Episode 98: When Winter Hits Hard: Readiness, Decisions, and Protecting Your Paycheck

In Episode 98 of the Keep Trucking Personal podcast, Tyler Kivi talks through one of the toughest realities of life on the road: extreme winter weather and the ripple effects it creates for drivers. From widespread shutdowns and icy roads to lost miles, delayed paychecks, and mounting stress, this episode focuses on how snow, ice, and cold temperatures test not just your truck, but your mindset and decision-making. Tyler shares real-world perspective on preparation, communication, fuel strategy, and knowing when to shut down before conditions force your hand.He also dives into the mental side of winter driving, including patience, professionalism, and protecting your safety, equipment, and income when so much feels out of your control. This is an honest, timely conversation about slowing down when it matters, making smart calls, and getting through the hardest part of the year without burning yourself out.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey, welcome back to Keep Trucking Personal. My name is Tyler Keevey, and I'm your host. This is episode 98 of the Keep Trucking Personal podcast, and we're only two episodes away from 100, which is pretty crazy to say out loud. But after episode 100, we're going to replay a few of our top episodes for about four weeks while we refresh the intro and the outro and tighten up the content so that all this stays sharp and relevant and worth your time, most importantly. So I'm really excited about that, kind of to give a little refresh and a rebrand and to see where we can uh continue to take this podcast. But today, today is about right now, and it has been a crazy week when we start to look at the weather that this country just got punched in the mouth with, and it's been one of the craziest stretches of snow, ice, and cold that we've seen in a long time. And this isn't just normal winter driving. This is dealing with shutdowns and major delays and white knuckling decision making. Like none of this is easy. We've seen states like Pennsylvania and Rhode Island shut down travel for all commercial vehicles. And that alone can mess up a whole week that somebody had planned, let alone the storm and the snow and the ice. And that's what I want to talk about today. We've spent a lot of time on previous episodes talking about readiness and preparedness and how this weather can test your preparation and how fast it can impact your paycheck, your stress levels, and your mindset. All of that comes into play. And when weather hits like this, it's not just about getting from point A to point B anymore. It starts to turn into how big of an effect does it have on you? And it starts to look at your miles, things you can't control. Your revenue starts to decline, your hours of service, it's not as utilized as you'd like. Your patience starts to get tested when you can't travel and the roads are shut down, or that's just not worth taking it. And pretty soon your confidence, right? Like you're dealing with a lot. And just in a personal vehicle, it was covered in ice today. My vehicle was completely covered in ice and it took a half hour to get it ready. Now, that's just a personal vehicle. Take your tarps and your straps and your chains and everything that you have when it gets covered in ice like that, and then try to do your job. Man, it will test you. So you need to be mentally prepared because if you're not, these can continue to snowball into all kinds of stuff. You can have a missed delivery, uh, which communicate ahead, right? The weather is going to change your delivery times. So you need to communicate and reschedule and reschedule your reloads. Understand that this stress can compound, like I said, a short pay period because you aren't able to drive, you're not able to work. And this isn't just a couple states, this is the whole eastern half of the country, and Texas and states that don't normally see this much snow and ice getting hammered, and that really messes them up. I'm going to assume that this is going to carry for the whole week as you're listening to this just because of the cold. The snow is froze, the ice is on top of that snow, and it just makes everything messy for those guys. So even just putting salt down on the road isn't going to change it. You know, looking at last week was talking about 2026, where we're going and what we're going to do to keep the momentum going and who is in place now. And now you have this coupled with it. You're just getting fired back up for the new year. You need to earn, you're looking for that momentum to get this year set. I've talked with drivers where they're saying, hey, my goal for this year is to do X, you know, whether it's revenue or miles or MPG, and they're all setting these targets, and then this pops up, and you're not expecting it. So you need to make sure that you're prepared because this stuff is frustrating, especially when it's the weather and you can't control it. Nobody gives grace when it comes with this. It just is what it is, and it frustrates everybody. It's stressful. It takes that extra opportunity where you wanted to be home or get something done, or your timelines that you mentally prepared for, and they start slipping. You know, and pretending it doesn't matter isn't going to help anyone. So that's why it's best that we talk about it and we look back and we kind of recap. How, you know, how prepared were you? Did you have the extra things in your truck that I talked about? And that's for you. That's not just to do your job. Did you bring a flashlight or did you bring extra gloves? Or did you bring, you know, think about it. That could be a face mask, a winter hat, you know, a thick jacket. Did you get your truck prepared? And were you ready? And I've had a few drivers, it's going to happen to somebody, they're going to gel up. And you go through some of that in the decision making. And it's unfortunate not only for you as a driver, because it rolls downhill quick. Because usually when you gel up, that means multiple people gel up, and that means shops are busy, uh, never comes at the right time, right? It's not like, oh, it's morning, somebody's waiting to fix it, they'll take care of me right away. It's it's always a challenge. And when those things hit, they snowball and it messes us up a lot. And you know, the financial impact, not only from a company standpoint, but from a driver's perspective, it hurts. Nobody wants that. And when you start to go back, what could we have done different, right? Like we, for example, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the