Ollie “Rufus” Morris knew from a young age what he wanted to do in life. He was enthralled by big trucks as a kid and “always wanted to start out driving one and owning one,” he said. The North Carolina-based operator got his official start in trucking in the mid-1990s driving a dump truck to get some experience, then moved on to pulling logs and wood chips.
Late in that same decade, he bought his first truck -- a 1996 Kenworth W900 -- and pulled logs as an owner-operator for a few years before, as he put it, “life happens and it was better off for me just to get out of it.”
He stayed in the trucking business as a company driver for two decades before his wife, Patricia Morris, came to him with the idea to start a business. “So I got the truck of my dreams, if you want to know the truth,” he said. “Just the truck I always wanted.” It's a 2004 Peterbilt 379 Extended Hood. “My wife … knew nothing about trucking."
Never been in a truck, never wanted to be in one: Patricia Morris sold real estate for a quarter century before "we talked about it and figured this is the best thing for us,” Rufus Morris said.
Patricia recalls waking up one day with the conviction that business ownership was the right thing for the Morrises. "I knew if anyone could do it, it would be Rufus with his eagerness to succeed and conquer the world," she said, "and that is exactly what we have done today.”
Rufus and Patricia have been together since 2015, and married a couple years after that. Patricia said she’s seen how her husband “lives and breathes the commitment and dedication required for this demanding profession. I've seen firsthand his incredible hard work, the early mornings and late nights, all fueled by his genuine belief in himself and his ability to always deliver.”
That commitment, that dedication, both led to Patricia nominating Rufus Morris for Overdrive’s 2025 Trucker of the Year award. Owner-operator Morris is our Trucker of the Month for May, officially putting him in the running.
Overdrive's 2025 Trucker of the Year competition, sponsored by Commercial Vehicle Group and Bostrom Seating, recognizes clear business acumen and unique or time-honored recipes for success among owner-operators. Nominations are open for exceptional owner-operators, whether leased or independent. Nominate your business or that of a fellow owner (up to three trucks) via this link for a chance to win a custom replica of your tractor and a new seat from Bostrom and CVG.
Nominating her husband, Patricia said Rufus “faces every challenge head-on, never compromising on safety or efficiency. His sense of responsibility and his quiet strength make him not just a dedicated driver, but an exceptional individual who truly deserves this recognition for everything he pours into his career and each and every household across the U.S."
Back to biz, with an eye on the long term
Despite around 20 years between stints as an owner, Rufus Morris jumped back in with both feet in 2022 when he and Patricia started Midnight Rider Transport LLC. They bought his 2004 Peterbilt 379 -- equipped with a 550-hp Caterpillar with a 13-speed that sits on a 300-inch wheelbase and boasts plenty chrome, extra lights. The pair were out on their own with authority from the get-go, with Rufus doing the driving and Patricia the dispatching, with a focus on flatbed freight.
That dream truck: Owner-operator Morris's 2004 Peterbilt 379 Extended Hood, powered by a 550-hp Cat with a 13-speed.
“We had our own authority and everything, and it worked out OK,” Rufus said. “I was pretty well satisfied with what we were doing, but load boards got a little bit hard to deal with -- and brokers -- and it was a little bit of a headache to it, but we were still doing good.”
One of the companies he'd booked freight with from time to time, first via the load boards, was Material Logistics Management (MLM), affiliated with Triad Metals and whose carrier operation moves that company's freight. MLM one day called him “out of the blue” and asked if he’d be interested in leasing on, Morris said. He and Patricia talked it over and, after some back-and-forth, decided to give it a go about a year and a half ago, near the end of the slow 2023 year for spot freight and rates.
“It’s been great since we leased on with them," he said. "Everything’s been good."
No need for load boards, sometimes fickle brokers.
Under the arrangement, Morris hauls steel beams, often oversize. He owns his own flatbed trailer -- a 48-foot spread-axle 1998 Utility -- and he also rents a 53-foot 2018 Reitnouer from MLM.
Enter your business in Overdrive's Trucker of the Year competition for a chance to win a custom scale replica of your tractor as trophy but also a new seat and/or other perks from program sponsor Bostrom Seating.
Mallory Yarmoski, an MLM agent who works with Morris, said he’s “one of my best and top drivers. He is so hardworking; goes above and beyond to make sure loads get picked up and delivered on time.”
[Related: Prospects for a 'phenomenal' flatbed year: Trucker of the Month George Kincaid]
Conservative with service intervals, thorough with all maintenance
Running in an older-model truck, Morris stays squarely on top of maintenance, servicing every 10,000 miles or so. He does some of the minor work himself, but tends to use a handful of trusted shops for his regular maintenance needs and any bigger jobs.
“The major stuff and the service and stuff like that -- it's just so convenient to go somewhere else and get it done,” he said.
Yarmoski lauded Midnight Rider for maintenance and attention to detail, too: Morris “always makes sure his truck is in perfect condition,” she said, highlighting his passion for the work, too, when she called him “simply just the best. I’m so thankful to have him as a driver. He is a wonderful addition to our team.”
With the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s International Roadcheck at top of mind at the time of the interview for this feature this month, Morris said he didn’t get stopped once during the blitz and has really only been inspected a few times in recent memory.
[Related: Connecticut inspectors talk HOS, ELP enforcement]
One of those inspections, though, was memorable after a ridealong pup, Otis, got the Morrises in hot water with an officer. Otis is a Bea-Tzu (a beagle-Shih-Tzu mix), and his name is on the Morrises' truck. He's as much a part of the operation as the truck itself.
Otis's cute exterior belies a tough spirit -- he's quite the protector. Rufus told the tale of the memorable inspection -- he'd made certain the officer was aware of Otis, advising him to not bother the dog or stick his hand in the truck. But the inspector "reached in there, going to intimidate him, kind of shoo at him or something in the door, and he bit him. He wasn't too happy with that." Result? Inspectors "can find anything wrong, so he found something to put me out-of-service," though Morris said it was a minor item ultimately. He made the fix on the spot. "I was right back up. It wasn't anything major."
Not only is compensation better back trucking on his own since 2022, and particularly for the oversize steel he tends to haul now with MLM, he values the exercise that comes with the work. “When you pull a van, you just don’t get no exercise," Morris said. You "just sit in the truck” and don’t get to be as active as he prefers.
As Overdrive has been tracking this year, up until recent weeks flatbed spot rates were on a significant upswing through much of the year. “It’s a lot better than it was,” Morris noted. “We’ve stayed steady the whole year.”
[Related: Post-Roadcheck rates: How did the spot market respond?]
If better conditions persist, Morris is eyeing 2025 as potentially his best year since getting back in business. “The way it’s started out and the way it’s going so far, it’ll be our best year,” he said.
When he was running under his own authority, he still did “really good with rates and stuff” due to relationships built with brokers and some customers they hauled for on a regular basis, he added. Yet while he was never dissatisfied with those rates, he's more comfortable now having the additional security of “people behind you” in the leased arrangement. MLM has plenty to offer when it comes to freight. It's led to a "lot less stress and a lot less worry about where my next load is coming from.”
In the roughly 18 months he's been leased now, he can recall just a single time that he didn’t have multiple loads booked out in advance. “They keep you busy, and that’s definitely a good feeling,” he said.
[Related: 'Keep digging': Trucker of the Months plants seeds of long-term success, growth in dump]
