Work a year, take a year off, work a year, take a year off. Is company driving best?

As soon as my youngest is out of the house I might experiment with this in the summers. Just park my truck and go out there and live in a camper during summer. I'm not sure how to get in to it though except for just checking out individual county's highway dept's.

Is much of this work contracted private companies?

 

I know a young man and his wife that work 6 months on and 6 months off. They work the harvest season for grapes in California as well as some other nuts and fruits (California pun intended), then they rent space for a Christmas tree lot and haul the trees down from Oregon themselves for their own lot. They just bought a 20 acre parcel and are building their dream home in a very expensive real estate market. So yeah, it can be done. BTW, Christmas tree prices at least here in California have doubled in the last 3 years. Not sure why exactly.

 

I worked for a temp. company one time and the company I was sent to, paid less than what the temp. company was paying. The temp. service told us not to mention pay to the drivers at the company because we were making more than them. I checked, and sure enough, us temp drivers were being paid more.
Our checks came from the temp. service, so the company drivers never saw them.

 

Thanks REO. I'll do that but it may be awhile. I'm most interested in Colorado but I do love the Sierras as well.

 

When I worked at Crete I met an older driver who hated driving winters and claimed he had an agreement with Crete to take a leave of absence for those winter months. He lived near the Gulf of Texas and said he would live on his boat.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a company willing to do that.

 

It's doable. I did it this way and now "Retired". After military and LEO, started driving full time as a Company driver (95). (Dry Van) did that Two yrs to increase savings actt. Took 12mos off to vacation. Then started as O/Op, to go out as I pleased. (No good) Trucks are ment to be rolling due to all the overhead.(full time expenses). After one yr. went company 12mos.(99) Then took 12mos. (To fly and vacation in the Caribbean.) 2000 went company (The Red trucks), after 12mos., took brake, went to PR to vacation and buy land for retirement. Then 9/11 happened, did 1yr in PR hauling steel and crushing Cars. Then jumped the "puddle" to mainland. 2002 went Company with "the hearts" trucks. After 18mos. took brake (14mos) to fly and vacation the USA west coast. 2005 bought boat, lived in it for a yr. (PR, Caribbean waters), and to make it short, continued the same trend until March 2020 and then RETIRED. (and now I'm RVing full time USA mainland) It can be done driver but my opinion is that as a Co. driver your transitions will be smoother, keeping a No violations record and keeping your "doors" open. Be financially responsible and an open mind at all times. No family and be a "wolf". I hope this words of "wisdom" reach you driver and remember, You and Only you can make your Plans work or CRASH.
HAPPY TRAILS...!!

 

Dang Jraul, you're like Johnny Cash. You've been everywhere, man!

 

I would think that any company would want a good driver for 8 months of the year than not at all. Sure a mom and pop outfit won't have a large driver pool to keep that tractor moving, but the mega fleets would probably look at 8 month driver as a big step up from the average newbie that doesn't last 8 weeks.

The part time driver will cost a lot less in training and torn up equipment too.