Heading For Little Rock! Maverick

launguage?!?. . . .bullshiRt and wtf?. . . . would horse apples and wth (what the heck of course) be less offensive? lol

 

Its your dream and life's to short but you know your financial situation better than i do. My opinion: I love driving for Maverick. I love the hard work. I love teaching new students. I dont like being away from my wife and 2.25 yr old daughter. I had my dream job already and wasn't really all it was cracked up to be but i did it. If you are making enough money doing what you are doing to pay your bills and do what you want to do, stay there but being bored and unhappy at a job sucks, you dread going into work everyday yet you feel you have to in order to pay your bills. What does your wife, children think of your dream? A good support crew at home can make or break a new driver. Having a student in the truck that got into trucking because the factory closed down, got laid off, their business went under whatever. . . i cant help but hear their conversations with their family when they are asking when is daddy or hubby coming home. I know what they are going to ask me next and my answer is always the same. "Maverick requires you to be in the trainer truck for 21 days, then you are routed through little rock, ar or laurinburg, nc to eval out BASED ON FREIGHT!!!!. If you've been away from home for a while they will ask or you can request to have a bit of home time before you hit the road. Then i hit them with a bit of reality. . . but even if you pick up that load that takes you to the house, nothing is ever certain to get you to the house, mechanical breakdowns, accidents, whatever happens that may keep you from getting there.

My suggestion to you is this, ask your current employer if an employee leaves on good terms are they allowed to come back? try trucking for 6 months if it turns out to be as good as you think it should be, stay. If not, go back to your previous employer and be unhappy there until you find work that makes you happy. Like i said before, Life is short. The ultimate job is doing something that someone needs now and always will. Something you enjoy doing and that someone will pay you to do. something that challenges you daily doesn't bore you to tears and makes you happy to do.

One man's dream, is another's nightmare and OTR trucking isn't for everyone. The choice is your's.

 

I was hung out my very first weekend in my truck because some ####### preloaded a trailer and left it out in the rain at Temple Inland in Cumberland City, TN. (Gypsum)

LOL! fun times.

 

My wife is very supportive and my kids are grown, 18 and 23, so they know what reality is. As far as being away from home, I'm away from home for training for the automotive plant for up to 6 weeks at a time with no hometime in between so being away from home is no problem. I just want to enjoy what I do every day. Thanks for your input.

 

I really do enjoy what I do at Maverick. The Sand Drivers are a great bunch of guys who work well together. It can get well over 125 degrees on the well pad so we help each other and watch out for each other.

 

I was lucky and had a trainer that lived in TN; so when we were home on the weekends, my family was welcome to come see me. It was about 6hrs one way for them to come; so I only got to see them one time during my training. I was sent home with my first load after I was released on my own. I would have been home for 4 days; however I had a mechanical breakdown as soon as I left Portage with my coil (that I forgot how to tarp)<< I have learned how to tarp since then. Anyway, after getting my truck fixed at the Gary Terminal and taking my 10 break, I headed home for the weekend. One thing I have learned so far is that my soon to be wife wants to know (even before I get home) what time I am leaving out on Sunday. When I get the load that takes me home, I always do my trip planning before I go home; so I can tell her what time I am leaving out. That way she can better plan the weekend. I would like to say I have been home every weekend and had a full 34hr restart, but I haven't and I am sure these other drivers can agree with me on saying that sometimes you won't get home and you won't get a full 34hr restart before you have to leave again.

And I don't know who said that they never set (either waiting to get loaded/unloaded/waiting on a work assignment--if I read it wrong I apologize now) but they are lying through their teeth!! I have set many times. Heck I arrived at a consignee last week and did my 10hr break at their facility and they still didn't unload me until nearly 10am. I wasn't burning up my 14, but still I had to sit. I had to wait nearly 16hrs one day because the consignee said it was strictly by appointment only (the run was only like 180 miles total and that was counting dead head and delivery). When I arrived for my appointment they were laughing and said they hadn't done anything all day. I was saying to myself (you got to be kidding me. I could have come here this morning to get unloaded). I do have bad days but the good days far out weighs the bad. I have only been with Maverick for 3.5 months and unless I get on as a TN State Trooper, I don't see myself leaving.

 

For some reason I have been sitting longer and longer these days for a load when I get empty. I enjoy working at Maverick even though I quit every week Seriously though Maverick is a good carrier to work for. As Sewerman pointed out, it is a lifestyle, one that I enjoy...Maybe a little too much since May 14 was the last weekend I got to see my hometown(my truck is my home) That is by my choice though.