What does it really take to build longevity in trucking, and how do you know who’s worth listening to?

In this episode of Miles and Mentors: A Trucking Podcast, Chemistry Howard, better known as The Classy Trucker, shares her story of breaking into a male-dominated industry, going owner-op during the toughest years in trucking, and turning lived experience into mentorship.

From making her first right turn to clocking over 3 million miles, Chemistry opens up about the mindset, mistakes, and mentorship that shaped her career. This episode is packed with hard-won truths for anyone looking to drive smarter, lead with integrity, and stay in the game long term.

Like what you hear? Be sure to like, subscribe, and share the show with others in the trucking world.

🎧 Episode Timestamps

📍 00:02:40 – When her trucking dream began: Grandpa, chrome, and a cape
📍 00:05:08 – The moment she knew she could do it: clearing that first right turn
📍 00:06:51 – What 3 million miles have taught her about fear and resilience
📍 00:08:00 – Why trucking is a physical, mental, and spiritual journey
📍 00:09:15 – The 10-year rule for whose advice you should listen to
📍 00:10:21 – A Pepsi dock, a 7-minute back-in, and a silent bet
📍 00:12:50 – The super truckers are gone. The students are still on the road
📍 00:14:06 – How mentorship changed everything
📍 00:15:39 – Driving with humility and the real cost of one bad choice
📍 00:16:55 – Why GPS can’t replace an atlas
📍 00:20:17 – From driver to owner-op and facing the business side
📍 00:23:10 – $11K for tires and what people get wrong about owning a truck
📍 00:26:02 – Why relationships are the secret weapon in trucking
📍 00:28:17 – You don’t have a business. You have a truck payment
📍 00:30:21 – The pressure to delay maintenance and why it’s a bad bet
📍 00:34:14 – What $30K in fuel system damage taught the fleet
📍 00:36:40 – The myth of instant trucking wealth
📍 00:37:32 – Understand your paperwork or prepare to fail
📍 00:39:05 – Why we all take freight for granted and shouldn’t
📍 00:40:11 – If it’s in your heart and you want to do it, baby, do it
📍 00:40:46 – Her mission behind The Classy Trucker and Velocity

🎙 About Our Guest

Chemistry Howard, aka The Classy Trucker, is a veteran driver, speaker, and confidence coach with over a decade on the road. She’s driven over 3 million miles, mentored countless new drivers, and now leads The Classy Trucker platform and Velocity, a series spotlighting women thriving in male-dominated industries.

Connect with Chemistry:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theclassytrucker
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theclassytrucker
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheClassyTrucker

🔗 Follow Miles and Mentors: A Trucking Podcast
Website: https://milesandmentorspodcast.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milesandmentors
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/miles-and-mentors-podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MilesandMentors

🎤 Want to be a guest or sponsor the show?
Miles and Mentors is more than a podcast. It’s a movement of real stories, tactical advice, and mentorship to help the next generation of freight leaders succeed.
Reach out at: milesandmentors@gmail.com

What’s the real risk behind a bad hire in trucking, and how do you avoid it?

In this episode of Miles and Mentors: A Trucking Podcast, Rob Carpenter of Truck Safe returns with real-world advice for fleet owners navigating the challenges of hiring. From overlooked vetting steps to systems that prevent expensive mistakes, Rob outlines exactly how to build a safer, more reliable team from day one.

We get into the shift from solo operator to fleet leader, the red flags that often go unnoticed, and the systems Rob uses to protect reputation, reduce liability, and avoid costly breakdowns both mechanical and human.

Like what you hear? Be sure to like, subscribe, and share the show with others in the trucking world.

🎧 Episode Timestamps
📍 00:03:44 – Why hiring is the most overlooked risk for fleet owners
📍 00:04:50 – The hidden cost of bad hires: reputation, litigation, and loss
📍 00:05:12 – A real story that put Rob’s fleet at risk
📍 00:06:13 – The two biggest decisions that shape your business
📍 00:07:46 – How poor hiring ruined a past business venture
📍 00:09:46 – Insurance red flags and vetting that matters
📍 00:10:26 – What small fleets get wrong about risk
📍 00:10:52 – Rob’s “barriers first” approach to low-cost vetting
📍 00:12:18 – Why you must do road tests even if they have a CDL
📍 00:14:17 – Hidden risk: drivers failing other companies’ drug tests
📍 00:15:16 – The difference between PSP and MVR and why it matters
📍 00:17:10 – What violations matter most when screening drivers
📍 00:18:23 – Training or termination and how to judge coachability
📍 00:20:09 – What insurance companies look for in your driver file
📍 00:21:11 – The hidden traps during insurance renewal
📍 00:23:09 – How poor hiring raises costs for everyone
📍 00:24:44 – Will today’s trucking volatility reshape the industry
📍 00:27:58 – Why even old trucks now cost more than ever
📍 00:29:12 – How modern emissions systems kill reliability
📍 00:30:55 – The risks of auto-braking and overloaded electronics
📍 00:32:03 – AI-driven roadside inspections are already here
📍 00:33:35 – The pros and cons of fully automated enforcement
📍 00:35:22 – Can AVs really replace the working driver
📍 00:37:15 – How regulation or the lack of it is changing fleet risk
📍 00:38:00 – The future of enforcement, compliance, and fleet ownership

