Trucking with OOIDA

When Sarah Janssen first found out about the Truckers for Troops care package program, it’s safe to say she was excited. Her husband, Senior Master Sergeant in the Air Force Aaron Janssen, was recently deployed overseas, and Sarah was looking for a way to surprise him with a bit of home. And she found it through OOIDA. Sarah joins us to talk about the joy your donation can provide to our men and w...

You’re far from home, sacrificing everything to protect the country when a 70-pound box of goodies arrives with your name on it. For nearly 20 years, OOIDA has been sending a piece of home to our troops stationed overseas. And from day one, Angel Burnell and Nikki Johnson have been a driving force behind the care packages. As we kick off our annual Truckers for Troops campaign, we look at how the...

As we ramp up for next week's Truckers for Troops campaign, we’re going back to the archives to highlight one of the places your money goes: the Veterans Community Project. Yes, it’s a tiny home community for veterans who need a place to live while they get their lives back on track. But it’s also so much more, most notably a place to get help in any form it’s needed – no matter what, no questions...

OOIDA’s annual Truckers for Troops campaign kicks off next week. Now in its 20th year, the campaign has raised more than $800,000, providing care packages for our troops stationed overseas and supporting veterans here at home. Sylvia Dodson has been here for all of it. The manager of OOIDA’s membership department walks us through the history of Truckers for Troops – and previews this year’s campai...

The trucking industry is no stranger to tales of the supernatural and other unexplainable occurrences, and in that spirit, we’re bringing back an old friend of the show: Jimmy Mac. The longtime broadcaster is still covering trucking, but his new project, Gauge Illuminations, also dives head-first into the world of the unknown. Jimmy swings by to usher in Halloween with accounts from Gauge Illumina...

Got questions about the Trump Administration’s move on red dye diesel? You’re not alone. Got concerns about it? Well, you’re not alone there either. Jim Jefferson and Aron Lynch of OOIDA’s compliance department have been getting a lot of calls about the executive order and what it means for their equipment, for IFTA and for a host of other reasons. Their advice for truckers looking to save a littl...

Look at the reviews for Boss Truck Shops and you’ll notice a trend – praise for their high level of customer service. That’s not by accident. For more than 70 years, the truck service center has been putting its customers at the center of everything they do. Mitch James and Jeff Porter stop by the studio to break down the experience you get when you pull into one of their 44 locations. Boss Truck...

The crooks are at it again with a new way to rip people off. Only this time, the scheme doesn’t just steal your money – it could even land you in jail. Sarah Bradbury, vice president and general counsel of Premier Trailer Leasing, sounds the alarm. And then, we sit down with Dan Oesch of the Missouri Department of Transportation, which is leaning into truck parking projects as Interstate 70 gets a...

Tom Kloza has been covering the fuel markets for more than 50 years, and even he hasn’t seen anything like what we’re seeing right now. With average diesel prices per gallon in the $6 range and above, filling up has never been more painful – and we have a number of factors to thank for that. We connect with Kloza, chief energy advisor for Gulf Oil, to talk about how we got here, how high diesel pr...

One week in early 2022, Donna Laframboise was at home, watching as the Freedom Convoy took shape in Canada’s capital city. The next, she was catching a ride to Ottawa to document what was taking place on the ground. The result: a life-changing experience for Donna and a book, “Thank You, Truckers!: Canada's Heroes & Those Who Helped Them.” Inside are the accounts of 20 truckers – and countless...

Every week at OOIDA is Truck Driver Appreciation Week – and the same goes for Aaron Knight, who founded Ten4Talks as a way to give drivers a voice. His popular YouTube videos feature unscripted conversations with the hard-working men and women of the trucking industry that keep this country moving. We connect with Aaron to find out what he’s learned from his hundreds of truck stop conversations. T...

Whether you’ve got one truck or a thousand, it’s important to have people like Brendan Whisenant of CDL Legal in your corner. The industry expert joins the pod to talk about the importance of developing a safety culture within your fleet and preparing for those bad days that tend to pop up when you least expect them. CDL Legal: https://cdllegal.com/ Join or renew with the Owner-Operator Independen...

