Danny Schnautz has spent a lifetime in and around trucks.
The best truck he drove was a new 1988 Kenworth W900B flattop with a CAT 3406B motor and a 15-speed transmission pulling a 48-foot Utility spread-air flatbed, he says. Another favorite truck was a one-stack Mack.
“That’s real truckin,’’ he says.
Danny has five children and five grandchildren. He is married to his wife, Rhonda.
His favorite trucking moment is delivering an oversize custom-made imported machine from the Port of Norfolk to a small factory in Indiana.
“The entire office came out to see the new machine that they had been expecting for over a year,” Danny says. “They were excited about the new advantages their company would have once using it.”
Danny also recounts the countless times getting a load from the origin to the destination over a thousand miles safely and damage-free without any fanfare or reward, or driving through the night with the companionship of other truckers moving America and listening to WWL talk radio out of New Orleans.
What Danny likes about the industry is that trucking touches every American and almost every other industry. Each finished consumer good has moved many times on trucks from raw material on through to the finished product.
And, he says, “Trucks are cool!”
Danny’s dislikes the race to the bottom, commoditizing the valuable and incredibly hard and dangerous work that millions of drivers do each year. Also, the counterproductive regulations and indifferent shippers and receivers make some days a little less joyful.
Leasing to a good carrier, watching expenses, and keeping the left door shut are things that has helped Danny be successful as an owner-operator.
“I’m a member of OOIDA because this is the only group working for the good of drivers, and therefore, the industry. Longstanding leadership by and for truck drivers,” Danny says.