I drove for a leasing company back in the early 70's. did two runs a month Brooklyn NY to San Jose, Calif, to San Diego, and back to Brooklyn.
btw, not a single interstate was completed coast to coast back then. There was a lot of time spent cruising 2 lane black top, trying to make up time. No "mickey mouse" keeping track time and motion, either, so stretching the day was much easier.
I enjoyed it back then, too. Like I said, no phones, no radios, no GPS. Just me and a log book. Even the scales were mechanical instead of electronic, and if there was a discrepancy of a few hundred lbs, it could easily be blamed on mechanical failure, or a bad read, or most times just ignored.
All the loads I did back then were "spot and pick". no handling at all. I wasn't married yet, so it wasn't bad. I was saving money for another 2 yeas of college, and I was able to put away far more than I ever dreamed.