Coal Bucket Outlaw

Tom Hansell. 2002. Betacam SP video.
Coal Bucket Outlaw is a documentary that asks Americans to look at where our energy comes from at a time when coal still produced over half of our nation's electricity, and reveals the human and environmental price we pay for our national addiction to fossil fuels. Built around a day in the life of a Kentucky coal truck driver, the film brings viewers into the cab of the truck and into the lives of the people who live and work by coal haul roads for a truly wild ride. A veteran driver who owns his own truck, and a young family struggling to pay the bills guide the audience along one-lane roads, up tight hollows, onto strip mines, and around coal processing facilities, while discussion of coal’s role in providing our nation with electricity connects the lives of these truckers to the lives of everyone in America.
“Someone’s got to haul the coal, and at the paltry sums per load, Kentucky truckers have got to haul ass as well. Hansell’s day-in-the-life doc links our addiction to fossil fuels to a megawatt system of national abuse … where the rubber meets the road just leads to corporate offices of power.”- Pacific Film Archives
“Candid, insightful and surprising.”- Beyond the Box, ITVS
“Compelling.”- Best of the Year in Film, Louisville Eccentric Observer
All films in the Appalshop collection are protected under Title 17 of the United States Copyright Law. The unauthorized distribution or public performance of copyrighted works constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 U.S Code Section 106(3)-(4). This conduct may also violate the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and The Universal Copyright Convention, as well as bilateral treaties with other countries that allow for protection of Rights Holder copyrighted works even beyond US borders. To receive rights for public performance of our works, including educational or institutional licensing, please contact Appalshop Sales to complete the purchase at 606-633-0108 or [e-mail].
You can learn more about Appalshop and our work at www.Appalshop.org

[@joewehner9837]

This country would cease to exist without truckers, god bless each and every one of them!! ❤

[@ericbest9562]

Thank you

[@ALNunnery]

Thank You. God Bless All Truckers & Everyone on this Earth 🌎 I pull a Reefer trailer. I mainly haul Fresh or Frozen Chicken outta Tenn ,North Georgia & Alabama, when i go outwest ,or down to Florida, I haul Produce back. Sacrifice Yeah.. lots . Away from home 4 weeks to 3 months at time just to barely get by. I Wanna go home . But can't. I miss My wife and kids.. this weekend my reload canceled in Morton Mississip on 4/19/24 . Here I sit all weekend, nothing to do. . I'd rather be @ home in Southeast Tenn, near the GA ,N.Caorlina line. Oh well ,29yrs of Truckin . still miss the family left Behind. Peace ✌ Love ❤ & 18 Wheelz to Ya.. Cleveland Tennessee Waivin a Hand 🖐tryin' to keep on Feedin' America.. THANKS FOR THE recognition, Preciate it. Truckers Feedin & Keepin the Lights On ..

[@ALNunnery]

I was Born in Ashland KY, my dad was born in Floyd County KY. Haulin Coal , grandpa was a Miner until he bought and started a Trucking company. We moved to Southeast Tenn back in 83' ..

[@jamesgoble13]

@@ALNunneryhmmmm my grandma was a nunnery from tram

[@user-vk7rc7vp2d]

I agree

[@richardturk7162]

I hauled coal in Eastern Ky in the late 70s early 80s and I hauled all I could get in the trailer. 22 tons was the legal weight for an 18 wheeler but I hauled 30 tons most every trip to the Cincinnati Ohio coal yard Everything in this video is the honest truth that is the way it was for me. I met some of the nicest people that lived on the mine roads. If you had trouble they would come out and help you in anyway they could. I broke down on a mine road and had to fix the power divider over a couple of days. I was laying out in the dirt changing parts and one older lady came out and offered to feed me in exchange for a few big blocks of coal for her furnace. Her beans and cornbread sure were good plus she made me a shoe box full of cookies to take home with me. Mountain folks will always be special to me.

[@daMillenialTrucker]

as a millennial truck driver, I wish could've worked with yall during those days. Seems like all people care about is themselves in the trucking industry

[@arthurcutaiar9994]

That truckers wife is a prize, and he's a real man. Lovely true americans.

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

Well, thank yee, kind sir!! I’ve always tried to tell everyone what I “prize” I am, but they won’t listen! 😊

[@lghalihaf]

@@KimGreer-ii2ir "We ain't never not made it yet" This should be printed on a Tshirt along with KY map. Same for the thing you said with 2 truckers and a room full of whores!

[@catdiesel7143]

For a minute was thinking it was Buford T Justice pulling them over 😂

[@rickarmstrong4704]

yes this documentary looks like it is from that era, it is a story so often repeated not just in this instance but in everything were the Independant Common Men and Women are concered throughout the world, Much Respect to all that do this work !

[@coryholzhauer1049]

Good ole Jackie😂

[@LTDunltd]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@TheMattC9999]

Wait, you mean it's not? 😂

[@nateperagallo8611]

Me too, thats why i watched it!

[@DaleTech_LLC]

Blaming a truck for going slow with his 4 ways on? Maybe people should pay more attention to what’s ahead of them everyone in a hurry to get to no where.

