Does the "itch" for the road ever go away?

It sometimes comes back to me and then I remember how much it sucked, how I was treated like an animal, crap pay, etc etc..

Then it goes away. Then it comes back 3 weeks later, then I remember how it sucked, rinse and repeat...

 

I think there is a cream for that itch ...... Gold Bond ? .....Uuuhhhmmmm ..... NO ! ........ ......... Bailey's !! That's it !

 

No the itch never goes away. Thing is, for me, that itch gets scratched pretty quickly once I'm back in an OTR gig, and I wonder why the hell I gave up a local job.

Right now I'm on a short (34 hour) weekend and have to be back in the truck tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 0800. Now that I'm back OTR, I can't plan any kind of weekend event because I never know if I'm going to roll in on Saturday morning, or roll out Sunday morning. Getting both days completely off on a weekend is a rare event.

I used to tout OTR as more relaxing than local, but this time around, it's not the case. Nothing can substitute good, at home, family time. If I could go back to the local gig I left, I would. I currently have a "tentative" offer to be local again, and while the pay is steady and consistent and the schedule is Monday through Friday with full weekends off, the equipment is questionable. I'm riding the fence on a 50/50 split on whether to pass on it, or take it.

 

I drove OTR for years, now I do a local gig. I really don't want to go back.
I get up pretty early......stop at the gas station for a breakfast sandwich.....
stop at a truckstop for lunch...... come home in the evening. In some ways
it isn't much different from OTR.

I still have a stupid XXX for a dispatcher. Some of our customers are a
pita. I have to wait to load or unload. I get paid by the load, so waiting
time is free.

The advantages; I make more than I ever did driving OTR......home
in my own shower every night......never over 2 hours from home so
if something does happen, i can get home.......

To me it is the ideal "in between" job. I always get sunday off.
I do work some saturdays but still home by 6pm. Good luck.

 

Eh, one man's paradise...

 

Ok if you want regional, Millis Transfer just runs eastern states and has a school in Trenton,OH.
Company has a real good reputation. Lots of drop & hook freight; beer & soft drinks.

 

I just got off work yesterday, and I'm sitting here with the desire to go back out again. Most weekends are always the same.

 

I know the feeling. I like heading out about dark Sunday if possible, and drive all night. Thermos of fresh coffee, XM Radio tuned to some trucker channel, dash lights set on dim and cruise all night.

 

Been off the road for 6 years now. Ran local flats in the Northeast for 25 years. Worked for and as an O/O.
What do I miss?
Driving a 400+ HP 13 speed truck and and making it work like a charm!
Passing a higher HP truck on a hill and the guy asks how much you got under the hood and you say 435hp and he says no way! 85% driver, 15% truck sir.
What concerns me about possibly going back out?
Some of the tools and fools that come into the yard now that are completely clueless in regards to trucking and common sense! It's gotta be an incredible challenge out there now!

JD
Grumpy Yard Jockey