What am I forgetting?

Yeah, it's not what it used to be; that's for sure. Personally, I would avoid OTR like the bubonic plague as thats where all the greenhorns and 'outlaws' of the industry flock too. Find a LTL, line haul, or a feeder run somewhere instead.

 

Here is a great suggestion. Or you could stay where you are til you are 62 then retire. I did just that in 2011 and I'm having the time of my life!

 

I fully understand how it gets in your blood stream and the little feeling in the back of your mind about OTR.

That being said listen to these people. It is completely different and for the worse. It will never again be like it was in a fonder memory. Most all of the old timers have moved on and there is very little to respect or admire out here. There are no more 30 yr company drivers that you will come across , everyone is a 2 week wonder strapped into a lease scam and devoid of common courtesy and manners. The inner city recruiting from the mga lease scam companies has come to fruition and has even expanded into 3rd world countries and former eastern block nations as well. The dregs of society for sure.

While the above is a gross exaggeration it is not entirely false and only exaggeratd to emphasise what has become of this once honorable profession over years and years.

 

lets see dot are bigger pricks than ever do to so many company trucks cut down to 65, so they have to piss with you on everything to try and make rev. if you pass someone dont look in your mirror as you are about to get highbeamed since some dumb ### tough everyone to highbeam to let you know your clear. be ready to get blames by dispatchers for not being in an area for a reload and told to layover. but if you sign up for the load boards you can see prior to getting there there where loads loading that same day you needed but you company didnt do its job but its still you fault. good luck finding a parking spot at night, but if you can run nights the highway is yours. the days of 5 on 5 off are gone now you run 11 staight and take your 10 if you get sick and need to stop for an hour or 2 that time is lost and never recovered. oh and they are trying to change that to make us work less hours. now dot can shut you down if the think you are tired also. dont break down cause no one will stop and help anymore. and that good old friend that was also on the dash talking to you. you dont need it really cause the dont teach how to to that on and use while driving, just to turn on and talk crap at truck stops. I love trucking i truly do. its what i know what i dream about what i bleed for, but its gone to crap. however i am not giving up on her i just do what i do like i always have and hope and pray others notice and take notes. im not perfect by any means but i respect other truckers i even try and respect the wheel holders and show them the ropes to becoming a trucker.

 

I was gone for 17 years and came back a year ago.

Need recent experience was the excuses I heard too.

Found a local shop with 25 trucks and started in march with them. July I bought my own truck.

The biggest change I have experienced is the 14 hour limit.

Permit books are a LOT smaller and thinner with IRP now.

The griping and complaining is the same. So is the rates, brokers and others.

If anything, with cellphones, mifi cards and laptops, this job is easier IMHO by putting the power to communicate right in the truck with me.

Talk all day with folks on the cell phone. So rarely do I go an hour without an outside conversation.

Today I was welcomed to seeing 7.8 mpg on Thursday, today was 8.45 mpg. Yeah, I'm still skeptical. But it's little successes like that, you shrug of the Debby downers.

 

The "recent experience" rule is nonsense. Driving a truck is like riding a bicycle.

 

As to "brotherhood".....

It's what you make of it out here. I just had lunch and 6 of us were able to have a nice civil conversation at the counter.


With no negativity. The one guy who was negative, was ignored.

 

Sorry to break it to you. One of the new things going on and messing up alot of people is the CSA10 scoring system. Its another points deal like you already had on you CDL or non CDL license. Finding people to talk to west of chicago is hard has heck. I watched a truck blow over last spring on 80 and yelled on the radio after i checked on the driver. 50 miles later and about 100 trucks and not one person came back. east of chicago you get some talk. but seems everytime something important come across some idiot gets on and gives false info messing with people or saying stupid stuff. The brother is truly gone. you get lucky time to time and find a few good men or women. but for the most part its dog eat dog world anymore and drives me insane somedays. You also have DAC but with you just coming back your fine on that. DAC is a company that records bad info from companies that you worked at before.