To answer your original question, probably not on paper but like plague and Gump are saying, personal happiness has a price and everyone's price is different.
I never had a top tier company job with the pay going along with it anyways. I did have 9 years at the company and was maxed out on pay. Lacked one year getting 3rd week of vacation. For me what sucked was that even though I got home every weekend, always for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, I could even ask for longer weekends when freight was slow... ...it always felt like an un-ending grind. I never really liked working in July at all either. As a company driver I would schedule vacation for July 4th week. Now I normally take all ofJuly off and most of August off too. That is what I love about being an o/o. Even in a down year I still have that and it is still worth more to me than being a company slave for anyone else. But I gotta say OP you are pulling in some serious money. To be quite frank you are doing better than any o/o I ever knew who pulled containers. Containers are the pits don't even bother with that crap. If you have a pile of cash go live your dream. Otherwise build up money now while you can. If you are just wanting to do it for the money your heart is not in the right place, imo, you will probably be disappointed.
If the guy wasn't making 2k gross or so a week and home everyday it would be easier to say go buy a truck. The fact is though, his lifestyle will not improve or even stay the same unless he can find a gravy gig like the one he has, but for o/o. It sure doesn't help that Texas is struggling for trucking with the decimation of oil exploration. So let's see, make less or have less home time, work more and assume the risk all for minor complaints, really. OP, I've been an o/o since 2001, and a pretty successful one at that. If you must become an o/o, find the gig that suits you first. Talk to their drivers and research the company. You have a lot to lose if you don't. Trucks are a dime a dozen, great gigs are not.
I was in ND for two years doing the oil field thing there and then we moved down to TX last August to haul crude for Sunoco. I suppose you could say I'm following the money but the big reason we left ND was the weather. I was born in Alaska and raised in Montana and it was still to cold for me, much less my wife who is from SoCal. I truly appreciate everyone's feedback. I figured I have a pretty good deal going now but money is certainly not the only reason to be looking at O/O. Like I said, I'm sick of dealing with slip seating, finding bottles full of chew spit in my cup holder where I put my water bottle and oil on everything because other drivers don't care enough to wipe their hands off before climbing into the cab. I'm not a neat freak but I take care of stuff. Does anyone have any ideas for where to look for something that might pay decent that fits my bill? I want independence and even if there are more headaches and maybe a bit less money I think it would be worth it for all of the reasons described above.
You need to look in your local area and network if you want to be home everyday. The ones that pay good are typically not advertised. If you want to stay in the same line of work, you should already know who has o/o.
I don't think I want to haul crude. A lot of the driving is on REALLY rough dirt roads that just rattle the trucks apart. There are a lot of intermodal companies down here since I am so close to the ports but I'm hearing that containers don't pay. That makes sense since most of the trucks I see doing it are garbage. Seems like most of the nice trucks are hauling tanker of some sort. I'm looking into all of this but it is good to have reassurance that I do have a pretty good job right now. I've only ever driven in the oil fields so my trucking worldview is pretty limited.
If you only have driven the oil fields, that explains your post 100%. Your grievances are pretty minor in this industry and they can be much worse. It's a good thing you started hauling crude and not water. Stick to your job you have now and try to sniff out a good lease or direct customer to haul for. Once you find that, however long it takes, it will be much easier to figure out what's best. If you're honest with yourself when comparing any offers, you'll always be happy with your decision.