you know, the Midwest is just extreme cold temperatures this week. If you're in Duluth, buy fuel at our shop. Well, I should say just put fuel in, but you get what I'm saying. It's treated, it's the best fuel you will get. You cannot buy better fuel even at a truck stop. We understand that the cold is part of our job and we make sure that that fuel is right and it's ready for you. So if you're coming up north, you know, you have to be diligent on how you're gonna get to Duluth because you can start to gel up just going down the road, but we've also spec' our trucks and made sure that they're prepared to handle the cold. But when you get to Duluth, put that fuel in your truck. It helps you in the long game. So many things that we're seeing as it's testing people and it's testing their readiness and their patience. I mean, I've seen and heard from drivers who are like, how are we supposed to cover tarp this low? My tarps are completely frozen. I get it, I understand 100% what you're going through. Been there, it sucks. This is the hardest part of the year. This is going to test you like you won't believe. And preparation, I think now, as we talk about it and what it looks like, it's knowing when to shut down before you're forced to. These road conditions you can't cowboy up and just roll through it. When some of this is extreme, you need to do the right thing and shut down, keep everybody else safe around you because it's not just about you and what you can do. Some of the things you can't control, whiteouts. You can't see the road in front of you. What can that do? Well, that can lead nobody's involved, it can lead you just going into the ditch. Well, you do not want to go into the ditch in a whiteout, somewhere you can't see. It's not something you want to be a part of. And keeping your mind in eyesight and being vigilant for things like when those states have, you know, their 511, they do put a lot of good information out for every state, and a lot of it's feedback from the state patrols, state troopers that are out there on the road calling the state and recommending what you do, whether it's the travel is very risky and you should park or take another alternative route. There is a lot that comes with that. So you might have to look ahead too. Call, ask, can somebody help me? Hey, what do you guys recommend? What are you seeing? What are other drivers seeing? Planning your routes with an alternative before you even get into that spot. Looking at the weather, looking at the seven-day, the ten-day, just being prepared, having enough supplies in your truck if you do get yourself into a situation where you're stuck at a truck stop or in this circumstance where this storm just came through. I'm hearing that truck stops are out of fuel, they're completely full because obviously nobody's driving, everybody's parking and waiting until this storm flushes out. And that's not good. That's not fun. That doesn't help you. Because what I want to do is protect your safety and your sanity and your income. So all of this is something to consider. You know, when I think back to some of the storms and the crazy weather and the things that I've been through, man, some of them really test you. You know, like even when we're going to Alaska, I'll never forget that one. Even through all the crazy snowstorms I've grown up with and been through in Minnesota, whether it's trucking or just real life, Alaska tested me like no other. But this is kind of crazy when you're in areas where fuel runs out, power is out, hotels can't even take people in because they don't have the power or the means or they're out of everything, utter chaos. So make sure that you're prepared. Make sure you're prepared. Because even though that we're talking about this and it's already almost, I don't want to say post-storm, but there could be another one. This isn't like it doesn't happen again. So take advantage of what you've learned, what you had and didn't have, and understand that you don't want to let that stress create panic. You want to be prepared. You want to keep your stress manageable. You know, every delay, it almost is going to feel personal. But you have to remember you can't control this snow and you can't control this ice and you can't control shutdowns, especially when they're widespread. But you can control those decisions. You can control your communication, let people know you're okay and you're safe and that you're confident where you're at. Your patience, you can control that. You can control your professionalism even throughout all this craziness. Understand that somebody's not going to know or feel how you feel in that truck right now. So just because they're asking questions doesn't mean they don't know, or maybe you can let them know without losing your professionalism. And that's how we're going to battle through these weeks without burning yourself out or getting stressed out right out the gate. So let's be very clear about something together. Moving forward doesn't mean pushing ahead when you shouldn't. It means making smart calls, living to haul that other load, and protecting yourself and the public and your equipment. Like I said, there's a lot of people around you. And even though you are a professional driver, you're driving alongside somebody that's never dealt with a snowstorm. You have to think about your surroundings and what that safe decision can do for you today to keep you not only earning but safe. And this isn't really nothing heroic. This is something professional and just knowing when to pause, reroute, and reset. Because winter is going to expose those cracks. It's hard. Trust me, from a 30,000-foot view, these winter storms and frigid cold is challenging. It challenges your shops, challenges operations. It's challenging for you, the driver behind the wheel. Every single thing about it is challenging. And so stay alert, stay warm, stay flexible, stay safe, keep moving forward the right way. Because trucking, it's not going to stop for weather. The best drivers know when to slow down, but please be safe. We'll talk again soon. Keep trucking personal.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

We appreciate you taking the time to explore the heart and soul of TV Brothers trucking with us. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review to let us know your thoughts. Tune in next time as we continue our journey together, diving deeper into what makes us a community, a catalyst for positive training, and a home for those who aspire to be part of something truly extraordinary. Until the end, we're looking and we'll catch you on the next episode.