Where The Long Road Takes Me?

Howdy Drivers, Hope everyone had a good morning, evening and good night, and is staying safe on the roads. Its been a while since i been here on these forums, But before i ask my question I just want to thank everyone who has been here for me and any new drivers and shared there advice and there stories.

Not sure where i should start with my question, i could go down many different roads and talk about my own stories and experiences. But maybe ill leave those for another time and try to tell just briefly about me and why im back here after all these years.

So i been driving for almost 10 years now, i started like many with a company that payed for my schooling and had my under a contract for a year. Now a bad company in terms of equipment and getting me home and keeping me moving all the time. Gave me the experience that now i find invaluable. I stood with the company till the end of my contract and had some great folks in these forums who helped recommend a good paying company that i switched to right after. I could have made plenty bad decisions trying to find a good company myself and almost had. But The company i switched to turned out to be a company i really enjoyed to work for at least it was. There are still so many good things i still like about where i work at but I've had this nagging feeling about the possibility's and what i might be missing out on.

I should probably say some things i like and some things that i have grown to dislike as its really the reasons that have brought me back here.

I started with the second company driving extra board as it was the closest thing to what i did for the first company which was over the road. I got to visit a bunch of terminals within my region and got to come home every weekend. They put in a hotel room every night which was amazing and kept my wheels rolling.
Well everything was going better then ever, But as time went on as expected i got comfortable and found things that eventually got under my skin. It was a very simple problem for me, and im sure you might all understand. I would wake up out of my hotel room and many evening and nights i would wake up refreshed and ready to go. But as any driver knows its wishful thinking to think that my trailer would be ready on time.
Waiting one hours two hours sometimes three hours, wasn't the end of the world considering i was in a nice comfortable air conditioned hotel. But the longer i done extra board and the more often it happened the more i realized how i was burning my own candle. And might not be able to drive as long as i hoped for that night. I explained to my terminal manager as well as central dispatch and well we know how Central dispatch is. Two different jobs and two different expectations. Almost felt like they just didnt understand what i was dealing with.
One night it was the final straw. The straw that broke the camels back. I woke up and was ready to turn and burn. When as usual central told me my trailer wasn't ready. I called a few times back and it had been already 4 hours since i woke up and the what they told me next got my blood boiling like my head was ready blast off thru the hotel ceiling. They told me i should just go back to sleep!
I said enough is enough.
What did i do, well i switched my runs. I was done with extra board and had switched to a different position. I cant remember if i switched to combo, z board or what but i think i just took whatever i could just to get off what i was currently on. And of course i found things i liked about the new run. It was a good change for the time it lasted. I got to come home every night, and my miles were more stable.

So im a driver out of Pennsylvania, and been doing hub since i switched. I drive to new jersey and do a shuttle run back and forth from one terminal to another in Jersey city about 3 total, pulling about 8 trailers a night. Sometimes a 53' van and sometimes ill have to hook or or break a set of pups.

Were about approaching the good the bad and the ugly.

The run was great or should i say tolerable for the first few years, but as supervisors change, freight, changes, workers change, policy's changes, and company changes. So does the run and how it is handles and well its become a nuisance to say lightly.

You see i like to drive and i like to keep moving. Im not much of a person who like waiting, I get bored, i get tired and i dont like that. I like to get the job done and keep moving.
Theres a bunch of things i do not like about my run, and only one thing i do like.
As you can imagine pulling 8 trailers a night is a lot of getting in and getting out and well when the weather aint so delightful its very easy to feel like a wet dog, and i dont think anyone likes to feel like a wet dog. Getting wet only to try and dry yourself out to get wet again just 20 min later 6 times a day just makes me feel like i should of brought my swimming trunks and snorkeling gear.
Your probably saying to yourself wow!, you sound like your navy seal working as truck driver.
But no, its just one thing i dont enjoy about my run. I mean its not every day that happens.
Remember when i said i like to keep moving? Well yea, That brings me to a bigger issue.
With all the trailers i pull a night. You guessed it. Each trailer that i come back for turns out to be a waiting game. Some trailers are ready right away other im waiting however long it may take.
It is part of the job and i wouldnt find it as much of a issue if it was just one or two trailers a night.
But with 8 possible trailers i may have to wait for my days are very unpredictable.
And i like consistency. Its very important to me.

I feel like I've been talking way to long. I hope you all are following my story so far.
I also hope i didn't bring up any scary memories for anyone, My intention is not to give anyone bad dreams tonight.

One other thing with my run that i do not like is driving in jersey.
The closer i get to jersey the worse things get.
Construction, construction, construction, I dont know what these construction workers are doing but i think a chimpanzee can do a better job fixing the darn rhodes. They just tearing up what they supposedly fixed last year and made it even worse. My hips, my neck, my butt crack. I feel like a rock getting tumbled left and right and up and down. And i feel like im broken apart instead of turning into a nice shiny stone.

