Experienced local driver cant find OTR work

this is indeed a trend that started some time ago that i too do not like. an experienced driver is an experienced driver in my mind. some will say its because one does not have the road experience required to deal with the scales, long periods away from home, map reading skills, how to figure a way around problems, whatever.......

at one time, if memory serves me right, YOU HAD to go OTR (long haul back in my days), BEFORE you could even think about going local...!!

now, this is not the way......the companies, not all, but many want re-education which means refresher courses or complete re-training, which IS a waste of time.

but my questions to you are, why go OTR when you have a local job, that so many others would kill for..??? are you out of work..?? under paid..??

is your company soon going to be closing its doors..??

if you can find a localized "mom & pop" trucking company, then re-training will not or should not be any concerns. as for the 'mega carriers", sure, i don't like swift, or werner or cr england, or schneider, but those are the companies hiring in droves, and at least giving you an 'in" to going OTR....

i don't know what else to tell you, but many times a refresher course CAN BE way less than you think, all you have to do is inquire at the schools in your area. or simply say, "all i have is $1,000, how much re-training can i get for that"..??? i'm sure they will take your money, just make sure they type up on school letterhead that you PAID and received refresher training for X number of hours.

 

We are in the same area, so.....

Interstate, GTI, and TWT actually listen when you talk to the recruiters. I'd give them a try.

I was a "regional" driver, working WA, OR and ID. One was worried and asked me if I'd "had any mountain pass experience". I listed Snoqualmie Pass, Mt Hood, 3 Sisters, Lewiston grade all at 100k lbs etc and he shut up real quick..... Then I found the uber local job and declined the OTR offer.

 

I was local the last few years and getting ready to go back to OTR.
I just talked to the boss at the old job and he said it was ok to tell my new employer i was regional.
Glad we left on good terms...

I was OTR for about 20 years before that but most places want recent OTR before they hire.

 

Going from OTR to local and local to OTR can be tricky.
Some local outfits won't hire you if you're OTR...they often prefer local experience like beverage, beer, food delivery, etc.
Some OTR won't hire you if you're local...their insurance companies think the equipment difference increases your risk of hitting something/someone...so the carrier will often make you go through a refresher course/out with a trainer before turning you solo.

 

a good driver is a good driver period! ive never done otr i cant believe the otr jobs want you to take a refresher course. do they have any clue how small some of those back roads us local guys drive threw? i'm not saying otr doesnt have its fair share but some of these back roads i drive down arent meant for trucks at all. you either know where your truck is and keep it safe or you dont. being otr or local doesnt make a difference IMO. the only toss up is can a OTR guy handle local and can local guy handle being OTR since they are very different. me personally i dont know that i could do OTR, i love driving but driving very long periods of time fatigues me. i like working hard, this milk delivery job is great, i get behind the wheel all day, get a nice work out.

 

How about a company requiring a driver (with 15 years or more experience) to ride with a trainer for 2 months. Who has less than a years experience.

Life really sucks, when you spend 2 months training your trainer.

 

swear if i ever go OTR it's gonna be with a truck i own, my own insurance, authority etc. i would never be able to put up with some ####### for 2 months. i'm driving B trucks now, this winter my plan is to upgrade to the A, should cost me around a grand doing these private courses at a school. then maybe i'll go onto a local job, i know a few guys, maybe i'll stay where i'm at and can get my boss to get a tractor trailer who knows. but the bottom line is i'll never do OTR trucking unless i have my own truck, authority, etc. i wouldn't be able to put up with the crap you guys do with dispatchers and have to bite my tongue so they dont screw my driving record up. or that stupid quallcom thing i hear about. it seems like they grab you like a pair of vise grips squeeze you until you're dead and throw you away. nope not me, i like driving my truck for a local guy, a boss who always asks me hows it going out there everything good, any problems etc. he's even out on routes sometimes himself.

 

Yuppers!

An experienced P&D or store driver can put most OTR drivers
to shame, with all the street level traffic, pedestrians, animals, bike-messengers, taxi's and other awful conditions, when delivering into the large cities, as local or short-haul drivers.

No way is any OTR "training" going to make any of us better at driving an 80,000 pound rig around. Look at all the ###-clowns that are hitting these obstructions like underpasses and bridges. All of these are OTR drivers.

Getting used to a qual-comm and all the other BS the big-boyz love to use is about the only training that a long term local driver needs to learn , IMO

 

personally i think the biggest challenge with OTR is being able to handle being gone from home for long periods of time, and living in your truck. you've got some serious problems if you cant drive down a highway, and navigate the distance from a highway to a warehouse or whatever it is you're going to. now drive down a winding back road with lots of hills, bike riders, low tree branches, kids at the bus stops, vehicles, etc etc. its nerve racking when you've got another truck coming at you, and you look up ahead and theres a bike rider, and you're coming about less then 2 or 3 feet from the truck, and another 2 feet to the biker on the shoulder. or if someone parks right on the white line. like i said, if i ever go OTR, its gonna be with my own truck, i'll never put up with being treated like a new jack by a carrier. if for some reason i can find an OTR job with out the hassle of "training" etc then great. but the day will come when i wanna go OTR and see the country. and to all you OTR guys that say "yeah you can see them and wave to them cuz you cant stop" oh well, i drive by lots of scenic things on my local route, i pop out my cell phone and take a picture. not very hard to do, i dont need to stare at something for hours to take it all in.