am i being realistic

I believe the FMCSA rules have it limited to "when the sun explodes, unless you've trained as a Space Trucker (not spaced trucker, that's a different skill set) which then means there is no limit". Hope that helps.

Nope, pretty sure I've encountered a few who were legally dead and still driving.

 

we had one ..in the cab (and behind the wheel) at least, pretty sure stopped tho

 

Ahhhh, you are right, plenty of brain dead truckers out here.

 

Greatwide won't train a new driver on wal mart account.. had a guy go through this last week... Most of the other accounts they will... They might at a dc with really bad numbers and looking for help... but they have been so relaxed in hiring for the last 5 years they are cracking down on it now..

 

There is a 90% chance that you go to a company that hires newbies. You can tell the recruiter you want to go home once every month and it won't make a difference when it comes time to be home. You need to be prepared to be jerked around. The recruiter will say almost anything, or agree to anything to get you into orientation. Once you get into your truck, it's important to form a good relationship with your driver manager/dispatcher. They will be the ones to play the biggest role, whether you get home or dont. If they start to feel like you're more concerned with home time than anything else, they'll become less sympathetic to your home time needs.

Once you get a little bit of experience, you can get on a dedicated account where your running lanes, and home time becomes more predictable. I originally started with the company I did to get experience, and move onto bigger and better after finishing my first year. Almost 2 years later, I'm still here on a dedicated account that pays a hell of a lot better, and getting home whenever is as easy as telling the planner a couple of days in advance.

Some companies might hire people and immediately put them on a dedicated account.

Most companies will pay you layover/breakdown pay if you have to sit for whatever reason. Keep in mind, it equals about 10-20% of what you would have made driving that day. Detention pay is another story.

 

Just reading through this thread, and I was thinking how no one seemed to mention that if the Original Poster chooses a flatbed carrier, he is much more likely to get more regular home-time. The trade off however, of course, is the often very physical work that one must do while flatbedding. I saw that Chinatown mentioned the company that I drive for, Maverick (which I strongly recommend), and there are a few additional flatbed carriers that I would recommend that the OP check into if this angle interests him:

1. TMC
2. Melton
3. PGT
4. Boyd Brothers
5. Buddy Moore Transprtation
6. Prime (Flatbed division)

 

Ok, maybe i got luckey, right out of school, home every week. those jobs are out there, but dont think they are going to be the easy jobs to find. going to a community college and not owing a mega company for my school helped alot. A good bud of mine went to Millis for schooling and is still there after 2.5 years, he started otr and got home every two weeks, always. now hes regional and is home every week and often 1 night during the week. Like jxu417 mentioned most flatbed companys get you home weekly. Research, research, research. ask lots of questions and then go to the truckstops and ask the driver from those companys if what you hear is true. b

 

I haven't pull a flat of any kind in about 12 years.. but it was the hardest do get home with when I was doing it seemed to always be chasing freight.. Made ALOT of money though...

 

I've been doing this job for 11.5 yrs And NEVER stayed out more than 2 weeks at a time. And average in the 40k range with Going home WEEKLY. WHEN I WAS NEW & OUT FOR 2 WEEKS I STILL MADE 30'S

 

1) Depends. 14 on and 2 off is a unrealistic number to schedule because of the unpredicatibility of the industry. Sometimes you won't be able to get home for 3 weeks or longer. It's just something you and your family are going to have to work with.

2) Depends on who you're driving for. Most companies don't pay deadhead miles, but try to limit the deadhead as much as they can.