The world suffered a huge loss last week with the passing of Dolly Parton – but her memory will live on thanks to her music, her kindness, her philanthropy and so much more. That includes a brand-new truck stop in the heart of Tennessee. In fact, the grand opening of Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop was one of her last public appearances. Mark Dukes, president of the travel stop, took some time befo...

Bryan Martin is in the “knocking your socks off” business – and business is good. The “boss man” of 4 State Trucks and Chrome Shop Mafia fills us in on what he’s been up to of late – and gives us a very early preview of next year’s Guilty By Association Truck Show. Plus, there are many ways in which OOIDA is built to have your back – and Amber Stinnett personifies that sentiment. The member suppor...

The trucking community is quite familiar with FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs by now, but how much do we know about the man behind the title? The administrator joins us to talk about his small-town beginnings in Florida and his lifelong dedication to safety and law enforcement, plus the life advice from his father that guides him today and more. Join or renew with the Owner-Operator Independent Dr...

At OOIDA, we’re always thinking about the best ways to represent our members – and to do that, it helps to know where you’ve been. With that in mind, we decided to open up the archives this week for a little show-and-tell with OOIDA President Todd Spencer, who’s been here since the early days. More than 50 years of pictures tell the story of an organization that was forged by the fires of a cause...

If Kenny Ziglar II were in the market for a new nickname, “champ” would be a pretty good one. The Wyoming trucker just won his second straight Best of Show award at 44th annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs in Bristol, Tennessee. Kenny tells us how he went from “scrapin’ by” to winning big with his 2007 Peterbilt 379. Then we keep the SuperRigs party going with Heather Duffey of Shell Rotella. Heather i...

When it comes to YouTube, there’s no right or wrong way to find success. But it’s safe to say that Steven Howard has. The OOIDA life member has been an owner-operator for more than 20 years now, and in recent years has been documenting his adventures on his YouTube page, Big Belly and Son Trucking. And while trucking is a main character in his videos, it’s Steven’s family that really drives the co...

Allen Lund lived a remarkable life – and fortunately for us, it’s documented in a new biography called, “Be Good: The Allen Lund Story”. From a life-changing event as a young man that shaped his faith and his early days in the business to the formation of the Allen Lund Company and raising a family, the book is a lesson in a life well lived. Kenny Lund, Allen’s son, joins the show for a talk about...

The folks at Highway appear to be onto something. The load board has made a robust verification process a priority and the result is less fraud. Brent Tittle and John Tozer at Highway join the show to talk about how Highway got started, how they’re using technology to maintain a level playing field and what the future may hold, particularly when it comes to AI. Highway: https://highway.com/ Join o...

Anthony Moore had one of those days recently where nothing seems to go right. The South Carolina-based trucker got hit with delays and detours thanks to two separate problems with his truck. After his wife said that God might be trying to keep Anthony from something, he said that maybe God had something else in mind. Turns out, he was right. Later that day, he happened upon an apparent kidnapping...

In celebration of Canada Day – and in advance of Independence Day in the U.S.A. – we’re embracing our similarities and differences with the help of a man who’s developed quite a following doing just that online. Joseph DeBenedictis explains how he went from working for the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres and Kelsea Ballerini to comparing food offerings in the U.S. and Canada on YouTube for tens of t...

The rollout of FMCSA’s new Motus registration system has caused quite a bit of frustration out there – and just as many questions. Caleb Sears of OOIDA’s permits and licensing department runs through some of the most common problems people are running into – and some of the most common questions OOIDA is getting. MOST COMMON MOTUS PROBLEMS RIGHT NOW 02:39 Not being able to link USDOT numbers up wi...

Marty Ellis got to cross something off his bucket list recently when he hauled The Wall That Heals – a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that travels around the country. The man who drives the OOIDA tour truck recounts the experience, but only after we get some background about the powerful tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, courtesy of Tim Tetz, director...

When disaster strikes, the Disaster Relief Haulers spring into action. The nonprofit has a very specific focus: providing hay, supplies and assistance to farmers and ranchers impacted by natural disasters. A recent example – when wildfires broke out recently in Nebraska. In short order, volunteers assembled in Ohio, loaded up their trucks and started up a convoy heading west. Levi Foss, president...