Caledonia Haulers out of Minnesota

i dont think you have a cdl without a current med card on file in your state, i may be wrong.

 

If my memory is correct, Gomer1969 has been doing linehaul at Old Dominion for years now (please correct me if I'm wrong). He hasn't been OTR in a long, long time. If he did extra board at Old Dominion he was out 5 days and home 2 days a week for 48 hours or more (not for just 34 hours). But he's probably got seniority and a home every night run now. So he's not doing OTR and hasn't done it for a long time. Which kind of proves my point with how the rough lifestyle of OTR just doesn't match up with the pay and why most people leave it before putting in a full career (20 years or more).

Hotrod did the same thing, he left OTR and is now doing LTL and home nightly. Anybody who is thinking of doing OTR long term needs to read many times over what Hotrod just wrote, very wise words.

Look, to anybody reading my posts I'm not attacking you, the driver. I'm attacking this particular sector of trucking. As Cobrawastaken wrote:

Couldn't have said it better myself. The pay in this particular sector of trucking (OTR) is horrible for the amount of hours, lifestyle and risks that truckers take driving class A trucks. I'm not attacking OTR truckers, I'm advocating for them, the pay and working conditions are 100% not fair and it's not right.

And look I'm not the only one that feels that way, the majority of CDL holders leave the industry within 5 years and 100% turnover at OTR companies is considered normal, whereas 25%-50% yearly turnover is considered excellent. There is a serious problem with pay, working conditions and living conditions with OTR truckload and the statistics 100% support this.

 

What did I say about otr? I'm confused. For the record I've started my 13th year at OD. Also for the record yes I'm on a home daily schedule. OD doesn't run wild drivers out as much as they used to. I will occasionally bag out because I love getting out and stretching my legs. I do love the lifestyle of running the road and if my wife would ride with me full time I'd be out there. Our kids are all grown and gone and we're now grandparents so there's nothing keeping me home except for her not wanting to spend her retirement in a truck.

 

I wasn’t knocking the OTR lifestyle for those that chose it either. Each to their own. I did it for years myself. My point was that the nextgen guy doesn’t seem like a good fit for the trucking lifestyle by the points he’s brought up in passed threads.

 

Correct..without a med card it will get downgraded..

 

in Illinois you can hold a CDL without a current med card.
If you choose interstate, you have to have a current med card, if you choose intrastate, you can only drive within the state.

 

Probably won’t matter much anyway. If he gets out of trucking for any length of time he’ll have to start over as a newbie again anyway whether he keeps his CDL and med card up to date or not.

 

@nextgentrucker look at lazer spot for local yard hostler/shuttle positions in your area

 

Yeah, I don't know how it is in Florida.