The Spirit tours Iowa on way to Walcott Truckers Jamboree

OOIDA’s tour trailer has a couple of stops in Iowa this weekend as skipper Marty Ellis zeroes in on the Walcott Truckers Jamboree next weekend.

On July 1-2, Ellis and the Spirit of the American Trucker are scheduled to be at the Council Bluffs TA Travel Center. It is at the junction of I-29 and I-80 and across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb. From northbound I-29 and eastbound I-80, it is Exit 48. From southbound I-20 and westbound I-80, it is Exit 49. There’s parking for 78 tractor-trailers there and the Country Pride restaurant is open.

On Independence Day and the day after, July 4-5, Ellis plans to be at the Brooklyn TA. That is two-thirds of the way across Iowa on I-80 at Exit 197. There is parking for 70 tractor-trailers and the Country Pride restaurant is open.

The Spirit is scheduled to be at the Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, near the Quad Cities area, on July 8-10. Read more about the great Walcott Truckers Jamboree blowout here.

The word from the road

Ellis says it is heartening to see restaurants opening up on the road after being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, though some in Illinois seem to be lagging yet.

He said on last Friday’s Land Line Now broadcast that he has been talking to drivers who stop by OOIDA’s tour trailer about OOIDA’s name – the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Drivers unfamiliar with OOIDA often get hung up on the first part of the name.

“Most everybody focuses on the owner-operator part of it. I get that. That’s what I did the first years I had heard about it,” Ellis said.

The “independent driver” part of the name back when OOIDA formed in the 1970s basically referred to drivers who weren’t union, Ellis said. He said he talked with OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer about it, who said basically the Association advocates for the person behind the wheel regardless of anything else.

“We actually have people who are union guys or have been union guys in the past as members. So it’s a pretty neat ability for people to get involved at whatever level they are at, whether they’re a company driver, leased to a company, have their own authority – it really doesn’t matter,” Ellis said.

Spouses of drivers can be members as well as retired drivers, support members who don’t own or drive a truck, and even escort drivers and similar trucking affiliated professionals. All of them add heft to OOIDA’s clout at the national and state levels of government, he said.

Dash cams

Ellis discussed dash cams with Land Line Now Host Mark Reddig on last Friday’s program.

Ellis says as long as the dash cams face out, he is glad to have them.

“Me, personally, I am a big fan. I don’t think I’d ever drive a truck again without one,” Ellis said. “I think it’s going to save your butt if that one accident would happen. You know, it kind of gives you some cheap insurance.”

He makes sure he has plenty of SD memory cards on hand so he can save videos of incidents.

Turn the cameras the other way, to driver facing, though, and that is a different story, Ellis said. Then it’s an invasion of privacy.

“Most drivers, the reason they like this job so much is that they don’t have a boss looking over their shoulder all the time. … Do we really need our company finding out what color of underwear you have on when you decided to go in the bunk?” he asked.

Listen to the program on Land Line Now

Stop by when you see OOIDA’s tour trailer

If you see OOIDA’s tour trailer, stop by and say hello. Ellis is looking forward to visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. There are copies of Land Line Magazine to pick up there. You can join or renew your membership for $10 off the regular price there. Face masks are available for anyone with a commercial driver’s license at The Spirit.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL