Sticking to my guns, buy the truck you're in, its specced like you want it, you know the recent history, boss bought the truck at your request, he doesnt want to have it sitting empty if you end up leaving.
I would try to avoid pulling containers at all costs. Containers are generally known to be the absolute cheapest freight. Usually they have lousy chassis with bias ply tires. And you have to be careful that you check everything completely because they will try to back charge you for tires. Nothing beats having your own trailer. Just don't go anywhere that you have to drop it and the jockey will put your trailer in the door and bring it back out. Often they are too impatient to let a little bit of air go back into the trailer to release your brakes. I can't tell you how many times I've watched them drag trailers around making flat spots on the tires...
Well, it’s probably because it’s all I know. There is something to be said about the openness of the road and the peace that comes with it. I’ve thought about going local a time or two in the past. I’ve noticed a few things that happen being OTR for so long and trying to go local. Atleast for me haha. -You become an ATM or the “I’ll pay you back” bank because non truckers seem to think we’re rich lol. -It’s hard to “re-establish & re-integrate” into people’s daily lives. When your gone,...life is still moving for them. They get used to the status quo of your being gone, so when your their, people (even neighbors lol) become antsy. Nobody likes to break routine, it’s human. - I’ve found that when your around more, people tend to latch on to you with their expectations and at times, their issues & drama, which aren’t yours. - Being local usually means more stopping. I’m used to fueling up, setting my music and snacks up and riding out for the day until shut down time. Being on the road kind of gives me the “me time” that I want. Time to enjoy real conversations with my daughter and be present with her. Explore new adventures, so to speak. Listen to books, watch movies, do crafts with her and plan my success plan....all without interruptions. I’m sure that local is great, but personally, I know that I wouldn’t have done even half of the things I’ve accomplished (cleaning credit, saving $30,000, getting business legalized, etc) if I wasn’t across the country somewhere in a truck sitting up . It’s something to be said about sitting at a dock or on a forced 34hr reset. Boredom can increase productivity lol. But hey, at the end of the day, it’s not all about me which is why I set up my business, trying to buy a truck of my own and in here figuring it out step by step with those that know the process 100%. Local is on the horizon..., just laying the foundation for it to be in my own
I think it might be the container carriers that are paying cheap. They have their drivers over a barrel because most of them have home time as their top priority, and there's a lot of drivers with those priorities so the carriers see their labor market as flooded. But I've pulled a few containers for Landstar out of the railyard in Joliet and they paid pretty decent. And it looks like they have similar stuff out of several other cities, including Atlanta. Didn't look at Savannah so not sure about that. But yeah, the chasses can be junk. My first one had a shredded tire so I took it straight to the maintenance bays and they found five of the eight tires were bad plus three bad lights too. I got lucky and there was only like 2 trucks ahead of me in line but by the time I was done there was at least 15 trucks sitting in line waiting for chassis service.
I would say those days are over. There a certain number of people that are going to be going after a certain number of jobs because of a certain situation that's happening in a certain Southern place... they come from a place with no money so they're going to work for nothing... although apparently a lot of that is being sent all over the United States... yes getting a driver's license is very simple for these certain people in this certain situation that are not from this particular country... Thanks again to a certain someone that has created a certain situation...
The one thing that makes me say think real hard about being an O/O is your daughter. Schools are returning to in person, so running around all the time with her is going to be less of an option. Also, imho, kids need in person friends and stability, which just won’t be happening OTR. You may want to switch to local work at some point, and having a truck payment would make that a lot harder to juggle.
Reality is difficult for those with weak Minds that are easily controlled, those that are ill-informed, and of course those that get their news from THAT source. If you have anything further to say bring it over to the political forum. The password is thick skin. Until then...
