Border Connect and Tryon promised opportunity, but instead gave me lies, wasted time, and empty miles. These two missteps nearly derailed me, but they also pushed me toward something much better.
Border Connect Freight was a horrible choice. But I lived and learned, I guess. There were two absolutely unforgettable experiences I had with this company.
The first was a load going from Columbus, Ohio to Versailles, Kentucky. The actual route wasn’t the issue—it was the load. I was equipped to haul steel, but this load was bagged wood pellets. Luckily, they fit under my side kit tarp. I reminded the dispatcher again that steel was really all I was equipped to haul. The next week went smoothly enough—until I was assigned a load of steel beams for a bridge under construction.
The pickup was in Muncie, Indiana, with delivery to a work site in Noblesville, Indiana. I asked twice if they were absolutely sure those beams would fit under my tarp, and was assured they would. I arrived at the plant in Muncie around 3 p.m. and was told to uncover the trailer and drop it. The load would be ready by morning, they said, secured with the bills placed on the rear of the trailer.
When I came back, my trailer was loaded all right—but the entire side kit had been stripped off the trailer and stacked in the nose. The load wasn’t secured, and there wasn’t even room for me to work to secure it myself. Furious, I called my dispatcher and told him I forfeited the load and demanded it be taken off my trailer immediately. I hate being lied to. After he contacted the shipping office, they told him it would take two days to off-load the beams—hoping I’d change my mind and deliver it. I said no thank you, just get it off my trailer.
Two days later, I returned, spent the next two hours putting my side kit back together, and left. I wasn’t happy. Once I got back on the road, I called Border Connect’s safety department and resigned.
About two weeks later, after orientation, I began working for Tryon Trucking. Chris Marlette—my dispatcher from the BESL terminal in Campbellsburg, Kentucky—was now with Tryon. I enjoyed working under Chris again, but the loads weren’t steady enough to generate the revenue I needed to pay my bills. I managed to stick it out for six months.
While at Tryon, I reconnected with another former BESL driver named Dana Moore. We kept in close contact after that, and in an upcoming chapter you’ll see how we ended up helping each other out in a very financially beneficial way.
With that, I closed the door on both Tryon Trucking and Border Connect Freight. My friend Chris has since passed away—so rest in peace, Chris.
Coming up next is my time with Kaplan Trucking, which turned out to be 99% good. Please keep reading.
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My Trucker Life 