[@johnmcgregor3671]

I like how he said it's going slow because it's overloaded no dumb ass it called its going slow because it's loaded in the hills period it's his mentality that I shake my head at

[@randyballew8795]

​@@johnmcgregor3671 Exactly any heavy duty truck hauling a load in the hills is going to be going slow.

[@bighero84]

It's all bullshit they worrying about a truck that's out here trying to make it for there family. They need to fuck with the real criminals out there

[@threynolds2]

He didn't have his 4-ways on.

[@randyballew8795]

@threynolds2 watch again, the lights are dirty but you can see that his 4 ways are flashing

[@liveweyeractual]

This is the coolest mini documentary I've seen on here. These type of people are, and always will be, the solid backbone of this country. Blue collar working folk will always find a way. "We ain't never not made it yet."

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

lol…. My oldest daughter was so embarrassed when this documentary came out. She makes a point to enunciate her words, so as not to talk like me…when that statement was made, she said “mom, a triple negative” so I had to figure out what I should’ve said, which was, “we’ve always made it in the past” not “ain’t never not made it yit!” 😂

[@liveweyeractual]

@@KimGreer-ii2ir proper english is just a formality. We all know what it meant and most of us feel the same!

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

@@liveweyeractual when I get introduced to someone, I say “Kim” but when I say it, it comes out with two syllables like “Kee-im” I try to say tired instead of “tard” or tires instead of “tars” now because apparently the way I normally talk, apparently sounds like a different language! Lol

[@deborahchesser7375]

Hauled coal in a DM 800 Mack for years, my uncle John(KSP)rest his soul would rarely bust these guys unless there was a serious safety issue. He knew they were just trying to feed the family. Come Christmas he would get hams, turkeys, bottles of whiskey or whatever as a token of those hard working guy’s appreciation. ✌️🇺🇸

[@bobbybowers6396]

5:31 Llllll 😊

[@robertesposito9871]

A DM 800 Mack, that’s when trucks were trucks, 18 speed quadruplex trans, you had to be a real driver to drive them, most drivers wouldn’t know what to do if they stepped in and seen two sticks, most drivers today never drove a manual transmission, I drove a DM 800 quadruplex for a few years hauling ashes out of an incinerator. I’m 72 and I’d still be driving if my eyes didn’t take a shit, I just loved driving

[@robertesposito9871]

I’d much rather move machinery and oversized than driving a coal bucket, I never like dump truck work going back and forth to the same place

[@jamesgoble13]

@@robertesposito9871maxi dyne was the transmission,work yourself ragged changing gers on a quad

[@7ann7seven13]

We're getting rid of brokers slowly. They rob us blind. Still truckers all need to shut down for 3 solid weeks. Only then, will companies who need to haul their products will give the broker money to us....instead of keeping it for themselves.

[@Captain-Awesome]

This has that older movie production feel we grew up with. Good solid people doing good solid work, trying to make a living. Reminds me a little of The Smoky and the Bandit.

[@threynolds2]

Well, it was filmed in 2002.

[@frankmorain2755]

Your absolutely right dude that’s y these kids nowadays are little babies and can’t do real men’s work

[@terryraffield9428]

So true!!

[@Captain-Awesome]

@@frankmorain2755 Strong Men create good times, Weak Men create bad times. We are seeing the results of Weak Men right now, soy boys living in good times have created a lot of Weak Men. When we have Weak Men then Boss Women will step in and Lady Boss the whole thing. This is where we are now, we have women bossing and raising entitled brats who think they are in the wrong body... This means real bad times are on the way. Then Strong Men will step up and turn it around and the cycle continues. If you don’t know Jesus, I highly recommend taking a serious look into it. We may live to be 100 years old but at some point you need to know where you are going after you die. God is real and he left you a book, it’s the Bible.

[@howlinwulf]

Boys im gonna say a prayer that you all make it home safe and make enough money to feed your families. God bless the truckers!!

[@danielsummey4144]

This is only like 40 years old lol

[@user-if2xh4qu2v]

​@@danielsummey4144probably more like 15-18 years old

[@TheSailingwoodworker]

@@user-if2xh4qu2v At the end it stated copywrite 2002.

[@guyintenn]

This is from 2002. The coal being hauled now is but a fraction of what it was then. You can run up and down US-25E and US-23 in KY and hardly see many coal trucks like you used to. There are a couple of large coal yards that trucks would dump coal loads where it was loaded on barges on the river, that are completely shut down and abandoned. The Coal industry is but a shadow of what it once was.

