OTR vs getting a local driving job.

I’ve been doing this 5-6 days a week for the last 7 years or so. Work 11-14 hrs,
25min no traffic, 35min with traffic. Doesn’t bother me at all.

 

Yep. I hear ya on the grocery shopping.
I bought a 1 burner stove just to have heated canned food. And a propane oven for burritos and what not.
It's tough when you don't have the necessities for a decent meal. (fridge, cooking ware) And don't buy those 12V applicances. They burn out the sockets or the wiring in teh truck. Almost impossible to charge your phone let alone power anything else.

 

You'll get your chance.

I just don't do walk arounds anymore.

 

Home daily also means you rush daily to be home by a certain time so you can do those things OTR drivers imagine local guys do every day. I did it for almost 20 years. You may be scheduled to be home 10 hours, in which you commute, eat twice, sleep, shower, prepare/unwind, before getting back in the truck. Local jobs sometimes pay less because drivers will be home daily for less pay than OTR. You may also be required to work nights which limits your outside of truck activities, if you need to ever sleep. Or you will constantly switch back and forth from a day to night schedule as you switch from work to home life.

The outcome depends on your effort, research, and choices.

 

While I have ever seen the chicken spank....I have seen more than a few drivers (usually from some middle eastern paradise) fully bathing in the sink, washing their feet, blowing their noses, and generally being nasty...

 

My wage went down when I went local, strangely enough my bank account went up. I got in shape, I enjoyed my life more days then not. Pretty much the opposite from otr

 

The amount of time you work per day is directly related to the amount of effort you put into finding that job. Everyone talks about burning 12 to 14 a day local. Thats a choice. Least round here. My drivers turn 8 to 9 a day, paid well. Not top but they are not driven like a mule team either. Everyone of them agrees they can make more tomorrow somewhere else, but the trade offs simply aren't worth it. The extra money goes to taxs, car costs, and time away from home. Do what you enjoy, if all you want is money, your in the wrong profession.

Just my opinion.

 

Do what I do. Cook at least a weeks worth of meals at the house before leaving. Serve them into plastic one serving size bowls and put in your fridge in the truck (assuming you have one.) I'm on a 3 week outing right now going home right before Xmas and I won't have to buy anything other than a gallon of milk. I cooked pizza, hamburger helper, I'm a mystery shopper so I got a free 16oz steak dinner, I have hot dogs, cans of soup, premade hamburgers, TV dinners, etc. I haven't eaten a cold cut sandwich since I started driving and I never will.

 

I would suspect that living in the truck is less expensive overall. You'll need to make a budget for each scenario to know for sure.