New driver going crazy OTR

That's were work life balance comes in to play. Start taking home time a little more often. Even if it's just 2 days.

 

Does your company have terminals or other friendly arrangements where the weather is not bad?

Have been known to take a long reset at a corporate yard and just grab a rental car to sight see.

Other choice would be hotel with truck and trailer parking then grab a rental car or cab.

 

You need more hometime. Get refreshed, and recharged. For most being out that long would be tough on anyone with the minimum hometime that you had.

 

The goal I gave my dispatcher/DMs was one 3 day weekend at home per month.

If they had to have a date I would put in for the first weekend of every month.

 

It’s good to be greedy for money. But, it’s also good to be greedy with your time. I would encourage you to ask yourself “Is the amount of money I make worth the number of hours/days I have invested?”.

I no longer drive OTR because for me the answer to that question was a resounding NO. OTR pay is considerably more now than when I was OTR, but I still wouldn’t do it. If I were young and single with no life, I might think a little harder about it, but I still think I’d take a pass. I just don’t feel like the pay, even now, is worth the time investment.

Anyway, there are lots of local gigs that pay really well should you get tired of OTR.

 

I concur! Three weeks was about my limit when I was OTR. If I had a really good load, I *might* would stay out for four weeks. But either way, I always took a week off because that whole one day off for every week out was nonsense to me too. Fortunately, my gig had a very liberal home time policy.

 

I was in the same position working out West but living in TN. You have to take regular time off, even if you don't get home, you have to have some time to sleep late, get out of the truck, relax, and lose track of time. Some guys a need a little time off often and others need more time off less often. I was so busy I had no time to organize when and how to take the time off, and I did not want to "waste" my very precious time off by just sitting at a truck stop for a couple of days. I ended up not taking any time off for a year. Take time off.

 

You either take time off or your will eventually quit trucking and the money you are making. The company can either do without you for a couple of days or do without you forever. Take time off.

 

Couldn’t he just push through those last 4 months and get a local job after? I had less OTR than him and I still got hired for a local job with a great company. I quit the local after 2 days but still , if they hired me he could get one.

 

Hey bud there's lots of local jobs in CT that will take you. Home daily options at Schneider, JB Hunt, R+L, XPO, FedEx, UPS / TForce, Coke Northeast.