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Eric Schmidt

Truck driver in white cowboy hat standing beside a red semi-truck on a city street

With 27 years OTR, now-retired owner-operator Eric Schmidt developed a pretty "serious" trip planning methodology. In fact, his trip-planning routine became so serious it just about ruined his home life. The former drill sergeant and owner-operator stays busy today mostly around his house in North Carolina with small construction projects and gardening. Schmidt hails originally from the suburbs of Detroit. 

Overdrive Extra
Throw out your GPS: Trucking trip planning the old-school way
Eric Schmidt is convinced that GPS kills brain cells and recommends an old-school but practical way to meticulously plan trips: An atlas, a truck stop book, a few notebooks and the old CB radio.
September 17, 2025
Truck driver reference materials: Pocket Stop Guide and Rand McNally Road Atlas with CB radio
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