[@whatta7793]

these ole boys are probably dead by now or old with health issues, this was recorded in 2002

[@paulcrouch7629]

Learned to drive coal bucket early 70s .64 Tri-axle Mack with a duplex tranny. Moved to Texas 3-78. Ran California, Arizona ,steady. Money was good then. Hooked up with a grocery co. For 13yrs. Good money! Bounced around for a couple years doing a little bit of every thing. Met current boss,20yrs ago. Been a wild ride, owner operator with 4 trucks. Hauling bulk potatoes out of Dalhart, TX. Under payed. Boss man said he'd pay $25.00 extra to load 10,000 lbs of taters. We were already grossing 80,000 + What a blast. Tx .Dps. very short handed back then. Still kicking it in 2000, Pete 379. No elds. Been fun, where the h%ll did 50 yrs. go? 🤔🤠✌️

[@middleclassretiree]

What grocery company were you with, I spent 35 years in grocery started out with a great regional distributor they got bought out by SuperValu I was able to finish up and retire before SuperValu sold out and everything went to hell but I did love it while it lasted and the money was great like you said plus everyone has to eat was the way I looked at hauling groceries

[@Edward-bd8iy]

Yew need one of them "Damn I got old quick" stickers. I know, it's happened to me too

[@Retired88M]

When a dollar was really a dollar my dad was a coal man hauling coal to homes and businesses and he made enough money to raise 3 kids , pay his mortgage on his house, pay for his coal truck and have enough money left over to build himself a 3 bedroom cottage along a river and enjoy fishing. All at a dollar a ton delivered. But this was in the middle 50’s.

[@chriscraft4236]

Have heard that before used to believe it not anymore. I’m a truck driver it never was easy and fair in this line of work. My pay today as a driver is 6 times greater than when I started in 1986 yet the difficulties in bill paying is the same, things changed but stayed the same. Always a struggle six days a week.

[@Retired88M]

@@chriscraft4236 I was told by a financial guy that with how we moved away from the gold standard of only having as much money printed that can be covered by the gold reserves that with the us mint printing so much that a dollar is only worth about 12 cents

[@semiwandering295]

Yea, now with haul weight rates so cheap, these drivers should unite and boycott to haul for them... the drivers are the ones hauling and getting fined... the company needs it hauled.. They are literally and figuratively in the driver seat.

[@deborahchesser7375]

I remember when Blue Gem was paying $3.50 a ton from deep mine to tipple. Took that Mack places you wouldn’t think a damn dirt bike could go.

[@Retired88M]

@@deborahchesser7375 I should’ve mentioned that when my dad retired and sold his truck in 1981 he was charging $12 a ton delivered

[@johnrobertson1357]

I ran coal trucks for a company in West Virginia, some of the best truck drivers i have ever had work for me,if you want to really want to call yourself a hand , then go to west Virginia and Kentucky you will find out real quick if you are a real truck driver. These people work their ass off.

[@davidcaskey4669]

So true i hauled coal out of Pikeville ky to 30 miles past Maysville to a big lime plant

[@TOOLMAN4hvac]

@@davidcaskey4669, it's possible you have passed me going down Ford Mountain when I was a kid spending my summers at Grandma and Grandpa's place, on Brushy Creek. I have many cousins who worked in the mines in that area. Your guys deserved every dam dollar you made.👍

[@johngreer8101]

My family is from beef hide

[@jasonduncan69]

Hauled out in the oilfield in WV and PA. Takes balls big as church bells running those roads in a big truck.

[@davidcaskey4669]

@@jasonduncan69 when you haul on roads with no center line you just know its going to be fun

[@kevinwhite9842]

My mom is the 1st lady Coalminer for Consol Coal company in Coffeen Illinois in 1975 . One tough lady she is still alive and Kicking at the age of 80

[@steventrue9919]

DOT needs to go after the companies, not the drivers

[@threynolds2]

"Companaies"' do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.

[@12pawsinn]

The driver is responsible for the load. The weight and to safely operate. Why it's called a pre trip and post trip inspections.

[@kcgt4334]

Here in texas they can come after the companies involved. The scale operator where they loading can be cited same as the driver. Those trucks are weighed to keep track of the coal hauled. They know exactly what they hauling.

[@yanevaknow1017]

It’s the drivers that’s supposed to make sure everything is in line correctly….so how is it not the drivers fault?…..oh yeah and I am a driver also…..

[@1946luke]

Doesn't work that way. Company can load it as heavy as they want. Perfectly legal, till the driver pulls out on the road with it. Drivers choice.

[@tempestmkiv]

That truckers wife is solid gold!

[@TrainsRKool1999]

He’s a lucky man, hope there doin good

[@ROBIN_SAGE]

@@TrainsRKool1999I wonder where they are today and how they’re doing if they’re still around. Some real hard times there in 2008-12 were yet ahead. I hope they’re alive and well!

[@howlinwulf]

She sure is reminds me of my wife,works her butt off never asks for nothing. When I ask her what she needs it's nothing. You have to sneak to buy her whatever. My daughter knows what she needs and helps me to shop for her. God bless yall!

[@JesseSilas-mr3qi]

not solid gold she's full of crap😂 she said that Mack has a Cummings in it🤔

[@pcarson1377]

What’s a Cummings?

[@barnesdrb]

Same deal in the Ag industry. Owner op has to haul 10-15,000 over gross weight just so the owner op makes any money. People need to realize - the truck gets paid first. This was a very well done documentary. Watched it while waiting in the corn line.

[@kevinrice7635]

Can't catch all of us...long live outlaw truckers.......

