Litmus test for new drivers...

I still like OTR,
I feel sorry for those daycab drivers parked on an on ramp sleeping with their head on the steering wheel.

 

I feel like daycabdaycabs should have tiny coffin sleeprs. not enough space to really do anything but it's better then moving your head the wrong way on the pillow and blasting the horn lol

 

Nothing insane about it. For some, it is the only type of trucking they ever want to do. There was a time when I thought that my wife and I might go the O/O route. Unfortunately, she had other thoughts. So we compromised. We didn't go O/O.

I know a couple of guys that carry a piece of plywood, lay it across both seats, throw an air mattress on it, and are happy as clams. (Nutty clams, perhaps...)

 

I fell into a local position at my company about 6 months after starting there out of school. I was running ragged doing the 5-6 days a week on the road, and now after almost two years, I'm living the dream.

 

^^^ THIS ^^^
... pretty well sums it up.

Some folks thrive on being home in bed every night. Some thrive on living in their man caves in the truck and seeing something new every day. I tend towards the latter, but really like my gig now, with a mix of local and long hauls. Doing the same route every day would bore me to tears.

The OP makes a very important point. New drivers need to be prepared to pay their dues. Whether you start out OTR with a Mega (like I did... getting back into trucking) or whether you land YOUR dream job running local, you HAVE to pay your dues.

To THAT I would add that you need to, "Have a Plan. Work the Plan."

You normally don't start fresh out of school hauling mega oversize loads (a supreme understatement). If THAT is your goal, then you figure out the steps you need to get there. WORK your plan.

I was a trainer for a year with Swift. Many of my trainees hadn't done their homework regarding pay scale and working conditions at Swift, and I would think to myself, "Why in the world did you choose a company that puts you OTR if you really want local?"

Some of my trainees chose Swift after doing their homework. They had a plan. One is still with Swift and is doing well as a trainer. Another teamed with his wife and they spent two years living out of the truck, paid all their debts, and paid cash for a house. Another ran solo two years, living in the truck, and paid cash for a tow truck and started two businesses after almost two years.

Have a Plan. Work the Plan.

Do your homework. Know what you are getting into.

Be prepared to pay your dues along the way.

 

4 months experience , home weekends.

 

WHAT? You don't carry a hack saw with you? Both of these guys were in trucks where the gear shift was NOT sticking up between the seats. That could make for a pretty uncomfortable bed...

The jobs are out there. But you have to be in the right place, at the right time. I don't mean you should leave everything to chance, know what you want and go after it. But it don't hurt at all to get a bit of good luck going your way.

 

Or very comfortable if your into that sorta thing