From Hogs to Hoppers: Trucking with Rooster

Welcome to Episode One of “Steady at the Wheel.” On this podcast, we aim to create a space where veteran truckers, new truckers, and potential truckers can hear stories of the road, meet and stay in touch with each other, and maybe bring a little of the old-school community vibe back to the industry. 

My brother and I grew up with trucking – our father was a trucker all of his life and we (two of six children) were raised on the road with him.  In this inaugural episode, we’ll tell lots of great stories about Rooster, our dad Russ Allen’s nickname.  You’ll hear tales of hauling hogs back and forth from Montana to South Dakota, during the incredible rough days of the early eighties when trucks were nothing like the smooth-riding luxury cab vehicles of today. Later, dad transitioned to hauling grain and soybeans, and those days have great stories of their own.

The Steady at the Wheel podcast is hosted by brothers Jaxon Allen and Luke Allen.  They grew up in the 80s, driving a truck with their dad, Russ "Rooster" Allen, in his old cabover freightliner - hauling hogs from Fairfield MT back east to South Dakota. Trucking was a family business and the brothers worked and rode alongside Rooster during every season of the year from age 2 through high school and beyond.  From scabbed knuckles that wouldn’t heal, to dangerous near-misses with boars and hogs, to breathing soybean and straw dust, what may seem harsh to some was just the way it was back then and the boys are who they are today because of it.  Tune in to future episodes of Steady at the Wheel to hear great old-school stories, entertainment, news, education, and mentorship aimed at a trucking industry audience.

Discussion points:

• Our goals for this podcast
• Growing up with Rooster, our dad, a lifelong trucker
• Trucking schools don’t tell you about the true life on the road
• Our earliest memories of trucking livestock
• Hauling hogs from Fairfield Montana to Sioux Falls SD - logging millions of miles
• Trials and tribulations – hog hauling stories with dad
• New wheels - the big transition from spring-ride to air-ride in the 90s
• Later transitions – from hogs to grain
• The “warm up” before basketball games – hand shoveling thousands of pounds of grain
• Get in touch with us on our socials, we want to hear from you!

Resources:

Steady At The Wheel Podcast Instagram

Jaxon Allen Instagram

Jaxon Allen Website

Wild Wild West Youtube

Email Jaxon and Luke