Manuscript Complete - And I Need a Job

End of The Road is at the End of its Road.

Good Day, readers of Autonomous Truck(er)s and listeners of the Voice Of GO(r)D podcast. It’s a beautiful fall day it was when I started writing this last week out in my corner of the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York, with the visual splendor brought by the color changing of leaves at their peak. A real treat for those of us who live in the Northeast part of the country.

As you know, I’ve been working on the book for most of this year.

That book is done, with all that remains a final cut of the manuscript from my publisher, which should be wrapped up here later this month.
Pre-sales from them will be available in November, and you can order the book directly from them at this link once it opens - I will let you know then - and a hardcover can be in your mitts this coming March 2026.

https://creedandculture.com/books/end-of-the-road-inside-the-war-on-truckers/

By purchasing directly from Creed and Culture, instead of that massive online platform who are the cause of so many problems in trucking today, you will be directly supporting a new and independent publisher in a much stronger fashion. It’s a good way to say thank you to Creed and Culture for approaching me in the first place.

An audiobook version is to be recorded (most likely by me!) as well, and will likewise be available in March.

So, now that the book is done - I need a job! My wife and I are in a substantially bad financial situation, as the advance for the book, and the modest fundraising many of you donated to, were eaten up pretty quickly. Two kids, lots of bills, dollar devaluation, cost of living—you all know and are likewise experiencing the same things. All of this is to say we are broke as shit, and I need to get back to regular employment, tout suite.

Despite all of the bad news out there, I miss the road and feel its call. It’s been over two years since I turned a wheel, and the hardwood market here, where I was previously employed hauling logs, has completely collapsed. The Mill down the road from my house is closed, and there is very little wood moving whatsoever.
I’d love to go back logging, but that appears to not be happening.


Perhaps one of you, my dear readers, has a lead on an empty truck which needs a driver? Though the market is totally over saturated with ‘drivers’ and at a level of capacity that stubbornly refuses to wash out, where the trash ought be showing itself the door, there really is a shortage of drivers around like me. That said, there is likewise a shortage of decent employers and jobs around, but I like to think that my readership overlaps with top tier operators in the industry. You would think I could just reach out and call folks and get a job, but its not that simple - most of the people I consider worthy of my services are located very, very far away, and I do live in a weird spot for trucking.


So, with that in mind, allow me to offer a quick Resumé or CV, as it were, followed by my own list of conditions.

What A Prospective Employer Gets -

- 28 years of experience in four different countries

- Spotless abstract, no moving violations since 2005.

- I learned from the ground up, and can make most minor repairs myself, and, more importantly, understand how to operate equipment so it doesn’t break. Have grease gun and tools, will travel.

- I’m a slow driver, think of the fuel and other associated savings of not employing a speed demon.

- I learned on a stick and only drive them. If you have been following this Substack long enough, you will understand. Its not about being a ‘Luddite’ — its about understanding that the imposition of automatic transmissions is a significant part of the problem on our highways, and of me refusing to bend the knee to those forces. I’m not doing it, and won’t be insulted as such. You, likewise, should not be insulted if I would rather not drive one of your trucks equipped with an automatic.

Its not personal to you, its personal to me against the spreadsheet brains.

My colleague

Rob Carpenter

makes a pretty compelling case that the equipping of automatic transmissions in Big Trucks is one of the key changes that begat the downfall of the industry - Read It Here.

- I’ve operated in the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth, and understand the nuances required in extreme cold and winter weather conditions, and likewise operating in the heat pulling really heavy shit. Which is to say, your truck won’t go in the ditch, the motor won’t get cooked, nor tires get blown. I’m religious about tire checks, and have my own hundred foot hose so I can babysit tires until they can be fixed. Hell, if you are one of the rare companies that still carries spares, I’ve changed enough of them that I can do that, too. More savings!

Products hauled and combinations/equipment I have experience on

- 10 years hauling fuel, including pulling Super Bs out in the bush delivering to remote locations with PTO driven product pump.

- propane and anhydrous ammonia pressure vessels

- drilling mud/frack water/drilling brine etc

- grain and dry fertilizer

- flatbed/roll tight/trains/step decks/curtainsiders/anything + everything on board

- RGN/Lowboy/’Super’ Trailers with Jeep/Stinger/Extra Axles pulling big + heavy.

- Logs and woodchips - I was getting pretty good at running a self loader before being laid off. Can also operate wheel loaders when necessary.

- Vans and Reefers but would prefer to never pull a trailer equipped with doors.

- I’ve never hauled livestock but would love to learn.

Conditions/Family Requirements

- As mentioned, I don’t drive automatics, its not happening.

- Would prefer to operate a much older piece of equipment, ELD exempt. I can be convinced to negotiate on this, but that depends on many things.

- I’ve got two little girls at home, and if you expect me to run OTR and not be home very often, it has to be worth it not just for me, but for them. I’m not interested in McDonald’s Value Meal trucking - time is short, and life is expensive.

- I live in the southern Finger Lakes of Upstate New York - one hour drive south of the Thruway, and 25 miles north of 17/86. There is trailer parking 2 miles from my house, and I could probably fit four tractors out in my driveway if I needed to.

It would be best to work with someone who has freight going through this neck of the woods, or at least going by on one of those main routes.

- Don’t even bother if your equipment has a driver facing camera.

- I am my own safety department, and my record speaks for itself. If you expect me to bend the knee to some nerd or kid half my age that has never driven a truck or done what I have done, then I am not the driver you are looking for, nor are you the company I would be happy and productive working with.

- You ought have robust detention and other delay time compensation in place. Time is a commodity we can’t make more of, are always losing, and is the most important aspect of our existence as human beings - NO BUSINESS gets mine for free.

- If you’ve read this far and thought “This guy should just be an Owner Operator” I am all ears for suggestions and assistance with that. Like I said though - money has been tight around here for quite awhile now, and I’ll probably need to work for someone else for a bit first.

Thanks for any leads or tips, and I look forward to bringing you an awesome book, and hopefully reportage from out on the road in the very near future.

gordilocks@protonmail.com