Is Trucking for me? What are the hours really like?

I would like to know who the group of people are that said you would be driving All day and no time to stretch your legs.If that was the case there wouldn't be so many complaining about poor checks.There will be times you'll be sitting a day or two waiting for a load.Other times you'll be driving your entire shift. Not to worry though you're company won't work you to death.The turnover rate is 100%and one of the reasons probably the main reason,poor checks week after week.Companies may not have a glamorous starting wage but if the miles consistent at 2500 miles a week then it wouldn't be too bad.

 

This is the most perfect description of trucking I have heard.

Perfect description of how the road really is. Most jobs suck. We keep driving because we love drive.

 

I find I sleep a lot on this job. My bunk is extremely comfortable as I got a 4 inch foam topper on top of my mattress. I jump in the sack as soon as I can. I also find time to do genealogy as we travel around and you can plan your breaks around any hobby you might have.

The key to that is having a DM who gets you Pre Planned. If you don't have someone who will tell you two or three days in advance you can't plan your sleep pattern correctly. But if you have a good DM, you can check a movie or site see.

It is a 24 hour a day job as you are tied to your truck.

 

Definitely depends on what you end up doing, if you do decide to do this.
I've always loved driving, always wanted to drive a truck since I was a little kid. Finally got my cdl and enjoyed OTR for 3 years...sometimes. There were definitely crappy times where I didn't get enough sleep, but it was mostly me being stupid about not getting to bed at the right time, poor diet, stuff like that. Starting out OTR chances are you might end up at a larger company where electronic logs are a thing. Thats what I did and the electronic logs do not allow you to cheat in any way whatsoever. The company might push you to drive out your clock every day, but you still have to take a 10 hour break no matter what. Running paper logs for a smaller company OTR, or maybe not smaller just not using e-logs, you're a little more flexible with your hours. You could conceivably run yourself out and never sleep on paper logs...that is definitely not recommended. Or legal.
Running OTR I would have at least 2 hours after driving was up to do what I wanted. Usually just walked around, read, played music. Sometimes you get down time where you might spend a day or two in one place waiting on a load. I always brought my bicycle with me for this. So I could explore the town.

But I don't drive OTR anymore. I'm LTL. I run nights, which I enjoy. Its 500 miles round trip, clock in at 830pm, clock out usually around 730. Long nights but the pay is great. Expecting to make about 75000 this year. Some days I get home and go right to bed. Other days I Hang out on trucking forums and go to sleep way too late. Just depends. In any case, you're home every day...weather permitting, and you get your weekends off to do a reset.
If you're a people person, P&D might be your thing. Daytime hours, and you'd mostly be driving a 28 ft trailer around town. There's a few smaller companies that pay a little less, but the bigger ones...Estes,Saia,Etc tend to pay a little more. In my area they're starting out around 25 an hour for P&D.