If You Had It To Do All Over Again.....

Gordon, Crete, Roehl, maybe Maverick, absolutely no reefers.
It really depends on where you live and what you value the most.


A lot of things in the industry are accepted by veterans but are not known to the newbies. The amount of uncompensated time and labor in the industry is ridiculous. Also having to pay in time/labor for mistakes by your company or the shipper/receiver is immoral.

OTR has an industry turnover rate of 130%. Why? Because it isn't worth it.

 

If I could go back and chose a company to start and stay with, it would be Crete(which was who I started with anyway). Ive only been in the industry for about 9 months, so Im sure my opinions will change as I discover new companies.

 

Ummm, if I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to college, got a masters, started my own business or gone to work for a huge corporation - and bypassed trucking altogether! The first several years were great, though.

 

DITTO!

But, if I did it all over in the trucking industry, I would have gone with a union company. I did drive for Roadway, for a short time and I hated it. If I would have stuck it out, I could be retired now, at 47.

 

I went to college (I didn't get a masters but my wife did). We owned our own business for over 10 years, business went weak and we closed, and now I'm going to CDL school to be a driver. Isn't life ironic? Being a business owner is a lot tougher than you think. Probably a lot like being a driver is a lot tougher than I think. But at least from owning my own business I'm used to working more hours than most people (you know, the ones who only work 40 a week, get all holidays and sick days off...), dealing with unreasonable people (I was in retail), and getting less pay then people think you do. At this point I have no experience being a driver, but I'll be on the road soon (I hope). Perhaps I'll have a good time since I'll only get to do it for "a few years", before I retire. Or maybe I'll just retread

 

Been there done that and was toooo busy to get the T shrit.

I went to work for Werenr then my grandpa got sick now I'm taking care of him full time.

But when I am out on the road I find myself relaxed and dont mean asleep
there is 11 hr and 14 hr!

NO "well can you just put this one more thing in the system" "you need to run one more test" "I told them they would have results at 8 am" when You have already put in 12 hrs whats 5 or 6 more.

I have passed up 80K a year jobs for driving why because STRESS when the company is loseing 60k per min. yes min. your under a little pressure to get things running.

The wosres thing I find on the road is consurtion in Chicgo during rush hour. I take slow get my self space and keep rolling in a low gear No Big deal I will get there.

 

If I had it to do all over again? Nah, I'd probably do something more profitable....maybe a fry cook or something....

 

Would you like some fries with that???

 

I would have accepted the ridiculous surgery offered by the marine corps to keep me in even if just for a little while longer and never even thought about driving OTR, that's what I would have done