[@haroldmccarty1333]

Thank you for this video. I’m 31 now and grew up with my dad hauling coal out of east Kentucky from the mid 70s until he retired from it. It was a big part of my childhood riding passenger and hearing them gears rolling and jake brakes coming down those mountains. A lot of people have never seen this side of Kentucky, especially seeing as I work in Louisville now. It’s like a different world. Love ya dad

[@appalshop]

So glad you enjoyed it, and it brought back memories for you. --Rachel

[@richfranks9161]

My dad spent a day and a half in an Arkansas backwater jail for weighing in at 114 thousand pounds. He had to duck down these little back roads to avoid getting caught. He hauled railroad ties from Shreveport Louisiana to Texas. The law threw the book at my dad’s boss and impounded his truck for a time. There’s no telling how much damage to those little pine stick bridges he crossed was done. My dad was outlaw trucking for quite awhile until his boss died.

[@easton_F350]

114k lbs gwad damn lol

[@johnsalomone5101]

Proud braking a local Bridge people in that town relied,on & needed for crossing,,

[@easton_F350]

@@johnsalomone5101 lol

[@Unknown_Ooh]

I am calling this out as B.S. - I grew up in a trucking family and I have NEVER EVER once heard of a driver being locked up for a DOT violation. I think your daddy lied to you and was arrested for a real crime. If you want to prove it I'll give you an email to send his name, county he was arrested in, and DOB and I'll call the clerk of courts office. Ole boy probably had alcohol or drugs 😂.

[@Unknown_Ooh]

​​​Yep, the #1 to get people to hate truckers even more is to drive them places they dont belong. When my dad was teaching me to drive he told me to stick to the main roads and when on four lane roads just keep put on the right lane because there's no need to go anywhere fast and the truck wont let you go that fast to begin with lol. ​And when making turns to let all the four wheelers to go first even if you have the right of away cause if you hit one of them the police will always blame you.@@johnsalomone5101

[@joshjones3408]

This is straight up the truth about the whole deal... thanks for making it 👌👌👌✌️✌️👍👍👍

[@appalshop]

Thanks for watching! --Rachel

[@exel234]

Make it. Harder & Harder The work in man is always behind the 8 ball the. Sob’s in. Washington are always on top

[@Cookie-Dough-Dynamo]

Ahhh. Post 9-11, but pre iPhone, 2009 and 2020. What a great 7 years that was.

[@TheReaper42069]

You mean 2001-2010?

[@Vile-Flesh]

Those were really good years. I missed out on most of it because of workaholic phase working non-stop for years and living like a hermit when I wasn't working but I do remember those were mostly good years.

[@awildjared1396]

This documentary is so good I've watched it 3 times a day for 2 days now.

[@needsaride15126]

I still have my CDL but am disabled. Roommate drove for 38 years. Another friend has been driving for close to 40. My son has been driving for 9 years. May all these drivers everywhere have safe travels and old trucker souls watching over them.

[@letsgobrandon136]

8:50 that's the most accurate description of the trucking industry

[@dannywitucki]

Reminds me of when I was back hauling logs. Good film👍

[@robertdonaldson6584]

My late father was on the board of directors of Cummins Engine Company.

[@Edward-bd8iy]

Cummins built a diesel Indy machine back in the day.

[@jimgomez5396]

Respect to all you guys! Keep on keeping on!

[@janetcohen9190]

"Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world." - Henry A. Kissinger

[@mrbakerskatz]

👍🥃 Back by your traitorous Government

[@howlinwulf]

It's a dam shame it's came to what it has. Have a blessed day!

[@HorseMalone]

Kissinger......a small hat !

[@davehughesfarm7983]

@@HorseMalone another damn neo-bolshevik

[@Edward-bd8iy]

​@@HorseMaloneand a GIANT mind. I always liked him, can't explain why since I was Democrat born and raised. Oh well, he was one of those guys either you love 'em or you hate 'em... like Howard Cosell

[@mr.notsure9679]

8:34 holy crap that power plant has been gone. I remember the lines backed up along the highway, waiting to get in and dump.

[@benjaminlabra6234]

Where was that one at?

[@todnewberry5885]

God Bless these family...& the working man,

[@nvragn]

Ya driver you are definitely going to need a new yoke. I'm a 30 plus years as a heavy truck mechanic in Canada and I have nothing but respect for each and every one of you guys and ladies of course. I work for the driver's and without them I ain't gotta job. I spent most of the my years at a dealership but many a time I thought I'd start my own shop or at least a mobile guy but I can tell you that I'd be hard pressed to make any money and again it's because of my mad respect and would have a hard time charging for my time. Anyway I just stumbled across this and enjoying it. I'm almost at the end but I just had to stop and make a comment. Thanks to each and every one of you. Anyway keep it rubber side down 👍 🇨🇦 🔧 10-4 there driver cmon

[@terrellfarms1]

You can tell this was filmed in 2002. So much has changed in eastern Kentucky since then. You are hard pressed to find a coal truck on the highways. We used to watch the coal trucks roll through Elkhorn City all day. Hundreds of them. Now if you see a dump truck it is hauling gravel.

[@Steven_Will]

What happened?

[@BlackDalhia7]

@@Steven_WillDemocrats

[@Steven_Will]

@BlackDalhia7 sounds about right ✅️

[@terrellfarms1]

@@Steven_Will Simple. Environmentalist have made coal out to be worst thing in the world for the environment. Power plants have stopped using coal and switched to natural gas. Coal mines shut down because the price of coal was crap. Now rampant unemployment has led to the eastern part of the state being a drug ravaged area. Meth, crack and Oxy are now the king.

