local driver misses the otr driving

Lots of choices in your area. Probably some good line haul jobs with companies like Estes, Saia, Old Dominion.
There's 3 companies there that haul milk in tankers.
Groendyke I think hires in Phoenix.
Freymiller is a good reefer outfit; check their website.
Holland Enterprises Inc. hires from Phoenix pretty sure.

 

People like what they like. I've been OTR, for 23 years. Never really looked for a local gig. If OTR would make you happier, go do it. Above all else, you have got to like what you are doing. The old saying that money can't buy happiness is true. I know is be bored senseless running around the same little area all the time. I have to go see new places and people.

 

I'm with MrEd on this one. OTR for me. Tried local and felt like it aged me 50 yrs. because I hated it so much.

 

You left whatever OTR job you had, for a reason. And I'd be betting that reason was your family, more than anything else. So, other than the kids being four years older, what has changed?
I do know the feeling though. Before I retired, I was working local P & D. I can't tell you how often I'd see an OTR truck from a local outfit here, and get the itch. However, as has already been said, I couldn't have afforded to go back to it, if I'd really wanted to. And being home every day was a hell of a lot more important to me, than the occasional case of itchy feet.
You ask us what you should do. Hell man, nobody can tell you that. Even if we knew everything about your life's situation, we still couldn't! That answer has to come from within you. All you would be getting from us, would be opinions. And being truckers, most of them would disagree with each other!

 

Navajo Express has some dedicated running back and forth between Denver,CO and Phoenix/North AZ.

 

To be fair, one thing that helps make my OTR choice easier is that I live in an area where local gigs pay crap. 12 bucks an hour pulling double side dumps and grain wagons. 12 bucks, if you're lucky. I'd still prefer OTR anyway. Just money isn't in my decision.

 

I have and still do go through this myself. I ran otr for appx. 7 years before switching to local LTL. Been doing that about 11 years and currently run linehaul at night home every day and I made $94k last year. I have a nice house cars etc. but like you the road still calls to me. I watched a documentary once "A Mistress called the road." That's what it's like really. Trust me I know what your feeling.

 

Could you do part-year OO and trade the family longer flexible home time for some road time?

 

Those truck payments go on all year long! So unless he can pay for one out of pocket, that isn't likely to be a very good idea.

 

I'll tell you guys what I hated being a beer truck driver. I couldn't stand all that concentrated local area and I don't know how anyone did that job for 25+ years, but guys did.
At this point truth be told even though there is no money in it, if decided I wanted to haul freight out on the road I would just buy a decent $20,000 Ford Econoline Extended Cargo van and haul expedited freight or maybe buy a used 10 wheeler straight truck and do expedited I don't know to me that seems like an alright way to go.

You know the one thing I have learned and I am glad this man made this post because I've been wanting to write a post about a kind of itch I've had in the Social section, but one thing is true and feelings are fleeting. I don't know if you can go by that all the time, but it's worth thinking about. Where do you think that saying sleep on it comes from. What it means is sleep on it take a break on it and see if you feel that same way tomorrow or a week from now.

If a whole month or two months goes by and the feeling doesn't go away okay now it's time to make a change. Nothings worse then being somewhere, where your not happy.

I'll be honest I don't love nor hate running local city routes like I do, although we get a little bit of variety, but to me where I work there's progressions and ways to move up the ladder. Right now the road isn't calling to me like it used. If I really wanted to go OTR I could do it at the food company I work for it would be a piece of cake all I would have to do is say switch me to Chain Alliance and that would be it I'd have a 4 day work week and be gone 2-3 days at a time.

It's just at this stage in the game I don't have a desire to do that. I'm alright where I'm at I guess, plus I am not real sure how to navigate the goofy OTR politics I'd have to start at a training company and the whole bottom up thing I don't know about that. Especially for me in my life it doesn't pay to keep job hopping and if I wanted to switch to Chains I would have to move to Pittsburgh and that's all good and well, but that's not where my family is.

Here's what I would do, give your self a month to think about it what's the hurry? If you still feel after a month that OTR is what is going to make you happy then that's what's got to happen. If you changed then it was temporary itch sometimes it takes time for itches to go away.

A friend of mine was telling me about his son and his son said "Dad I think I am going to rent an apartment with my girlfriend." My friend didn't much care for that, but whatever the new dating is like being in a mini mirage. Anyhow my friend said to his, son, son please consider the following...
Anyhow after that talk the son started getting busy with his school work and other things and a couple months went by and the son said "Dad I broke up with her, I need to concentrate more on my school work."

See how things can go from one way to the other in a matter of time, see how feelings are fleeting?

Here's an even better question what does your wife and family think of all of this?