In this episode of Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast, host Brent Hutto is joined by Ed and Deb Kingdon of Hardy Brothers Trucking.

Ed and Deb have been Professional Truck Drivers for Hardy Brothers since 2018, choosing the path so they could travel the country together. In 2022, they were honored to drive the Capitol Christmas tree from their home state of North Carolina to Washington DC, rendering Deb the first female trucker to deliver the tree.

[02:09] In 1978, Ed rode with Deb’s brother, instantly catching the trucking bug. He then joined the Air Force, however, and the dream was put on hold. That was until 2018, when he retired and decided that was the time to dip into the industry. Deb had always known that Ed had the trucking bug, and when he came to her saying he wanted to do long-haul trucking she wasn’t at all surprised. That was until he asked her to get her CDL and join him. After Ed spent two years convincing her, they joined Hardy and started their trucking adventure.

[08:26] Team driving is incredibly different to going out on your own, and even different to when Ed originally went out with Deb’s brother in 1978. Ed explains that the pair have different strengths that work in combination to make them a strong driving team, supporting one another when they’re having time away from the wheel. On their multi-day trips, the truck barely stops, only really for mandatory stops, but they manage it by careful planning everything out, from routes to food, to ensure there are no surprises along the way.

[15:57] Team driving isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, and often issues come from people outside of the truck. Ed believes that there needs to be more education for young people on acting around trucks, especially due to the automatic sensors that now cause the trucks to brake when they get cut off. Further, although they are careful planners, there are some situations where they cannot plan out part of the journey because of construction or other extraneous factors. 

[18:35] Last year Ed and Deb got the honor of driving the Capitol Tree to Washington DC. As soon as they got the news, they both were incredibly excited. After all, how many people can say they have done that? Deb saw the tree as her baby in a cradle that she had to transport, and they were followed by two “elves” from the forest service who kept the tree watered. Every time they stopped in different towns, seventeen to be exact, people would come to see them and the tree, sign the truck, and take pictures, sometimes with the pair. Deb and Ed were heroes to many of these people, acting as the carers for the important tree

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