Did 2 years of LTL just hurt my ability to go back OTR?

Thank you....
Yes... having many choices is a good thing...
So far, I have a great safety record. Accident free (knock on wood), no citations, no points on my CSA....
There's a lot to consider when choosing my next job/company... Kind of vehicle I will drive, places I'll be going, hrs will be working... and much... MUCH more...
I didn't mention money because that hasn't been my biggest priority... At least so far... Maybe I should re-consider that...
But hey... there's no "perfect" job... No ideal company... I just try to find something that will offer most of what I want and that I can live with what I don't like... Does that make sense...?
Someone here mentioned Peoplenet... And that's something I definitely don't want... But then, if I HOS will not affect me, I might reconsider...

 

Rocks are you looking to maybe have a home or condo or at the very least a base of operation for your personal life and looking for a job that maybe gets you back to your own brick and mortar dwelling once a week or maybe once every 2 weeks? I mean obviously and this is good you march to your own drum and do your own thing and if the company you work for now you like and it works for you stick with it.

I'll be honest with you, you and I aren't so different not really well not really in this regard for a while a long time I was going to be an OTR driver because it allowed me to live at home without having to move out because I would never have been home. Although after a while stuff gets old, but I never went that route I guess I didn't think it made good business sense for my life, anyhow that's not here or there. I don't know you might be suited for LTL system driver like at Estes or USF Holland which runs down in TN if you end up establishing a base of operations there. At any rate you'll still get some road time only difference is you'll be sleeping in a hotel not a truck, which to mean seems like a pretty good trade.

 

First of all, I do really appreciate your input Mr. Mike2633 and all the info you have been posting here and other threads you started.... GREAT GREAT stuff...

I wish I had bought some real state a long time ago... Not sure how long I'll be driving... and living in a truck... I'm not that young any more and like I wrote before, I am not optimistic about the future of trucking in America because of the regulations, HOS, new technology in the trucks, attitude of others towards us truck drivers...
Have been self employed most of my life and I miss that... But I also love this "gypsy" life... So, I am trying to plan my next 3 to 5 years ahead...
I like most of the things in my company yeah... But if I decide to buy a house (it would be a duplex so I could rent out part of it) I will need much more time off to deal with the whole process... searching, visiting houses, negotiating, fixing the property, etc, etc... it's a long process... Can't do that being full time OTR for a company out of OKC. Maybe if I were planning on living in OKC... My agreement with them so far is that I stay on the road for 2 to 4 months straight and get one week off (that was my proposal). Most of the drivers that take hometime more often live in OKC.
I also have to visit Brasil to deal with some other real state and may have to stay there for a few months... Don't know when will go yet though... Don't plan on quitting my job right now to deal with that...

 

Excellent post. You are correct - there is no "perfect" job. And always remember that the industry is constantly changing and those changes usually don't benefit the drivers. About the only positive difference from 25 years ago (when I started driving) is better, safer equipment. Wages have stagnated and "Big Brother" has a more watchful eye.