owner-operators & the economy/ public radio journalist

if freight rates don't pick up soon we may all be living in our trucks. I know of so many people who are loosing there vehicles, trucks and houses. We are currently hauling for the same rates we did in the mid nineties and the expenses have increased enormously.
With the consolidation of trucking companies into larger and larger companies who can run a truck for $0.01 cent per mile profit will eventually seal the fate of the independant owner operator in this country and I'm afraid it will be soon

 

I'm not living in my truck, but I have had to stay out a few extra days on each run to offset the extra costs. MedicineMan is correct and it hurts out here...

 

I suspect many non truckers would look at the lifestyle most Over The Road truckers have and consider it living out of a truck on its face... It isn't unusual for an OTR driver to spend 3-5 weeks at a time away from home before taking a long weekend at home then heading back to the road.

As far as a driver living completely out of his or her (or their) truck, I do happen to know one couple that do this and last I heard they were happy bouncing around the country seeing the grandkids and such.

You might want to consider reading some of the blogs kept by truckers for perspective on living on the road. There is a link for Truckers Blogs on top of this page, and if you are an insomniac please let me suggest mine.

Good luck,

Jim

 

I'm leased to a national carrier, and what the others have said is true for me as well. Before Thanksgiving of last year I was getting a consistant 3000 miles per week. This mileage allowed me to put money aside to aid my time off. At the afore mentioned mileage I was able to put aside enough money to take 3 or 4 days off every 3 to 4 weeks.

Now, my average mileage is around 2500 miles a week. This obviously has caused a decrease in the amount I'm able to save for time off. What this has caused me to do is stay out as long as possible in hopes of gaining as many miles as possible. While I am able to pay all my fixed and variable cost, and pay myself a decent wage at my current miles, I can't save anything for my time off. Thus, while I have a nice home, beautiful wife, and great kids, I have to basically "live in my truck" in order to maintain a viable business and my families lifestyle. When I do go home it's for only a day or two, regaurdless of how long I've been gone.

I thank God every day for an understanding wife and kids!

 

This is not a new phenomenon. Back in my driving days I would occasionally see a driver pull in to a truckstop in a rig that had seen better days, and his wife and kids would pile out of the sleeper. This was during good economic times. It could be more common now, but it's nothing new.

 

I pretty much live in my truck. I pay my sister $500/month in rent, I rent out my room to my sister-in-law for $100/month so she can have a cheap place to stay while struggling to pay for college. She sleeps on the sofa when I'm home.

For the most part I live in the truck by choice though. I REALLY enjoy what I do and staying out for months at a time isn't unusual for me. If you have any specific questions about me or my situation feel free to ask, I'll answer nearly anything. If you want, you can lookup my user name on Google and find other way to get ahold of me.