Thinking about a career in OTR trucking, have a few questions

Follow through on your plan and become a OTR driver. If you don't, you'll always have that question in your mind and will ask yourself, "I only live once, wish I'd at least given it a try."

 

Yes and no, This isn't a 9 to 5 job, it can be a 14 hour work day so your judgement to what you can and can not handle is important. I discourage my drivers to do things that are wasteful, gaming is one unless they are disciplined enough to set a time limit and shut down. I find for most that's impossible.

It can be but it depends on the person.

In bed or on a cot. I would rather be in a sleeper with a reefer going on and off all night long on one side and with an APU without a muffler on the other side than to try to sleep with my cats thinking that my bed is part of an enduro course at 3 am.

You thikn you are going to get fast food with a truck?

Seriously your choices are dictated by your habit to plan and to use the tools you have. What I mean is stock up on groceries, buy a good Engel or equal fridge and enjoy making simple meals to eat.

Who takes showers?

Seriously you can take a shower at a truck stop, but if you want to be a super trucker, beside the cowboy hat, you will have to learn how to pull up just enough in the fuel aisle to prevent the truck behind you from fueling up and go in and take a shower while you are blocking the other guy in <<< sarcasm.

Nope, I have a lot of trucks on the road during the day, more tha 70% but the customer's needs dictate when you run the load.

Very.

Nope, more stressful.

Yep there are two types, i won't get into them but it is obvious what kind they are.

It is all about diplomacy, learn how to be tactful, diplomatic and how to kiss ***** to the right person, you will have no issues.

 

Get your CDL and try the OTR for a year. You will either love it or hate it.

I did OTR for my first year and learned a lot. I enjoyed going to different areas, seeing different landscapes, mountains, etc., and learning what people are like in different parts of the country. As much as I loved the experience, it ended up not being for me, and I have been a local driver now for the last 11 years.

If you decide you don't like it, there are lots of local jobs out there that will open up, that will invlove driving a truck but without all the stresses of OTR.

 

Truck driving works best for introverted or loner personality type.

Appointment times, set by the customers, determine most things about your day. Hours of Service HOS are govt regulations that dictate maximum & minimum times for working/driving & rest/sleepin also MUST be observed.

Typically you will ha e the 10 hour minimum required by HOS for everything you want/ need to do between the end of your day & beginning the next day. In that time you can sleep, shower, use bathroom, sleep, fix something, EVERYTHING. I found getting a shower early in the morning was better than at end of day where 90% of drivers get a shower.

I typically parked at crowded & noisy truck stops. Where I would eat fast-food or cook food in truck & shower. Truck parking is a daily problem everywhere and very difficult along east & west coasts. Make sure you learn to back the trailer well or you will not be able to find parking.

There are lots of videos on YouTube showing what truck stop showers are like. When you fuel over a number of gallons, you get a shower credit. You "pay" for the shower with these credits or cash. You also get reward points for every gallon of fuel. Save those reward points & you can by CB radio or truck GPS or electric cooler, etc. Buying food with those points is a bad economic deal, IMO. YouTube explains a lot about how truck stops work for truck drivers.

You will see how things work during company training. For the love of dogs, please find the trucking job you want to do BEFORE going to CDL school, not afterwards. The CDL school is a formality, the job is the goal. "Free" CDL school in exchange for 12 months or 125,000 miles of work may be a good deal or it may be like slavery depending on the particular company or job. There are many ways to pay for CDL school. Most companies have Tuition Reimbursement to help pay back a school loan. There is also WIOA grant for unemployed/under-employed people that doesn't need to be paid back.

It's better to ask one question at a time than lots of them in 1 post.

You need to decide lots of things to find the trucking job that fits you.ots of people will say e ery trucking company is the same. All of the low quality companies are similar but the better quality companies are very different in how they treat drivers.

It's a lonely job & can easily cause a divorce. I would not recommend O er The Road OTR unless you are single/divorced or already seldom see your family.

 

80-90% of people entering trucking industry leave the industry in 6-12 months. Most of that is caused by not doing sufficient research about an employer before working for them. No company will change for you. You need to find the company that fits your needs.

 

Every trucker on the planet, at one time, had never driven a truck. Many when in their 20's had never driven a car and found out they can't get a CDL until they've had a car license for 12 mos. They did that and then got the CDL.
It's not uncommon today for teens and early 20's to have never driven a car.
Immigrants come to the USA and go thru the same process.
Driving trucks is not that complicated.

 

This may be the most cringe worthy thing I've ever read! I personally need a shower to maintain my personal hygiene. Sorry but a "dude wipe/baby wipe" wouldn't leave me feeling fresh and clean.

 

I could take a shower in my trucks without just using a baby wipe.

 

Yes, sometimes that what you got to do!

A few weeks ago when I went to a Pilot in Georgtown, KY it was 8:35 pm and the parking spots were running thin and there were only 'Reserved' spots left. The carrier I'm leased refunds paid parking spots so I didn't care and booked one. However, when getting ready for a 'shower' walking inside a note on the door said, ' We are Sorry but the Showers are not working We are Sorry for the inconvenience'.. I was like wtf? 'I paid already for a spot so if I leave now for the Flying J up the street I might lose this one and end up not having one. So for that night 'Wipes it is'. What can you do? To much newbies, believe in amenities However back in the 90's there were less amenities, less time and more road to cover so most who survive as truckers are reasonable towards realistic events and things that happen on the road.