[@johngreer8101]

Same struggles with haulen loggs here in georgia

[@Grits_and_Glamour]

Did I just see Roscoe P. Coletrane? Sadly kids today won’t understand my remark.

[@rileypup9971]

Nope…that was Enos.

[@davidsmith837]

True

[@normanlacy3390]

Put the evidence in the car jr. The goddamn Germans have nothing to do with this😅you sounded a little taller on the radio

[@clintonmcvay1522]

in hot pursuit

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

#yeehaw

[@hollywinsman9464]

These folks deserve so much respect on and off the road.

[@jamesstephens1539]

I LOVE YALL OUTLAWS KEEPAH TRUCKING MEN

[@f.radleplayer2920]

The bad part about trucking is you get punished for working hard and doing what it takes to get the job done. Period

[@ALNunnery]

Exactly 💯.. I bust my a$$ to ve on time . Stretch this Dag'Um electric logbook to the Moon 🌙 for someone to come out Yelling whether at shipper or receiver . ,just to barely make a living.. . . It gets in your Blood , I love Truckin 🚚. And I Hate Truckin. Still the love overpowers the things i Hate about it

[@keithingram3428]

Been around coal trucks most of my adult life say what you want these guys are the best truck drivers on the planet

[@prestonbanksoutdoors939]

Im sure every liberal in the u.s.a hates everyrhing about these truckers,...hauling cole and using diesel to do it....god bless the truckers!

[@itzmereb3873]

Let ‘em hate!! I ain’t good at nothing but holding a steering wheel and making diesel fuel disappear

[@prestonbanksoutdoors939]

@@itzmereb3873 im right there with ya brother!👍

[@RDC_Autosports]

diesel was a $1.25-$1.59 back then lol i still have pictures of it

[@chrishultgren777]

diesel was 15 cents a gallon up to 1973

[@curbstomp3126]

When I started trucking in th 90s fuel was .99 a gallon.

[@briandefrancisco2571]

Those little country roads were the most challenging. i delivered the special scale rail tracks for the coal cars on a spread axle flatbed. i was worried about squishing someone's mailbox. some of the neighbors near the coal mine herd me running thru gears came out and had mailbox that were move able. ran out, pulled their mailbox back a few feet, smiled, and waved at me . they were use to big trucks making deliveries to the mine.

[@williamwertman24]

The 76 mack r model I just worked on at the farm came out of Allentown and was shipped to mostly haul coal out of Kentucky. Was shipped to a mine. After that frame was lengthened and has a 28ft grain body on it. Loved seeing that old mack on the video title page. 76 r686 sx with 56,000# rears and duplex

[@deborahchesser7375]

That’s cool stuff there brother heavy spec built Gold Bulldog all Mack. What are you running 237, 300 Plus or ? Cut my teeth on a 77’ DM800 300 plus 15 tri plex 65k bogies right the very places this was filmed. It’s 85% logging now if they haul anything anymore, this is old footage

[@williamwertman24]

@deborahchesser7375 300 2 valve e6 with jake not dynatard. 18in mountain shoes and triple frame.

[@williamwertman24]

Funny enough it went from south of hard coal territory, to soft coal, then back to barely north west of hard coal.

[@markstack2309]

I took oversize into mines these folks need the utmost respect God bless these drivers

[@Mike14704]

Brings back memories I used to drive in southeastern Ohio

[@JasonDrMortician]

Have this on dvd from way back

[@randallacton2506]

Portable scales should be outlawed

[@shawncampbell3191]

Git-r-done boys!!! Hammer down...👍

[@johncholmes643]

I'm outwest in Washington state, our normal legal weight is 105,500lbs. I've ran 120k, 140k in our mountains and every day I was legal felt like I wasn't doing a good job. That's with 68' double trailers, and 7 axles. I can't believe these guys were hauling the weight on the equipment shown here. I miss the good old days of trucking

[@gojudude]

I remember back in the 80's all those trucks up there had huge graveyard humps and no tarps....were in the 80-100 ton range

[@bluezhawg2104]

I too cut my teeth in the Cascade’s of Washington and Oregon. Started in the late 80s and enjoyed 30 years of truckingUp there. I miss it sometimes but surrendering my CDL was the right move.

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

We had a drive that we paid on a percentage basis and I wrote his checks. He drove across the scale with a 90 ton jag on his back. I hyperventilated! No equipment is built for that! We had to buy 2 rounds of tires per year, amongst all the other expenses we had! Those were some tough times. This was filmed in I think late 90s early 2000s but Tom had to edit and put it together. I love how he used the air wrench to edit my husband Carls foul language! 😂

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

*driver*

[@johncholmes643]

@@KimGreer-ii2ir Don't you write for 10-4 magazine??

[@MissilemanIII]

I used to haul coal . Left the shop in eastern PA. Drove to the last exit on I-80. Load up and head back east.

