Am I better of going OTR or staying Local?

TR how long were you OTR before you landed your local gig? Most LTL jobs that I run across specify 2+ years OTR. I would LOVE a local paid per hour job but it looks as if OTR is where I'm headed after school.

 

I started OTR in 1985 and quit that particular aspect of driving in 1994. I got out of trucking for a short time before realizing that local jobs even exist (what was I thinking?) and that if you search it out long enough, you will find something that suits you to a T. I went through alot of local jobs before I found the "dream" job, at least for me, which is the one I'm at now.
Again, I'm not condemning OTR - when I first started driving I loved it! I'm a nature freak anyway, I loved driving through farmlands on 2-lane highways or through the mountains and taking in the beauty of God's creation (sorry, had to throw in the God thing there). It was amazing to see this entire country as I was dispatched to all 48 states. There was a lot of "sucky" stuff, too, but what job doesn't have that?

I guess I don't really think that local driving is all that much "easier" than OTR. I live in a big city, there is heavy traffic all day long - and a lot idiots out there doing stupid things. I'm shifting through the range - up and down - all day long. I'm backing the thing up - 10 times a day at least. I still have to deal with DOT as they set up checkpoints all over the city and pull rigs over at random. I still have to keep records - but I don't have to keep a log book : )

Now, do I remember where all the good stops are if I were to go OTR again? Or how far I would make it one day and where I should stop? Where I'm going to need to fuel up? All the considerations taken into OTR? Probably not - but it wouldn't take long to get it back. The rigors of OTR, in my estimation - is being alone so much. If you are a loner, then it will suit you well. If you are not, then you are going to find yourself longing for much more human interaction than you are going to get in the OTR lifestyle.

You're probably not going to get a LTL job right off the bat, but there may be other local stuff you can do that you could possibly get into. Likely - though - you are going to have to run the states and do your initial time before going local. You could try construction-based driving (belly dumps seem to be somewhat easier jobs to get local than a lot of it - and it doesn't take too much brain material to figure out how to operate the thing and get proficient with it).

I actually feel bad for all you folks just getting out of school going OTR in this particular, current market. Seems to be too much bs in these giant trucking companies taking advantage of new drivers - as if your time is worthless, therefore, pay you less. I wish you luck in whatever you end up finding. Take it slow - don't get in a big hurry and stay out of accidents - that's what these local companies are looking for, people that can drive in heavy volume traffic without "touching" other vehicles on the road.

 

Thanks a lot guys this helps out a lot, I have been filling out job applications like crazy to both OTR and local companies. I am surprised, never realized that their where so many different types of trucking jobs. Every aspect of the industry seams to have it own nitch , riddled with it own pros and cons. I have to figure out where I would like to fall in. I have a construction back ground so I am leaning that way maybe would like to haul and operate heavy equipment , but for now I just want learn to drive, polish up my skills and avoid developing any bad habits. It seams this industry has many obstacles and pit falls I just want to learn to identify them and to make as few mistakes as possible.

 

just to file a point on something Trooper said -

You needn't think of 'local' as all city driving. All it really means is that you start out your shift at point A, and at the end of your shift you return to point A. Shift is limited to 12 hours, if I recall.

For instance, a job I'm still hoping for is considered 'local', though most of it consists of driving 2-300 miles in the mountains every day. None of the driving is in the city. Start in suburb, hit the interstate, get off the interstate and deliver.... reverse the process at the end of the day. In this case, typically 1-4 deliveries a day.

(my personal opinion is that semis should not be used for in-city delivery - that should be left up to straight trucks. but what do I know?)

 

Well, in my particular line of work, straight truck simply can't handle either the volume of material or the weight. We could load our straight truck up and make 3 trips to make one delivery, or we can load up the semi and make one delivery out of it, while our straight truck makes several other small deliveries.

Then there's the material that a straight truck couldn't haul, regardless. One example is HDPE pipe - 40 foot lengths of pipe used for pumping water out of ponds and into water towers at construction sites for dust control. I haven't seen any straight trucks with 40 foot beds on them.

My company in this particular division is dealing with heavy material. Small loads can go on a straight truck, large loads simply cannot.

But I will agree that there are local jobs that don't necessarily keep you local. The point of stating local is that you get home every night. You aren't living in a sleeper/hotel/whatever. I deal with city traffic every time I go out - but there are stints on the Interstate that are outside of the city.

 

HEy JD, did you goto triumvirate environmental? Where else have you gone?

 

Yeah I sent in an online application to triumvirate environmental last week but I have not herd from them. I also applied to Yellow, Pepsi, Coke, a few other local construction companies that deal with road repair and water and sewer, which is right up my ally due to the fact that I have been doing pluming for the last 15 years. I could get an oil delivery job in a heart beat because I have lot of oil burner Experian’s and I am good at working on heating systems but I really want a tractor job. As for OTR I applied to Arrow, U.S Express and Werner. I already got a pre hire for Werner, but none of those companies would be my first choice, but I have a dog that I have to take with me and after hours of research, those are all I could come up with.

 

Keep at it,you'll find a good local job. Your in a good area that people dont like to drive but you are use to. BIg advantage to you. I'm not sure how far you would travel to goto work but The lopes companies in taunton is hiring. I waiting for a friend to get back to me with more info. I get off to late & dirty to stop bye. I try to gather info for my classmates whenever I see help wanted signs. I turned down a job around the corner from me because no bennies but with the price of gas sky rocketing I'm starting to reconsider. I better make a choice in the next few days or I'm SOL