Growing up in the ’70s in Salt Lake City, Utah, JT Huffaker thought he wanted to go to law school and become an FBI agent until he stepped into the cab of a 10-wheeler and fell in love with driving. Now, years later, JT is still behind the wheel, putting groceries in stores across the country, running a reefer truck for a grocer out of Missouri.
“Everything I know and learned about truck driving, I learned at truck stops and from other drivers,” said JT. “I’d pull up and see someone doing something and ask what they were doing and if they could show me how.”
He now calls Michigan home in a small town between Detroit and Toledo called Gibraltar. JT has four kids and five grandkids in Utah, whom he sends a handwritten postcard from the road every month. His grandkids love seeing where their grandpa has been and his adventures. His son, Aaron, recently took some time off to ride with his dad, sharing the cab with him for a few days.
At the end of the day’s journey and having been away from his family for weeks, JT heads to Pilot, stating, “travel centers are home away from home, Pilot has that consistency that provides familiarity on the road. Plus, they have the best coffee!” Living in the Midwest, he takes advantage of the mobile fueling with Pilot because “it is so much easier, so much faster, and you don’t have to stand out there in the cold. You can get it all done while you’re waiting in line, so when you get to the pump, you just punch in the number and go.”
As a bonus for JT, he says, “I save up my rewards point for the big electronics I normally wouldn’t buy with my own money. Last year I got a new trucker GPS, and I will upgrade my Bluetooth headsets when they come out with a new one with just my points.”
Back on the road, JT has also taken on the role of driver trainer, sharing his knowledge from fellow drivers with new ones. His words of advice to new drivers, “don’t watch smokey and the bandit!” For those looking to get started driving, he says, “it’s a great time to get into the industry, technology is starting to take hold, and it’s fun to be a part of the transition, but more than any other job, truck driving is a way of life.”
JT wrote about his journeys and experiences while on the road and was kind enough to share a recent poem with us.
THE END OF MY RUN
by JT Huffaker
I love what I do, that much is true.
But it’s not always easy and it’s not always fun.
And there’s dirt and there’s bugs, and there’s not enough hugs,
‘Til I finish my work at the end of my run.
If I have the right load, and I’m out on the road,
It can be a real pleasure to make this truck run,
But the load’s often wrong, and the road’s often long,
That leads me back home, at the end of my run.
I do what I can, to follow their plan,
On time and safely, and get the job done,
But there’s too many miles,
And not enough smiles,
‘Til I hang up my keys, at the end of my run.
Thank you, JT, for sharing some of your stories with us and allowing us to be a part of your journey. We look forward to seeing you at our travel centers and continuing to be, at least in some way, a home away from home.
