Experiance - Local vs OTR

It's a simple bull #### run around game.

You need experience, to get local job.

Then the locals like to claim OTR drivers are too lazy to work local.

Apply for the job. You'll either get it or not.

 

...this is why they invented Google Maps Street View




On topic, if your young, fit and love working..in town is for you. If you hustle ( depending on the company and how they pay ) you can make mega cash and be home every night. Or you could be an hourly guy - in that case, I despise you, lazy bastuuurd.... hah

 

Safety isn't a priority with OTR carriers . Experienced drivers don't have to run their *** off to survive and wouldn't put up with BS dished out by the "major carriers " . They need newbies for OTR

 

It's all about making sure you're exposed to as many different situations as possible while on the road.

That said, I'm one of those people who can't stand running local. Did my time as an OTR, went local.... and then went straight back OTR. I got bored doing the same thing all day long on the same stretch of road for the same customer. Plus the pay was a lot worse than I've ever made OTR. Your mileage may vary, of course.

 

If you REALLY want something that'll boggle your mind, run local/regional for a few years, pulling trailers in and out of places every day that are tighter than most OTR drivers will see...dealing with traffic, negotiating your way around town and whatnot....corners, intersections...doing tasks requiring far more attention and skill than merely holding onto a steering wheel with the cruise control set, keeping it between the ditches on the big road.

Then try to get an OTR job. Your "local" or even "regional" experience will not necessarily count. They don't care if you can handle your rig better than 90% of their regular drivers...you are inexperienced in their mind. Even if you ran OTR for several years prior to taking that local gig, they will tell you that your experience is not recent enough.

 

I totally agree with this 100%.... I did OTR, Regional and now Local where I am at right now... When I first started driving I thought it was kind of backwards as well thinking wouldn't it be smarter to do local first then go out on the big road... Well after being regional I started to see why and then when I got into local I really can see why they do this... You are in and out towns/citys more navigating tight corners, very populated areas, depending on your job you might be hitting docks more in a day then OTR guys do in a week, more traffic, more loads, more tarping if your flatbed guy, maybe more chicken coops depending on where you live, possible hand bomer job and the list goes on... So I can see why the OTR is better for newer drivers as you basically spend most of your time driving on the "big road" rather then in the Cities all day long sure you might deliver in the city but then your back out on the highway for hours on end..., you don't have to go into docks as often for the most part... not as many tight turns etc... Sure I know there are other things you need to contend with like tight docks with a sleeper (rather then day-cab like most locals are in), sleeping patterns, being away from home etc.. I still think you contend with more being a local guy even tho you get home every night (or every other night)... From a safety aspect I think there is more involved in local but from a "giving up" perceptive OTR guys are giving up a lot like the home time and being away from family..

I also think that it is weird that a local guy going to OTR is consider inexperienced even if they have years of local driving... Cause you have done the hard stuff involved with driving the truck and loading etc... The OTR part you would need to get use to not being home and away from family mostly... Also if you didn't run a log book in your local gig (which I do not run cause I am within my 160km radius) you would have to get use to running a log book and if your going cdn/us or us/cdn then you need to know how to do border papers.. But I honestly think contending with traffic, tight turns, multiple drops and docks, tarping/loading etc is harder then learning a log book and getting use to away from home time..

No offence to OTR guys we all have a roll to play in this industry.. The OTR driver essential supplies the Regional driver with work and the Regional driver supplies the local driver with work... Not always the case but generally is the case..

Now these rules do not always apply tho.. I know in one of the places I was at they hired a new driver right from school for local stuff (we only have 2 US bound drivers.. Me and another guy)... Well let me tell you he screwed up a lot just to name a few things - pulled tri-axle trailer with air bags deflated ended up ruining all 6 bags cuts in the backs or something -- he took out a light pole because he forgot he had a trailer attach thought he was still bob-tailing, backed into another company truck at a blind side tight dock, had a skinny coil loaded shotgun and it feel over but the funny part is the ministry person didn't see that they just seen a loose chain as the coil laid flat he said it didn't even look like it fell so he got charged for insecure load but because of the chain not because the coil fell (this was a mobile MTO/DOT officer that was close by in a car).. Funny thing is that he is still working with them lol... I have since moved on....

 

Yup gov't trucker is right on !!! I just went to a job where they have nothing but sleepers but the job is local and the guy said u never driven a sleeper before? I said yes for like a month with another local company ! Then he said that he use to do ltl work and know how it is but said " so never did truckload work before"? I said not just p&d work !! U know freight work which u average 10-15 stops plus pick ups a day !! I told this guy I did Ltl in a 53' trailer in the city and pulled pups in the city with no accidents ever along with residentials in a 53' sooooooo I think I can handle a sleeper averaging 1-2 stops max per day !! Local/Otr both have its advantages and disadvantages depending what u want to do.
Find a freight co in ur area and get with them because most of them will train u to become a driver. Do a yr or so with them and get into tanker work, its much easier work and will pay off in the long run.

 

Yup gov't trucker is right on !!! I just went to a job where they have nothing but sleepers but the job is local and the guy said u never driven a sleeper before? I said yes for like a month with another local company ! Then he said that he use to do ltl work and know how it is but said " so never did truckload work before"? I said not just p&d work !! U know freight work which u average 10-15 stops plus pick ups a day !! I told this guy I did Ltl in a 53' trailer in the city and pulled pups in the city with no accidents ever along with residentials in a 53' sooooooo I think I can handle a sleeper averaging 1-2 stops max per day !! Local/Otr both have its advantages and disadvantages depending what u want to do.
Find a freight co in ur area and get with them because most of them will train u to become a driver. Do a yr or so with them and get into tanker work, its much easier work and will pay off in the long run.