Anyone take a break from trucking?

13 years. Worked as a communication/bio med engineer. Turns out I hate being indoors all the time. Been back since 2015 and never happier!

 

Not felt a need to myself. If I didn't enjoy what I did I'd be gone and doing something else in a heartbeat, but apart from trivial annoyances I'm content otr.

 

I left for three years following a divorce and subsequent health concerns (nothing major, just needed to do better). Got into management in a different biz completely.

Quit after having to listen to yet another snot-nosed teen tell me they couldn’t come in “because I was out too late”.
Been back since 2007. Be 62 in November, and I hope to be done by 65.

Or sooner.

 

Gave it up decades ago,no regrets

 

I did OTR for a year, went back to airplanes for a year, went back to trucks for 2 years. Then took 6 months off. I worked nights for 18 years. Then did HazMat tanker. Then went out West for 14 months. I've been off since Oct 2021 trying to decide about retiring, home daily fuel delivery, get out of trucking.

A good compromise is switching from different parts of trucking. Tanker and flatbed are good change of pace areas where it's not a 24/7 rat-race to drive more miles than every other human on the highway.

 

I quit trucking in 2002, drove a transit bus for a year or so, did some other stuff, then went to mechanic school for 2 years and fixed transit buses for 8.5 years.

I went back to meat cutting in a supermarket, then finally landed another trucking job. I spent a little over four years running food grade tanker, and I'm starting a new cryo gig Monday.

Trucking is the job I love to hate, but I keep coming back to it.

 

yeah, it is a magnet of sorts.

the only way to be rid of the magnetic field, is turn in the CDL for good.

with all the BS in obtaining one now a days, it's a win-win to not want it back, and get magnetized ever again.

 

When I got out of the Army, I ran hard for about 6 years, took 10 years off, went back in the Army, went to Iraq, and other places with the gooberment, lived in Alaska during that time, and have been back at it for almost 10. I might stay with it to retirement, I might quit tomorrow. I work for a good company now, but I’m the type that is always open to a new adventure. There will always be truck driving jobs, if you choose to take a break for a while. If you want to try something else, go for it. Life’s too short.

 

I know lots of drivers that work varying rotating in and out of driving. Some guys will drive six months and take six months off some guys will drive a year and take a few months off. Or I should say quitting and then coming back. Companies nowadays will usually let you come back a few times. Especially if you’re upfront about it.

just remember if the company has its way you will run until your hours run out, take a reset, run until your hours run out, take a reset until your old retired and dead. They will literally run you that way. It’s you, the driver and the person you are that has to decide what works for you. And sometimes you have to go in there and look him straight in the face and say “look I’ve been running hard I’m taking some extra days off, if you don’t like it replace me. Lol don’t let them run you to death or to burn out. They’ll be nowhere to be found if that happens