Climate Express

It's good over here, @Professor No-Name pretty much nailed everything. Your cpm will be experience based, and it's on par with what the market is for experienced drivers right now. Me personally, I stay out bout a month to a time, but sometimes I can get home for 10 hr breaks because our running lanes takes me through the house. They definitely can keep you running if you show an ability to turn miles efficiently. As for time out west, solos don't really travel west of Colorado that much, and I really mean west I-25. We run a lot of Denver so that about as far west as it goes for solos. I've done Phoenix a few times, an Ogden once, but those are few and far between. You can run between 2600 to 2800 on average, with some 3000 plus mile weeks sprinkled in periodically. It's very steady money here, with good culture.

 

Honestly, you summed it up best in your post. You have to be cut out for this lifestyle. By nature, I don't require a lot to be satisfied. The things most people value, I don't. It doesnt even phase me to be out on holidays. It all depends on what matters to you most, and I'd even say you gotta like yourself lol. Me personally, I prefer OTR to local or regional. I like the tranquility. I think as a driver, you have to know yourself. Some are better suited for local jobs. I've gotta buddy that I had been trying to encourage for years to go local, because he hated missing out on anything at home. He finally did, and he and his wife couldn't be happier. It only took 15 years roughly, but I knew him better than he knew himself. The "normal life" is something that I don't find all that appealing, but for me it's more than driving. It's growth, and it's an expansion of my horizons. I've become more sensitive and aware to different styles of thinking that I don't know I would have experienced staying on the typical path. I think every driver has to find their "trucker personality" and I'm very much a Road Warrior. You know yourself, and if 3 days would drive you crazy, that's an indicator that this lifestyle is tough for you, and that's ok! Not everyone is meant for OTR. I'm of the opinion that 65 to 75 percent of current OTR drivers are out of place. They may just do it out of necessity. Perhaps their location doesn't offer any local jobs or that's the only thing they know. I think the lifestyle is way too hard for most people and it's a big price to pay to make a living.

 

Oh yeah I've been up there. I spent the night there when I did. If I remember right, just back into the dock off the street and just check in the morning. They off loaded pretty fast.

 

Oh yeah, don't break the seal when you back up, I can't remember if they break it or not. It's not a tremendous amount of room to back but it won't be the hardest back you ever did either.