Indian River

Some drivers prefer OTR, others don’t. Years ago, I pulled an end dump locally like the one in the picture that someone attached a few days ago. My truck was a red day cab, square nose Pete, though. I worked Monday through Friday and was off every weekend. We hauled non-haz petroleum coke (resembled charcoal) out of various refineries and ran 600-650 miles per day. We started in the wee hours of the morning. By the time I woke up and got around, drove to work, got in the semi, ran my 600-650 miles, visited with coworkers in the yard for 20 minutes, got in my pickup and drove home, it seemed like I only had a few hours of personal time before it was time to go to bed and do it all again.

Throughout the day at that job, (and one similar to it where I pulled a pneumatic tank) I caught myself blowing through every yellow light, baring down on people in front of me, angry at everyone and everything that got in my way or slowed me down. I scarfed homemade sandwiches down while driving, and felt like a robot after a while. But, I was home every night and off every weekend. Other than that positive fact, I felt miserable all day at work. Being a local, home every day job, we had about 45 drivers who were around each other nonstop. There were gossip circles, cliques within the fleet, busy bodies, etc.

As an OTR driver at IRT, I make double the money that I made in that day cab Pete hauling coke. I also enjoy my workdays. I’ve driven across the Golden Gate Bridge twice, seen Mount Rushmore, Monument Valley, NYC, the Pacific Coast Highway, and just about every famous landmark in the country that the average citizen has to pay to go see. I’ve had two day breaks in Las Vegas, watched the New Year’s Eve countdown on the strip, and actually enjoy my job. I don’t feel like a robot or an angry, hot rod driving machine running the same boring route every day, upset because someone in front of me might slow me down two minutes and delay me getting home to my couch. I actually yield and give the right-of-way to most day cab drivers I see, because I’ve been there and know that they’re most likely rushing around in a mad dash since they’re going home at the end of the day.

If I want to have a sit down restaurant dinner instead of a sandwich, I can. Truck stop food isn’t the best, but with a few clicks on my Uber Eats app, I can have Texas Roadhouse delivered anywhere. I can also park the rig and take an Uber if I need to go somewhere that isn’t truck friendly. As an OTR driver, I’m not surrounded by gossips and busy bodies, who thrive on stirring the pot at work. I rarely see the same IRT driver twice within six months.

It takes a special breed to drive OTR. I think everyone on here would agree with that. Some people are nomadic at heart, others aren’t. Some people appreciate scenery, workday variety, and a more relaxed environment more than others. I will say, having weekends off was nice. But, having a consecutive, vacation-like week off every month or month and a half is nice, too. The road is what you make of it. Keep in mind, I don’t have any children.