Otr drivers

So now we have a wannabe telling what an awesome experience OTR is and how the pay will be way better like it was before .
When before - 30 years ago ? BFI pay has been the same that long and will be the same the next 30 years as long as CDL mills keep turning out people willing to work temporarily for bottom feeder wages .
Sure a few people make 40k-50k a year OTR . BFI's have to give some drivers enough miles to make that so they can claim those wages are possible .

 

i might be a wannabe but i have run passenger in an otr truck its not the same experience as clocking in to walmart to stock shelfs. i call it awesome others call it horrible whatever, just not the same as your typical job.

and of course im not talking about BFI pay... which is prob close to 20-30k.

 

My first year at swift I made 35k, while not great, it was still comparable to what I was making driving a local dump truck 6 days a week. Left swift in november to take a local job, home every weekend, decent pay, good benefits... And I am freaking miserable. Been calling recruiters, and filling out apps for OTR companies for a week and a half now. cant wait to go back OTR. Over the road trucking is definitely NOT for everyone, but its where I found my niche, and its where I was happiest. going back OTR will be, to me, like going home.

 

If you think about it 40 to 50k after taxes and road expenses is not a livable wage. Yes you could save money by doing food in the truck to save but not me. I couldn't wait to get out of the truck at the end of the day to at least be near another person even if it was another driver.
I really do not see the need for companies to keep you out 3 to 4 weeks at a time then allow you to have 3 days with your family. There are enough trucks around at any given time that can handle the freight it is that BFI mentality that needs to change and the question is how do we do that. I think it is time to say no Hell NO and quit taking it. I know it is too late for me as I am at the end of my driving career and don't have the energy to fight anymore,but as a dispatcher I am trying to instill pride in my drivers and show them they do not have to take the crap most companies are willing to dish out. My Two Cents

 

#### trolls can really get there feak on sometimes.

 

i leave on Mondays back on Friday, gross over 200k a year, take a months worth of vacations every year, otr is great t-boy!

 

Hey, I LOVE OTR! At least for the 10 to 12 days I'm away from home I am the boss !

 

im very sure we all know all this,i think. ♫♫♫♫

 

What, you don't think there are any local companies that are bottom of the barrel? I have been "local" all of the 14 years that I have been driving but I have respect for the men/women that do OTR. To each his/her own.