How do you define what a trucker is?

My first guess would be a few years otr...in my mind when I think of a trucker I think of the nomadic type away from home 4+ weeks at a time, living in the truck, walks into #### near any truckstop in america and knows the person behind the counter by name. Thats probably very old school cliche but it's all I got.

 

There havnt been very many "real" truckers out there for quite a few years... Now trucking is basically a cesspool filled with goofballs that cant find work anywhere else so the solution is for the states to pay for half-assed trucking schools. All you have to do is watch the action on the roads and in the truckstop parking lots to see this...

 

The definition is probably as varied as all the different styles of trucks and jobs to fill them.

 

Well that rules out half the drivers on the road...I'm automatically ruled out 9mths before I got my CDL lol

 

Good question. I drive a 5 ton right now. I guess a lot of people would consider it a big truck, but I don't consider myself a trucker. I'll be going to school for that.

My working definition is somebody who makes a living driving vehicles that require a Class 1 (CDL in the US) driver's license to operate. It doesn't matter if they haul locally or long haul. It doesn't matter if it's a flat deck or a dump truck or a reefer.

Like any trade though, there are different specialties and skill levels and some will always say that others aren't "real" truckers, but that's true in all trades.

 

Not to sound like a douche, but, in my opinion, a trucker is someone who has to live the lifestyle. You need to live at truck stops and rest areas. I dont consider day cab drivers, dump truck drivers, delivery drivers as a "trucker". It's more then just moving product from point A to point B. I'm sure the fuel hauling day cabbers may disagree with me, but you get to sleep in your own bed at night... Must be rough. I drove dump before I went OTR. The hours suck, but I got to go home every night. Sleep in my own bed, take a shower every day. I would LOVE to get a local job that let me do that again. But the truth of it is that there is no local job, at least in my hometown, that is going to pay even close to what I'm making OTR. I'm looking into a couple regional opportunities that will get me home more frequently, but I'm digressing again.

My point is, being a real OTR trucker is the fact that there are more hardships then the people who have local day jobs. I'm not saying their job is any easier, but the next time I'm stuck in Wyoming because a blizzard shut down the freeway AGAIN, I'll sure be wishing I was sitting at home driving dumps again.

 

LoL ! at Trucker defintion, its cool no problem

LoL !

 

Where in MN are you. I know a few guys who haul fuel and groceries for Kwik Trip. I've heard the pay is very good.