Over the Road Whoas

OTR is a lifestyle, one that most people can't take for an extended time. I run western regional now, but I'm usually still out for three or four weeks at a time. I think a lot of whether you'll like it depends on your personality. I prefer to go to different places and I don't mind being alone. I've had home daily jobs and the grind of doing the same thing and going to the same places and seeing the same people every day wore me out.

Occasionally a driver who has only done local for ten or more years will have something change and start looking for OTR jobs and then get offended when companies don't exactly fall over themselves trying to snatch him up. They can't figure out why they're not being offered top pay and the best routes with all that experience, but companies know that some of those drivers will want to quit very quickly when the reality of being away from home and having to improvise their schedule every day hits them.

 

The ONE word in your post that is the most important, "home". If you decide to do an OTR gig, the truck becomes your home, and you are a fool to try and mix both, OTR and home time. A week if you are lucky, more like a week out, and who knows from there, and it shouldn't matter where they send you. To think about "home" is the kiss of death for any OTR trucker. There are so many regional and local jobs today, there's no reason to "settle" for an OTR job. OTR driving is a piece of cake compared to what local drivers go through. OTR can be a laid back lifestyle, why it appeals to Chinatown, I bet,,, but to try and mix both OTR and home time will not work, trust me.