🎙 About Our Guest
Rob Carpenter is a safety and compliance expert, fleet owner, and founder of Truck Safe, a platform dedicated to helping trucking companies stay compliant and build safer fleets. Through consulting, content, and training, Rob has helped thousands of carriers better understand risk, regulation, and reputation in the modern trucking world.
Learn more at: https://trucksafe.com

🔗 Follow Miles and Mentors: A Trucking Podcast
Website: https://milesandmentorspodcast.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milesandmentors
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/miles-and-mentors-podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MilesandMentors

🎤 Want to be a guest or sponsor the show
Miles and Mentors is more than a podcast. It’s a movement of real stories, tactical advice, and mentorship to help the next generation of freight leaders succeed.
Reach out at: milesandmentors@gmail.com

What does it look like to rise from the dispatch desk to the top floor of global freight strategy?

In this episode of Miles and Mentors: A Trucking Podcast, Wolfgang LaMarca joins us from Hong Kong to share his decades of logistics leadership across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. From his early days in local distribution to advising multibillion-dollar firms and startup founders, Wolfgang has seen it all and brings a rare, holistic view of how freight connects the world.

We talk shop about real-world trucking, the evolution of tech like IoT and AI in logistics, and what it means to build both a career and a network in a truly international industry. If you're a driver, fleet owner, or aspiring logistics leader who wants a clearer picture of how the pieces fit together at every level of the supply chain, this one’s for you.

Like what you hear? Be sure to like, subscribe, and share the show with others in the trucking world.

🎧 Episode Timestamps
📍 00:01:04 – Wolfgang’s global logistics background and early career
📍 00:04:16 – How he went from the shop floor to global freight advisory
📍 00:06:04 – Why trucking is the perfect problem-solving industry
📍 00:07:02 – The global importance of logistics and its economic backbone
📍 00:09:58 – How diversity and trade fuel logistics innovation
📍 00:10:23 – Why constant learning drives success in transport
📍 00:11:33 – Mentorship lessons from his early career and ocean freight
📍 00:14:02 – What dispatching looked like in the 1980s without cell phones
📍 00:17:26 – How Wolfgang leads major projects today still hands-on
📍 00:18:40 – Why transport is collaborative, at every level
📍 00:22:01 – What makes Hong Kong ideal for freight leadership
📍 00:24:52 – Why some emerging markets leapfrog the West in logistics tech
📍 00:28:37 – What tech tools are real versus hype in the freight world
📍 00:32:40 – The three-year journey of tech implementation done right
📍 00:35:36 – Why we’ll stop talking about “AI” and just talk about outcomes
📍 00:36:33 – Leadership advice for trucking business owners
📍 00:38:48 – The value of networking and constant connection
📍 00:41:13 – Why self-awareness is as critical as industry knowledge
📍 00:43:22 – The surprising power of learning languages in logistics

🎙 About Our Guest
Wolfgang LaMarca is a global strategist, advisor, and investor in freight technology. With leadership roles at GeoPost, TNT/FedEx, and the World Economic Forum, he brings decades of international experience in logistics, transport, and supply chain systems. Today, he advises startups and multinational firms alike on digitization, sustainability, and the future of freight.

🔗 Follow Wolfgang:
LinkedIn – Wolfgang LaMarca

🔗 Follow Miles and Mentors: A Trucking Podcast
Website: https://milesandmentorspodcast.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milesandmentors
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/miles-and-mentors-podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MilesandMentors

🎤 Want to be a guest or sponsor the show?
Miles and Mentors is more than a podcast. It’s a movement of real stories, tactical advice, and mentorship to help the next generation of freight leaders succeed.
📧 Reach out at: milesandmentors@gmail.com