Question from a Wannabe

Companies have varying policies regarding drivers taking trucks home. Many park their truck and trailer at a location they feel good about and have someone or a cab transport them home and back. Some have space at home to park their truck.

If you live in a larger city or along a major transportation route, getting drivers "home" is typically not a problem. Obviously, a driver living in CA would not want to work for a company that does little business in CA. Obviously a driver who lives in a remote section of the country will have to expect the company to have difficulty getting them home if their home is 250 miles off of the beaten path. Not counting any driver wages, it costs about $1.00 mile to operate and depreciate a truck, but carriers also understand there are certain realities involved in the trucking business and meeting reasonable driver needs and expectations.

 

Typically what happens for OTR and regional drivers is that we get a load going "through" the house. This means that the route for pickup to delivery takes us close enough that we can stop there for a few days. The delivery appointment is usually adjusted to reflect the time home, or had already had a long delivery window. Parking is a whole separate issue that could use a thread on its own. For me I have a dirt and gravel parking lot within a mile of my house that I have permission to drop my trailer at during hometime and just park my truck at the house. Security of the trailer and its load can be a major factor in parking during hometime. Your company will prolly want to know where you are parking at.

As for when you leave most of the time you are already under a load so you don't have to worry about what you are doing after the hometime. If you are empty at the house you might have to get in touch with dispatch on the night before you are ready to leave to hammer out the plans for the immediate future. Your dispatch should know before you even get to the house when you'll be coming back out so they might plan you on something else before you even get home. Each company is different though and they'll let you know how they work during orientation. Also your dispatcher might have a preferred way to do hometime, and the good ones always ask how you like to run so they get a general idea of how to plan you. Good communication is always key here so don't be afraid to speak to your dispatcher. And don't wait till the day before you want to get home to let him know. I usually let mine know when I leave the house after the last hometime when I'll be looking to get back if anything is coming up.