How does a OTR driver manage a relationship?

OTR relationships are difficult. The biggest thing is having a very strong bond with your spouse, honesty and TRUST. Imma tell you, if either are lacking the relationship will not work. A trucker needs to be supportive of the spouse at home and the spouse has to be supportive of the trucker. Kids are a different scenario. Do everything possible to be in their lives. Cell phone, internet, fun things to keep the child informed of where the driver is and most of all be there for the important things. I personally couldnt have a young child without my hubby being at a point in his trucking career where he could be home every weekend or almost every weekend.

 

You do have to get creative when it comes to kids. Our son is 13, so he's able to understand it. Dad always brings home the Cat scale collector cards for our son. They talk on a regular basis on the phone. They have plenty to talk about because dad plays a lot of the video games he plays, and dad helps out with the boy scout troop when he's home. They are getting ready for their annual haunted trail, and all the boys in the troop enjoy having my hubby involved in the planning of that. He is the unofficial 1st Class Demon Scout!

 

my wife had a clue what it was going to be like when i started driving. we were living with her mom at the time. when i started getting a decent paycheck after about a year, she started socking money away and working on any bad stuff on our credit report (sending letters to dispute or try to settle bad accounts) after a couple years of that, our credit was repaired to the point that we qualified to buy a house. she knew there was a long term goal we were working towards and she made it work on the homefront. my son was 7 when i started driving and i'm not sure he ever missed me all that much,(he's a momma's boy anyways) i just tried to make up for lost time whenever i was home, took him out for 2 weeks on the truck after he turned 12. that was pretty cool, and he got to see what the old man had to do to make a living.

since then i've gotten a way better job, alot more money and home every night. i had a goal when i started driving, my family supported me, and we've done very well.

i guess what i'm saying is, any relationship can work if you're working together.

 

heh - my wife and I have been in an 'apart' relationship since day one - we were both in the military. If a relationship can weather extended periods at sea, there's no reason it can't weather a few weeks in a truck

Yeah, kids are a different issue - but in my case, they, too, have dealt with a... spread out family since day one.

I still talk to my 13-year-old every chance I get (any place I can find wifi) and I text my wife at least once a day.

But none of us has ever been big on small talk. Wife just needs to vent (Paramedic - yeah, That's a low pressure job) and Gamera just wants to make sure I'm still breathing.

Looking forward to next summer (assuming I'm still driving) when I can take the yard monsters for a bit of a trip

 

You keep her name and town separate and you make sure you have the right name for that town. Never make the mistake of calling out the wrong name and don't leave your book laying around.

 

lol ill tell you how once i figure out how to explain to my fiance that i am going to go otr b/c it pays better and i want to be able to not worry so much about the bills. this local crap is for the birds and old timers. my dad is a trucker and he has 1 failed relationship and one failing partially b/c of it but Ive seen couples take it in stride and have a better relationship at home b/c of the lack of home time. Just when you have kids its tough my younger sister was born when i was 15 an it took awhile for her to realize who dad was.

 

You should be a little more knowable and know what you're talking about when it comes to local work. It would be alot better if you were to say that specfic type of local work was not for you instead of making a rash statement. How does $1645 a week for 60 hours and home every night sound to you? However, if you feel the need good luck to you and I hope you can build a strong relationship.

 

I'd be happy if my hubby had a gig like that. I'm also happy with what he's doing right now OTR. Gotta do the OTR to be able to get the experience to get the good local jobs.

 

Husband and I both worked at the same place that closed suddenly without warning. We had very little time to find new jobs and luckily we had talked about trucking so it was a natural choice. I am home getting ready to sell and store everything so that I can join him fulltime as soon as possible. Being completely debt free, traveling together will allow us to save for our retirement in Italy. We would not do this if we had children at home, nor would we if it meant being apart all the time. Not knocking it, but it wouldn't be what we wanted in the long run. With no mortgage, utlitites, etc...we should be able to reach our retirement goal sooner.

Right now, with him gone for the next 8 weeks, I can really feel the difficulty in being apart. The cellphone really helps and as soon as he is solo, we will get him a laptop with a webcam. Communication, frequent contract and trust really helps.