can cause, sleeping in truckstops, the CB radio (good and bad), greasy truckstop food, infrequent showers and dangerous moves by four-wheelers.
He also learned how frustrating it can be to balance a trucker's life with family needs. He needed to get back because of a family emergency. He was supposed to be back Thursday afternoon, but didn't get there until midnight on Friday.
"I couldn't give a specific time when I would be home, and this was very stressful," he writes. His fiancee wasn't too happy about the situation. "Now I see what contractors go through when family problems arise."