[@hayyarbrough]

God bless you I was coal hollers... My grandfather my great grandfather all come out of kentucky

[@mc04161980]

The one DOT officer looks like Buford T Justice with that mustache😂😂😂

[@mr7badass]

I was looking fir this comment because I was gonna post it.

[@HimWitDaHair98]

The Grears are the cutest couple you could find. Real Kentucky spirit, "we've never not made it yet"

[@bigmackstruckstop9213]

I love watching big rig trucks 😊

[@chuckwhitson654]

I live in the tip ne corner of East Tennessee and I appreciate and approve of this movie 100%. Very enjoyable

[@appalshop]

Thanks for watching! --Rachel (who grew up on the TN side of Roan Mountain)

[@Peter-mt6lg]

I know in 1980 when i was a Trainman on the SCL, i prayed to get the call for the coal train.

[@Peter-mt6lg]

Limerock was big in Florida then too.

[@Peter-mt6lg]

We were getting quite a few long coal trains in Florida for all the electric plants down here.

[@mattsprayberry0]

THE ABSOLUTELY MOST UNRELIABLE TYPE OF SCALE THEIR IS

[@Edward-bd8iy]

Not so. They were QUITE reliable for State or County budgets. How you think they got all those fancy new scalehouses and new unies and such?

[@mattsprayberry0]

@Edward-bd8iy Well I live in the state of Alabama and they only got one permanent scale house and a couple of electronic scales as well but the primary weigh scale is the portable scales and I was driving a log truck for a buddy of mine because he broke his leg and how you say I was just trying to help him out and I know good and damn well the onboard scales of that truck were correct and see legally in the state of Alabama you can haul 88000 lb with a tridem permit which he has for his truck but the interior scale said I weighed 87960 pounds but I got pulled over by the Alabama state troopers and they set up the portable POS scales and they said that I weighed almost 90,000 lb but since I was roughly a mile from the mill they cut me a ticket and let me go instead of going to the mill I turned around and went to a truck stop that had a CAT scale and guess what those in cab scales on his truck were correct 87960 on the DOT then after that I took the load to the mill and guess what their scales I said I weighed 87,000 lb so either the cat scale which truckers rely on all across this great nation of ours because of their guarantee that if you get an overweight fine and they find their skill to be wrong they will pay the ticket for you or once they check their scale and if it's correct they will appear with their lawyers to represent you the interior scale on that truck was wrong which was calibrated a week earlier by the state of Alabama or them POS portable scales were wrong. Oh I contested the ticket and took it to court after presenting the Mill scale ticket and the cat scale ticket the judge basically threw the state's case out because he did not want to have this blow up into a big legal case

[@tjboggs3710]

If everyone stuck together and quit hauling coal for nothing, you could get something , because the mines can’t run when the stock pile is full

[@jamesgoble13]

Some can,last mine I worked for had two different railroads hauling from them.

[@mr.notsure9679]

15:14 those are the old school coal buckets there.

[@deborahchesser7375]

That’s what I drove, ol Bulldog DM800.

[@mr.notsure9679]

These days a far over, they might be a few pounds over weight these days. But I can remember when the coal trucks were heaped so high it was a normal thing to see a truck tipped over going around a curve. I'm talking heaped six feet heaped over the sides in the middle of the load. The roads are in better shape these days since it's stopped and not as many crashes. But they are still paid by the ton or the load the last time I talked to any of the drivers.

[@Edward-bd8iy]

Don't forget the extra sideboards...

[@retired55.]

These guys are what a man is made of tuff is an understatement d.o.t regulations keeping the truck road worthy plus d.o.t physical I'm retired praise the Lord stay safe guys

[@Atkinsfan]

God bless these hard working people.

[@robertwagner8596]

excellant show bud,some of them roads look mighty familar,used to haul liquid nitrogen for Halliburton all over Kentucky.Much respect and prayers for all.

[@anthonybrees7646]

Had a gig for a little bit hauling coal in Pa. It’s still the same. the CB blows up telling you to drive off in the woods or a back road they don’t travel and hid or a phone call when DOT shows up for weights.

[@briansmyla8696]

I hauled a boiler in a shipping container going to a hospital in West Virginia. The container was loaded asymmetrically such that it was leaning 4+ inches to the right. It was a challenge to get it delivered safely, but I quoted a rate that reflected the risks involved, and I was paid the rate that I quoted without question. That's a testament to the integrity of the broker that tendered the load to me. And to be fair, I spent 2 extra hours putting the trailer where the customer wanted it to be, and that time was built into the rate. Because I knew that there could be surprises on the delivery end.

[@colubrinedeucecreative]

Been going on for ever seemingly, a local bluegrass band outdoor plumbing company was writing songs about it in the 70s. Nice doc though. Wishin things were better.

[@badapple65]

Ex trucker here!! Put two more axels on every trailer!! DUH!!!

[@leedawson8210]

I came from the mountains of wv. All we knew was trucking coal. I'm the 3rd generation of coal hauling. Great grandpa was an underground miner. It's a hard living. You rely on the coal miner to produce the coal, the truck to stay together to haul the coal, and the plant to stay running to take the coal. Then, there's the DOT... When they came around, we parked. 112k on a tandem truck was the norm. 34 ton was a good load. I'm over the road now. More steady income but not home much. Stay safe, youngin.

