Your career sounds like mine and I also enjoyed my years at Frito. I hired in the LFD at 19 years old with a 24/48 schedule which allowed plenty of time to drive big trucks on my days off starting at 21. Started my driving career at Consolidated Freightways and eventually went to Frito. At one time Frito in Louisville had 4 off duty firefighters working casual. Eventually Frito put several of us on the regular board so we could have seniority and bid rights. When rumors of our plant closure started I hired on with UPS. Frito closed our plant within a year of me leaving. If we had a modern plant with room for expansion I probably would still be there with 23 years seniority. I still talk to several former and current Frito drivers about every week.
Glad to find you, brother. Our paths are very close. I hired on at Seminole County Fire Department at 18 years and 2 months. Seminole County is a northern suburb of Orlando. When I hired on we had 9 fire stations and I was the 56th firefighter. When I retired there were 660 firefighters 29 fire stations. My last year we ran about 54,000 calls (these days they are running 70,000+). We were the only EMS providers currently running 32 rescue ambulances. Everybody is dual role and we operate UH-1H Huey helicopter ambulance.
Over the 25 years that I worked at the FD and driving trucks, I worked lots of trucking outfits. I was on extra board for everybody that I could. I drove the most for FL and ABF. I started at 18 years driving for a guy that owned a huge landscaping outfit and a fence company (Orlando was booming). I drove a old GMC 9500 with a 238hp Detroit and a 10 speed. I ran to south Florida to haul back plants in a drop deck van like FL uses. I also pulled flat bed hauling chain link and wood fence panels. Also pulled a step deck hauling landscape tractors, small bulldozers, pickup trucks, water trucks, etc. When was 21 I worked for Ryder Truck Lines, the Teamsters paid better. And here are other outfits that I drove for (I grew up in a truck, third generation driver).......
Seminole County Fire Department
James B. McCuller
**Ryder Truck Lines (Teamsters Union Local 385)
**Pacific Intermountain Express
Ward Fleet (Montgomery Ward)
Southland Corporation (7 Eleven)
**Consolidated Freightways (Teamsters Union Local 385)
Global Coach and Armor / Global Race Cars
Jefferson-Ward Stores
Driver Leasing Service
*McCrory/ TG&Y Stores
*Landair/Flying Tigers
*PB&S Chemical
*Sealy Mattress
*Dade Paper Company
*Harris Corporation
*Pella Windows
*Martin-Brower
Frito-Lay
**ABF Freight (Teamsters Union Local 385)
**Yellow Freight (Teamsters Union Local 385)
I retired in November 2001. I have had a good time with retirement, went all around North America riding mountain bikes, hiking and sight seeing. I have done lots of fishing and hunting dove, quail and coyotes.
I never could get trucking out of my blood. I just got back in the business. I’m working for a farmer that also owns 5 trucks. Nice rigs, all Pete and KW long hoods. I’m driving a KW W900-L, Aero Studio Sleeper, 3406 CAT 550hp, 18 speed. We pull 42ft aluminum end dump trailers hauling fertilizer out of Coastal Alabama to Americus, Georgia turn. We pull 9000 gallon tankers hauling liquid organic fertilizer. We also pull flatbeds hauling sod, crates and tanks of fertilizer, etc. Mid summer we will be hauling sod to football stadiums
(NFL and College), Houston, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta and Jacksonville and most of the SEC teams.
Stay in touch,
Larry