I went hitchhiking across the US Summer & Autumn of 2017, maybe 100 rides altogether. All that time I got picked up by women twice and truck drivers three times. One of the great things about hitchhiking is that boring people don't pick you up. The two types of truckers I met were Old and Crazy. Old guy talked about how all truckers used to pick people up back in the day, before they had cellphones and podcasts they needed other people to talk to. He said the companies came down hard on truckers for having anyone in the cab who wasn't licensed, which meant no more friends, family members, or hitchhikers. Guys lost their jobs for trying to help people. So the ones who still do are rare, and are willing to tempt fate breaking the rules - and they're crazy. One of the crazies told me that he writes furry fanfiction and spent over an hour talking to me about his collection of gas station knives; he gave me one with an opal in the handle when he dropped me off, it was extremely gay.
>>2717996>If you want to get a lift on a rig, you have to ask them when they are stoppedThis is still mostly true, and talking to people at gas stations is a good trick in general. I'd have a sign and stand (not sit, sitting is for smelly weirdos you don't want in your car) by the front door saying hi to people as they went in, then on the way out I'd ask if them if they were heading to X city. Letting people see and get used to you before the ask is a rare luxury, so take advantage whenever you can. When you're at a highway on ramp, just look as sweet and loveable as possible. I had a specific outfit I wore on days I knew it'd be hard to catch a ride to boost my chances.
>>2718259schizo rides make great stories afterwards though. Once got dropped in the middle of nowhere and after 90 minutes an old guy in a tractor took me 3 miles to the highway. He said since humans are made in God's image, tattoos allow Satan to possess you because you willingly deform yourself in spite of God.
