Don’t Give Up The Ship!

When you think you want to retire from trucking, DO NOT SELL YOUR TRUCK. Detail it, change all of the fluids, wax the frame and tanks, and sew some sheets together to cover her and keep the dust off. If you can, park her in a garage, barn, or a decent shed—any place where she’s safe and out of the weather. Then go on with your retirement. But let me tell you something: if you’re in your 60s, the average retirement for owner-operators is about 6 weeks. Six. That’s it. I’ve worked with folks like you for 48 years, and I’ve learned a thing or two from all that time on the road and in the business.

You may think you're ready to stop, but the road has a funny way of calling you back. The first couple weeks, you might enjoy sleeping in, puttering around the house, catching up on some projects. But then something starts to happen. That itch. That boredom. You miss the hum of the tires, the rhythm of the road, the solitude, even the smell of diesel. And next thing you know, you're looking at your old truck online—only it belongs to someone else because you sold it. Don’t make that mistake.

What the politicians did the last 4 years to our great country, our economy, and the cost of living is nothing short of a sin. Everything costs more, and the dollar doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to. Florida is filled with retirees—good, honest, hardworking folks—who thought they had enough money set aside to retire comfortably. They traded their work boots for sandals and expected to live the good life. Now? They’re working again—hardware stores, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, marina fuel docks, golf courses—places they never imagined themselves after retirement. And they’re making half of what they did before, if they’re lucky.

Some of them thought they’d just play golf, hang out at the beach, sip a cold one, and enjoy the sunset. That lasted 90 days. Maybe. Then boredom set in. Restlessness. They needed a purpose. So they found some kind of work, just to stay busy. It wasn’t about the money anymore, it was about meaning—about doing something.

Never give up your way of making money. If you’re a mechanic, don’t sell your toolbox. You might need to turn a wrench again one day, maybe part-time, maybe full-time. You never know. As an owner-operator, you don’t have to drive a million miles a year. Cut back. Cherry-pick the loads. Work smarter, not harder. Run during spring, summer, and fall when the weather's nice and the roads are dry. Park that rig during the winter. Go south for 3 to 4 months if you can swing it. Take a break. Then come back refreshed, ready to get behind the wheel again.

Let’s talk about home life. A house is NOT a man’s castle—it’s a woman’s palace, and it's been neglected for as long as you've been on the road. You come home thinking you’re going to relax, but guess what? She’s got a honey-do list waiting for you that’s as long as a trip from Maine to California. And the kind of work on that list? It’s different. It’s physical. It’s bending, lifting, crawling, painting, fixing. After a week of that, you’ll be saying, “I didn’t work this hard driving my truck.”

The thing is, when you're home every day, the scenery never changes. The same trees, the same roads, the same cloudy skies. And speaking of skies, if you’re in the Northeast, the weather can be gray, rainy, and downright depressing for weeks on end. That cabin fever sets in quick. You start to wonder if staying home was such a good idea after all.

Be very careful with full retirement. If you fall into a sedentary lifestyle, you might not last long. They say if you sit still too long, you’ll rust—and I believe it. Some studies even suggest Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t attack a busy mind. And let me tell you, when you're driving a semi-truck, your mind is always working—watching the road, reading signs, planning stops, calculating distance, staying alert. That activity might be what’s keeping your mind sharp. Don’t throw that away for a recliner and a remote control.

So here’s the bottom line,  be careful with selling your truck. That truck is your freedom, your identity, your lifeline. It’s more than a machine—it’s a part of you. Even if you don’t use it every day, knowing it’s there in the shed, ready to roll, gives you peace of mind. It gives you options.

Keep the truck. Keep the toolbox. Keep your hands in the game, even if it’s just a little. Retirement doesn’t mean you quit—it just means you shift gears.

Written By: Bruce Mallinson, Owner – Pittsburgh Power, 3600 South Noah Drive, Saxonburg, PA, 16056 Phone (724) 360-4080, website: www.Pittsburghpower.com