[@geraldmelton3439]

Owner operator here for 2 years thanking its time to go back to company driver. Made way more as company driver than I have a owner

[@living_life1]

Great video. God bless these truckers and there families. This is a tough way to make a living. You gotta get it how you can. Was that buford in the video? Rubber side down!

[@rickyhenry4958]

My dad hauled coal for 20 some years ago. It’s still weird to not see many on the road these days.

[@scottwhitaker8606]

God bless our coal families thank you for keeping the lights on

[@ralphsmithco1]

I’m a dirt hauler and when strict enforcement came upon us, rates went up Equipment, brakes and tires last longer. Pits won’t give you the scale ticket unless you’re legal gross weight. Hauling heavier has its own list of costs.

[@howlinwulf]

Had an uncle hit a truck near morrow when i was a kid. Before they had laws about the bars in the back of the trucks. The steering column went through his chest. Finally the laws changed. The undercarriage in the back helps. But id advise you to drive slow because these men have families to feed. Everyone be safe and always lift each other up. God Bless America especially us country folk.

[@deanhutto593]

Seems like great people in that area.

[@jamiebray8532]

That's like hauling boxes out of the ports. You used to be able to make a decent living off of those boxes. Not anymore, I would crank my truck up on Sunday night well very early Mon morning. I'd run non-stop all week. My truck would finally be shut down sometime on Saturday. I never really seen my wife or my new born son. That was in 06-08, & the money just kept getting less & less. I got out & sold my truck right before the FUBAR in 08 under Obummer. Went to driving local rock wagons, & made almost the same amount. And I was home every night.

[@DavidKnisley-sj9xi]

Thats a dang good woman he is a lucky man if he moved into a ditch she would move right in with him these women today don't know that kind of loyalty

[@akm03051]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

Bahaha!!! I’ve been told that if he decided to pick up rocks for a living, that I’d be beside his ass picking rocks up as well! I appreciate all these compliments. Times was tough back then, and times got even tougher after this documentary was filmed. But we are doing good now….

[@2Tall03XX]

I hauled heavy many times, never got caught, thankfully. I miss it sometimes.

[@user-mb5mj7qk2b]

Steering wheel holders are what truckers are now a days

[@scottowens8474]

So yer sayin you drive with your feet???😂😂😂😂

[@threynolds2]

@@scottowens8474 "steering wheel holder" is an insult. It means all you do is steer the truck. You don't "work", you don't obey the laws, and you have no common courtesy.

[@gregorybarth930]

Your talking about the OTR interstate sissy not the hard working folks like these,

[@scottowens8474]

@@threynolds2 I know what a steering wheel holder is. I know what a Billy big rigger is. I was makin a joke. It's called being facetious. Fancy word for makin a joke. I was born into this industry LITERALLY born into it.

[@A-uf3so]

A 2024 update with these truckers would be great!

[@joshuacampbell9990]

Man I remember when they were cracking down on load weights when this was being filmed. It was rough times for truck drivers and trucking companies. Saw a few long time family owned businesses just get fed up with dealing with it all and hang it up. They were speaking the truth that it was better to go into something completely different than to deal with coal hauling. After all that subsided the coal regulations were passed even harder, coal fired plants were converted or shut down, and the industry is basically a skeleton of what it was. Living in eastern Kentucky my whole life there has got to be something brought back to make good money again.

[@bt9653]

Buford T Justice is still a cop!

[@boknows3841]

My cousin Bill owned his own coal bucket and drove 16 hours a day and couldn't make a go of it. Bill said that you needed 3 trucks with good drivers who doesn't bust stuff just to make a living. Today there is no coal being hauled, just black top in western Pennsylvania

[@deborahchesser7375]

That’s exactly right, towards the end of the coal run in SE Ky I rolled out at 4:30 and parked it down 6-7 of a evening barely was scraping by. And you definitely didn’t want no idiots behind the wheel they’d break it or wreck it all together. Drove Harlan Hazard all over through there.

[@J.R.in_WV]

I drive a triaxle bucket, haul in north central WV and southwest PA. A lot of operators are doing fill dirt hauls with steel beds these days, I’d say that’s almost as common as Asphalt work if not more-so in many areas. You don’t see those trucks on the road loaded often though, they run real short or on site hauls. Really all we mess with is Asphalt, gravel / limestone, Ag lime and mulch are the big hauls in the good months, in the winter it’s bulk salt for the roads and gravel / limestone. There is still coal being hauled, but it is not 1/10th what it was 20 years ago. Most of the coal mines and the coal fired power plants still in operation have belts and rail line access that makes trucking the stuff obsolete…you just can’t truck it as cheap as a 2 mile long train can haul it. If they really want to force these electric cars on us in the next decade though they’d better be ready for all the stuff you see in this video to start right up again.

[@deborahchesser7375]

That’s right, EV’s need juice to charge, people just don’t get it.

