Is there a company that doesn't work you over 8-9 hours?

well, back in the day, when i ran the road, i was never a "truck stop trucker", that always had to stop, play video games or sit in my truck and play on the cb radio. i got as close as i could, like you say, just in case, like oncoming bad weather, construction zones, etc.

in fact, in all my time, i was never late, but at times, incredibly early, as i'd be on my time zone, and be in Cali 3 hours early! lol. but hey, i got to take a nice nap as well!

 

I never was a truck stop hero either.Stopped only one time a day and thAt was to get fuel.Most the time for my brake I would stay at rest areas or the customers.

 

Yup, fuel and showers... Maybe a meal but that depends on the place and I try not to eat at truck stops too often. Smaller truck stops are ok but, since I am fairly self contained, I prefer the Rest Areas, Customer Lots, or even Walmart. Stop, stretch the legs as I walk around the store and restock the truck in the process.

 

Construction jobs are usually about that. Ready-mix, construction supplies exct. There are busy days but in general it's not crazy. I'm in reefer now and they'd work me 16 hours a day if I didn't stay on top of them. For me I have to have a work and personal life balance.

 

Yep,if you kill two bird's with one stone so to speak you can get alot more accomplished and more organized.You won't need to always be in a hurry either to get where youre going.

 

And the way we run, I never seem to have time to just "hang out" at a Truck Stop either which is fine by me.

 

After seeing my father wither away and die right when he should have been retiring and enjoying life I vowed to enjoy my life now and not dream for what I will do when I retire. When I am on my death bed I won't be wishing I worked more. I'll be wishing I took that camping trip I wanted, or enjoy time with my family and loved ones. I've worked a 80 hour a week job and was miserable. What good is money if you have no time to enjoy it?

 

Interesting viewpoint there Dominick. I've yet to take the plunge on getting my CDL but I've had a few different jobs ranging from your typical 40hr work week all the way to the now normal 12hr + a day gig and honestly, if I had a choice I'd prefer NOT to work 12 hours or more EVERYDAY. Does that make me "less of a man"? I don't think so. Does that mean I'm "lazy"? Not at all. I just don't want to spend every waking moment slaving away so the suits in the office can rake in the $$$$ while they pay me peanuts. We've developed into a severe "overtime culture". Where business's expect more and more. I've been there, I've had that job where you leave in the morning and it's still dark outside and get home and it's just as dark outside as when you left 14 or 15 hours earlier. You have enough time to eat, #### and got to bed, just to wake up and do it all over again. I don't get what there is to glorify about that. It's nothing to be proud of. YES, you've got to provide but my god you've got to have some sort of personal life OUTSIDE of work as well or its all for nothing.

This is strictly pertaining to jobs outside of CDL work as I saw comments made referencing "Walmart" or "Mcdonalds" and the like. I know in trucking the rules change but generally speaking the few guys I know that drive locally work hellish hours. Granted they're home every night, but at the expense of having no time to do anything other then work. But it all depends on who you talk to, you have the people who are in-fact "lazy" and don't want to work more then 20 hours a week, then you have your middle of the road folks who work 40 hours or so and have decent home time, then you have the other extreme which is the people who think they're some sort of righteous being because they spend every waking moment working. I'm not a religious person by any means, but when I step back and think about it I can't help but wonder, is this really are there is to it? Is this "living"? If there's some mythical being in the sky is this really the divine plan? We all get one shot at this thing called "life" and unfortunately so many of us forget about the "living" part. We just "exist". I guess it all depends on your definition of "living". If it's working yourself to the bone so be it, if its selling everything you own and traveling hippy style to really "experience life" so be it. There are no hard and fast rules to this. We're all just following general "ideas" that other human beings thought would "work best". And maybe I'm just too much of a deep thinker for my own good. I ask the questions that can't be answered, and at times I think it'd be much easier if I was just a mindless sheep who just existed and did everything that everyone else does, never questioning anything or thinking anything further past the "normal" train of thought. But that doesn't seem like very much fun. Maybe I should start writing? lol. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Dave

 

EXACTLY! Im a local flatbad but if I didn't get OT the truck would be back on that 8th hour without question. Plus I would have never taken the job in the first place.

 

In my current gig I average about 45 hours a week, but my new schedule has me starting at 15:00 or 16:00 every day. The downside is my days off - Thursdays and Saturdays. I could cope much better if it was a Monday to Friday deal, but the money and benefits are excellent. I'm also home everyday and you can't put a price on that. I made over 80k last year and I'll make over 70k this year, the decrease in wages was basically my choice and was predicated on the runs I selected on this bid.

I've paid my dues in the workplace. I've put in MANY 80 and 90 hour weeks before logging was the issue it is today. I don't wish to be a martyr for that, many folks work like that today. However, the fact remains that I don't wish to work like that anymore. My 2 children want to see their father and I want to see them. I missed a considerable amount of their youth from working WAY TOO MUCH, they're 15 now (I have twins) and I'm seeing them more frequently.

My point is this - if I could find a Monday to Friday 8 hour job with normal hours (6-2, 7-3, 8-4, etc) that paid relatively decent, I'd take it in a HEARTBEAT. Does that make me lazy? No way. It makes me want to enjoy life to it's fullest.

I should also mention that my above scenario is my ultimate goal and I've worked to achieve it. I have rental income to supplement my "normal" job and I hope to be able to walk away from trucking around the age of 50 (I'm 43 now). I want to get the kiddos through college and then evaluate things at that point.