My Jobs: TLC Lines, Fresno CA


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TLC LINES INC., Fresno, CA
was a 48 state carrier of temperature controlled freight including fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and perishable foods of all varieties. It was a team operation, which means that there were two drivers to a truck.

They had two terminals. One in Fresno, and the other was in St. Clair, Missouri.

Getting the job
As soon as I got out of MTA Truck Driving School, they placed me into my first job. It was with TLC Lines out of Fresno CA. I got with my trainer that lived in Amarillo Texas. I spent 2 days a week in his driveway or at the truck stop in Amarillo. We were driving coast to coast and were always going through there, so I moved there. This job lasted about 3 months (1991)

My Job Description
When I first started driving I was put with a trainer. He taught me how to drive and how to live on the road. Later after my training was completed, I was put with another new driver and we drove the truck together all over the country. This company hauled mainly produce and meat, from coast to coast and the average length of each load was 2,500 miles. We were gone for weeks at a time. We both lived in Amarillo Texas at the time.

The Good Points
I got quite an education working here. Truck Driving School gets you ready for the DMV but doesn't teach you much about really driving over the road. I would say that this was a positive experience.

The Bad Points
Being gone for weeks at a time gets old really quick. I couldn't even get home every two weeks to check my mail and phone messages. Getting loads down the road was more important than getting drivers home.

Why I Stopped Working There.
I picked up another driver's truck in Clovis, New Mexico that had decided that his home time was more important to him than delivering the load in Los Angeles the next day. My partner dropped me off and I inspected the truck. I found it having two flat tires and in bad need of a brake job. I had the tires repaired and drove the truck to LA and tried to deliver the load. I was too late and the customer was closed. I was instructed to bring the load to the Fresno yard and they would redeliver it on Monday. While I was going down the Grapevine toward Bakersfield, the brakes on one of the trailer wheels cammed over and caught on fire.

I pulled over at the bottom of the hill, and put the fire out and got it into the shop at TA and the mechanic inspected it and told me it was not my fault. It was because the brakes needed to be replaced. I told my office that the trailer needed brakes back in New Mexico, when I got into the truck, but was told to get into the Fresno Yard and they would be fixed there. When I got to the yard in Fresno I was given another loaded trailer and sent back to Clovis, New Mexico to give the driver his truck back. He got into the truck and drove me home to Amarillo and I waited for my co-driver to come and get me. The safety people in my office said they didn't need me to drive for them anymore because the only way a trailer brake can catch on fire is to drive at a unsafe speed. I was fired for being a victim of their poor maintenance of their equipment.