[@boknows3841]

@@deborahchesser7375 The government shut down All of the coal fired power plants with the exception of Shelocta in Western PA. Not that it matters because 85% of their power went to New York City. When they start having brown outs and black outs it will be too late. In Venezuela they have rolling black outs where they ask you what time of the day would you like to have power and give you power for 8 hours a day and that is it

[@deanpahl8591]

It's funny, if they really need it all saftey goes out the window, when the tire pile was on fire you could haul as much as you could put on the truck, gravel that is, the fire was put out, they said it couldn't be done.

[@jimdorrington3088]

In Michigan & Wisconsin, we haul overweight all the time, hoping we won't get caught, haul pulpwood

[@FondelMikeRotch]

Bummer, hauling in Northern Ontario and we manage with legal weight, touch height restrictions when wood is light though. We pride ourselves being safe and courteous and crashes are generally limited to bush road conditions as we seem to go farther and farther offroad with hilly, narrow ice roads. We do carry much heavier loads than our southern counterparts though,almost double.

[@tonyfreeman5048]

I'm glad to see them pulling them mean old truck drivers over trying to scratch out a living. While all this other bull shits going on out here on the road they don't seem to pay any interest to

[@whereisbenzo]

20 years laters and we’re back in the same situation where rates are so low owner operators are making less than company drivers.

[@juku619]

That background music with the bass, fiddle, guitar and drums sounds cool

[@johnmcgregor3671]

I can say im shocked at saying this but i agree with that dot cop when he said the operators of 4 wheelers need to give the truck drivers room and they need to pay more attention because for far to long law enforcement of all kinds and at all levels have been trying to say its all the truckers fault ie car cut in front of him then hammers the binders so he didn't miss his exit and got run over by a truck hey thats the truckers fault thats the mentality that most have but that dot has it right

[@wt1370]

As an owner op in the fracking industry. I feel your pain

[@ericbest9562]

Where at, this time last year I was hauling missiles/mono lines around west Texas and New Mexico and I had trouble trying to find time to sleep and eat we were so busy, it got to the point I had to decide if the money was worth what I was doing to my body and sanity.

[@wt1370]

@@ericbest9562 I’ve been in this boom or bust industry for twelve years brother. Definitely lean times for me right now. Logistics, kids etc keep me in the game. Hopefully things pick up for all of us soon. I’ve done nothing but spend money to stay upright for months.

[@Bodie2020]

Even running legal loads you must drive slowly down hills to be safe. Up hill you go slow because of weight. Growing up in the coal fields you should where the trucks run and to drive accordingly yourself. You cannot blame a truck driver. But no matter what the driver is always at fault. It’s not right blaming a driver for everything. As the officer said 4 wheelers think that a truck drives and stops the same as the car

[@shirleypersinger3614]

Thoughts and prayers to you drivers and your families 💓

[@chrisgarcia2274]

I’m surprised old timers like this don’t float there gears at least one of the drivers

[@kennethh1289]

Old timers know that floating with heavy weight is rough on the driveline

[@jorjito5587]

🤣 love that fact they use an impact to bleep ou tthe cussin

[@KimGreer-ii2ir]

Redneck ingenuity

[@carl5536]

I haven't seen any coal trucks in my area for years and years anymore..Logging trucks everywhere but I haven't seen a drop of coal since 80s maybe, coals why I moved here..I worked outside workn my way inside but they shut er down after a couple or 3yrs. I came in 78 or 79 and the mine closed up in 81 or 82

[@deborahchesser7375]

Where my family is from SE Ky, all old coal buckets drag log trailers now too. Shit I drove a DM800 back in the early to mid 80’s when Blue Gem paid $3.50 a ton and fuel was a dollar, I miss it but I guess things always change and usually not for the better.

[@gerritdykgraaf2570]

Very well put together!’ Trucking all my life and being 59 years young. It has always been a cat and mouse business, far as the law is concerned!! Steel hauling was a big weight game back in the 70’s and 80’s. For sure. I am a chicken hauler now. Left the steel thing years ago!! Most of my knowledge came from my dad! Coal hauling from back in the hills alone is a brave undertaking!! Not to mention a truck won’t last long with a hot dog operator behind the wheel!! Clutches, u-joints, springs and bags can’t take it for long if over abused!! Trucks are very expensive to maintain and keep safe !! Just sayin,, give us bigs time and room to swing around corners!! Especially the hard right turns!! Thank for the video,, it was a very well done presentation!!🤜👍

[@appalshop]

We're so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your stories! --Rachel

[@LarryHart-cl4vm]

Old Buford finally got his man driving a different truck 🚛.

[@elmercoffmans4223]

It's a real dirty business to be in and it gets worse everyday

[@MrDJ217]

Much love

[@robertw4230]

Oh shit the portables ! Gotcha . Been there done that 🤪

[@A.R.American1]

Im a utility worker im on the roads everyday. I average 250 miles a day. I bet 2/3 of accidents i see are people on there phones. I have a hard time believing they cant see slow moving trucks. If they cant see them put the phone down. I almost gost rear ended years ago on the side of the road. Lady didnt see the men woking signs the hazard light's and strobe lights. She ran over 12 traffic cones and stopped a foot fro hitting the truck. Said she didnt see us. She didnt see us becouse she was texting and driving.

[@martyswaney1098]

Tax collectors with a badge.