Overdrive

34 | Overdrive | November 2018 ODE TO THE ROAD own equipment ready for teaming as independent owner-operators, she still didn't have her CDL. "I also made the decision that we wouldn't go for our own authority till we had the truck and trailer paid off ." Once she got her CDL in 2015, Pin- heiro switched roles at Action Courier to where she occasionally drove the com- pany's linehaul from Twin Falls to Boise "when the other guy wanted days off ," she says. "I loved that job and worked for the company for almost 10 years. I left the benefi ts and great people to haul whey, of all things. I hauled a tanker from a local yogurt plant to dairies and whey ponds around the valley. I did that for about a year." Pinheiro and William fi nished paying off their equipment and then set out to get their own authority. The completed the process without having to pay for a service to help them. Running independently as Charleston Transport, they have a lot of freedom in their schedules. Booking through a load board, they haul stepdeck freight, even oversized loads. "William and I, despite our ever-so- modern initial connection, work very well together as a team — something you can only hope for when you go into such a line of work together. Some days are not as great as others, but we just keep on truckin'. I adore him and this little rolling existence we have." Their lifestyle includes Avi, a 12-year- old Chihuahua. "She is the puppy of the Chihuahua I brought home from Mexico," Pinheiro says. "Avi fools people with her adorable looks, but she won't hesitate to take a chunk of your ankle." Also part of their life on the road is Pinheiro's music. Because "a regular guitar takes so much space in the truck," William says, he gave her a Jam Stick, a wireless stringed fretboard that plays varied sounds through a smartphone. "She hasn't [warmed] up to it, because it doesn't play the way she wants it to." William has observed her music's evolution. "As she's getting older, she's realizing that death is part of life," and that her father's getting older. "She's spending more time with him, playing guitar together. That's infl uencing what some of her songs are about." But even with the little bit of attention the Trucker Talent contest has brought her, Pinheiro says, "My goal right now is to be the best driver/owner that I can be, and that is where my focus is for now." DEPENDABLE QUALITY At home or on the road, you've come to depend on quality parts from the industry's leading brand names to keep you moving. Visit one of our national network of locally owned and operated TruckForce ® Service Centers for the quality parts you expect installed by skilled technicians. At home or on the road, you've come to depend on quality parts from the industry's leading brand names to keep you moving. Visit one of our national network of locally owned and operated TruckForce ® Service Centers for the quality parts you expect installed by skilled technicians. Find your nearest TruckForce ® Service Center in the US or Canada by visiting www.truckforceservice.com Supported by these and other quality brands: For information on becoming a TruckForce ® Service Center, call 800.494.4731 TruckForce ® Service Center is a registered mark of VIPAR ® Heavy Duty Q U A L I T Y P R O D U C T S L E A D I N G B R A N D S Q U A L I T Y P R O D U C T S L E A D I N G B R A N D S

• Cover
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• COVER STORY: Ode to the road Mandi Jo Pinheiro’s biggest passions, trucking and music, paid off when they converged and she won the annual Overdrive-Red Eye Radio Trucker Talent Search with her original tribute to highways and driver pride.
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