3 months in otr and I like.......

You have to be careful about some of the 'non conventional' places. I went to a place that was clearly designed for truck parking and then I woke up to someone knocking on my door saying I needed to pay $20 for parking. There was a sign hidden in the back that said 1 hour parking only or you had to pay. Some require that you buy stuff in the store or have restrictions on overnight parking.

It's a gamble that I don't like playing. I'd rather not wake up to a boot and a $5000 fine to get it removed. If I were a regional or local driver it'd be easier to scope safe parking areas out but with OTR you never know what to expect.

 

This I know....you'll learn thise places that charge to park. I very rarely pay to park. You have side streets, alleys, behind stores, many options.

 

Swift has lots of dedicated opportunities. Talk to your DM. If you live close to the DC you can be home on a regular basis. Money is pretty good too.

 

Since you dont have an APU does swift let you Idle to stay cool? Opti Idle?

 

Not sure about all Swift trucks, but the last one I had last year was a 2020 Cascadia with opti-idle, inverter and refrigerator. Opti-idle was set with the A/C controls in the sleeper, similar to an APU. Worked great, never heard a peep about idle time. Always kept it set for comfort. Heat or cool.

 

My Volvo does not have optimized idle like the Freightliners do. It does have 'idle cutoff ' between 33° and 69°, where after a few minutes of idle it will automatically shut off unless you depress the accelerator for a couple of seconds. My bunk heater works pretty well, so this last winter, didn't have any problems staying warm inside my sleeper berth, even on the mornings when the temps were negative. As for idle time problems, so far they haven't given me any flack and have told me I was well within their guidelines on percentage of idle time. That said, they have relaxed much of those kinds of things with the Covid19 stuff since us drivers hang out in our trucks almost all the time now days, even when we are at a terminal.
I don't have a built-in fridge. So, I bought one of those Coleman electrostatic coolers and that is working OK. I have an 1800 watt inverter, so I bought a small microwave and also a small coffee pot. I had a small toaster oven for awhile. But, very seldom used it and wasn't comfortable with how hot it got. So, gave it to a needy driver.
All in all, not ideal, but it suits my needs.

 

It is interesting how different folks like different things. One of the big appeals about OTR for me is the lack of routine and how I never know where my next load will take me. If I had a routine, dedicated route, I'd be miserable and probably quit.

 

Ive been local for my first 3 months of having my CDL-A. I achieved my license back in December. I'm married and have a one year old daughter. OTR life wouldnt work for me right now. I like being with them. Now if I wasnt married with a child I would definitely be OTR. Maybe when my daughter is grown up I will try it out.

 

Salt kettle rest area off I74 near the Indiana Illinois line...plenty of spots until quite last Saturday night.