And the drivers, did i mention the drivers? OMG!

 

I wont even go there.
I really do feel humanity is moving backwards sometimes.
If anyone has seen the movie "idiocracy" You'll know exactly what i mean.

I did tell you all there was one thing i did like about my run.
And i feel i should mention it. Its me being on the clock.
So for the wasted time and stress im dealing with, I am getting paid.

Alright, you wondering what else is on my mind and whats next for me?

Well there is no way on Gods Good Green Earth am i staying on that nightmare of a run.
As things repeat itself again. Enough Is Enough!

At the beginning of the following year bids open up and we got one hub driver who is retiring.
Im next in line and its all that been keeping me still working for the company.
Im 100% sure it will be better.
How much better? Thats to be determined.
But i estimate it to be at least 30-40% better which is like sun coming out after monsoon season.

So is that all?
Well almost, As far as my short story i still haven't asked my question.
And i do want to add a few minor things i like and dont like about my company.

Im not hear to be political, But for those that know what DEI is, I am not a fan.
And its something the company i work for has implemented. In just one year I've watched the company i work for make decisions that im sure they had the best intentions of has cause 2 deaths that im aware of on company property. I've seen inexperienced drivers get hired who i belive are a danger to themselves and to other people.
I've never seen so many destroyed trucks sitting at our company shops in all the other years combined that I've worked with them for. Destroyed as in totaled.
I dont like to pat myself on my back and always try to stay humbled. I never look at myself as a great driver and belive theres always things to learn and things to improve.

But i do credit and thank the first company i work for, for all that i learned there.
I really couldn't have done it tho if it wasn't me who was driven to succeed.
I was thrown out to the wolves in that company and drove all across the country working for scraps.
But i survived and brought back what i learned.
Boy do i got a story about how i started with them, But that will have to be for another day.

I am tired of working for a company that you give your all and feel like im one of the few that gives a rats behind about the truck equipment, the freight, the job itself. And be a example of a hard working truck driver and a represent my company for all the good things.

Im realizing now there so much more i can add about the company i work for and the people and many many more things that i like and dislike. And id happy to share if anyone wanted know.

But im starting to bounce around with my train of thought just want to ask my question.

I could probably make this question just as long as some of my story. Ill try to keep short and sweet tho.

I loved driving over the road, always new places to go visit, new people to meet. The sights, the story's, the history....
But I've owned my own home before i started driving and seen it a waste to not enjoy it. I enjoy being home every night just as much as being over the road. But I could see myself still being able to enjoy both.

Making good money and not having to worry about repairing my truck, doing my own taxes, making sure i get paid, and all the things that come with being a owner operator.
This is one of the biggest benefits to working for the company im at right now.
The convenience is paralyzing.

For me tho Money isnt everything.
Being able to work for yourself, and doing the work yourself. Learning the trade and keeping the mind sharp. These are things that may be worth there weight in gold.

Im sure i can make a long drawn out question about becoming a owner operator in 2025.
But i think you can feel my pain and tiredness . And i want to hear what you all thought about my story so far.

Feel free to message me if you want to chat me with me.
And feel free to leave a comment below.
Im looking forward to hearing what you all think after that read.

 

Hey @Chinatown , Its good to see you again. I remember you from when first joined this forum. I remember getting some good advice from you, You may have even helped me get my current job. I dont remember tho, its been so long. But Its a pleasure to see you again. I hope you been well.

Thats a great suggestion and very insightful.
I took my first over seas vacation 2 years ago and it was amazing. I loved it!
2 weeks felt perfect for decompressing and getting back into my natural rythm.

I been investing into my retirement for a while now but after that vacation i became a investaholic.
I told myself retiring early would be the best investment i could do for myself, considering how hard i work, and how good it felt to be able to enjoy life.
Now i max out both my retirement accounts and invest in a few other accounts religiously.

Im naturally a saver so i always save my vacation for when i need it most and try to even roll some vacation over to the following year.
I am currently planning on taking my cruise in a few months and am really looking forward to it.


I didnt mention this in my main post, but one thing that has been tough on me is my work schedule.
I work nights, so its Monday night to Saturday morning 12hrs a day.
The time when i wake up to when i leave work and the time i come home and go bed is 3 hrs total sometimes less.
I am too tired to enjoy my Saturdays and Mondays is more of a half day off. Feels like Sunday is my only day off.
Its not enough time to relax and decompress. I feel i decompress 80% and carry 20% over the following week and that 20% just compounds week after week.