OTR: A Day in the Life?

That's a good place to know about. There's truck parking there at the mall on the north side. Last time I stayed at the Ramada Inn across the street, truck parking also (can't park at the mall overnight). There's an amateur comedy club at the Ramada that was pretty good.

 

I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you find a job that you could enjoy and make ends meet.
Take Care

 

Money isn't the problem, at least for me at this stage. It's having a life or rather not having one. But I have accepted this lot for now. It's no big deal, just telling it like it is. You can see that I pretty much enjoy myself except for not being able to have a normal social, family, or civic life. Maybe I went a little far in calling it punishment. But as I said, it could be worse.

 

Its nice to hear some positive driver experiences out there, I think its all in what you make of it. Do you think so?? Its really hard to read some of these comments, for a wannabee, about how awfull some drivers make this profession out to be. I wonder why they stick with it if they hate it so much.
Any way thanks.

 

On the flip side, for me, with the jobs I had before trucking I really couldn't enjoy a so-called normal life because I was always having to worry about paying bills. I guess the reason I stick with it is the memory of not having enough money seems worse than staying out here on the road. But if you're just starting out, it will take some time usually to get to where you're making a decent income out here.

It is what you make it in the end. You are at an advantage in being able to read all this info which many of us did not have when we started out. So you're much more prepared for what is ahead.

Plus, if your details are correct, you are 44 years old. You already have a lifetime of experiences to draw from which will help a lot.

 

why do a lot of us stick with this???? Have you noticed the decided downturn of the economy? The fact that even the 10 dollars an hour jobs are disappearing.

If I could find a job to make the money to pay my bills I would. But I live in a bad area for that. I guess I could move, but I have lost so much already, and my friends who are my family now are more important than a local job in a new place.

And again, you all want the input of someone who has been doing it. Too bad that it is a hard pill to swallow that it is not like Smokey and the Bandit out here. You want the truth, you will get it. I don't get some of you. We tell you what is going on out here, and then you complain because it doesn't fit your perception of trucking.

There are some good parts. I love not having a boss sitting in the next cubicle, but unfortunately with more and more companies using qualcomms you are not as independent as you once were.

There are beautiful things to see everywhere. Unfortunately when I do get a chance to sight see, I am more than likely stuck in the middle of Nebraska with nothing but corn fields around. For the most part I don't get a chance to check out the cool places to visit. I have been to a few, but they don't happen too often.

The main reason that a lot of us stay out here is the fact that the family wants to eat. Sometimes in life you have to do things you don't like for the benefit of those depending on you. It's not all that easy to just change careers, especially nowadays.

Good luck to any of you wanting to do this. You can ignore whatever we tell you, but I implore you to at least keep it in mind. There are huge numbers of new drivers who don't make it beyond training or thru the first year, because the expectations they had were clashing with the reality of the job.

 

Thanks Sabine, I for one appreciate your input and honesty, you are definetely right about the expectations of new truck drivers. The only way to know if you are cut out for this job is to actually go out and do it.

My Grandpa still drives (when he wants mind you because he is 82 years old owns his own company out here in CA) and my dad did drive OTR some 20 years ago. Neither one of them can give me answers to my questions because their experience is either laid back drive-when-you-want or outdated information. The only way I can truly know if it is right for me is to get out and do it. I do have opportunities at my job now to tow trailers and drive some distances every so often but it can be few and far between and 50 miles here, 20 miles there kind of driving.

Trucking has a mistique for some people, getting out and driving is something I love doing and don't mind driving for 3 or 4 hours just to go for a drive. I am currently looking for training and a driving job, but my personality and situation warrant a good ol' college try. We'll see how it goes for me. =)

 

I think us wannabes are blessed to have a website like this with real drivers on it, telling us what to expect. That's why I'm here, to find the truth of it. I'm still on the fence myself. I do a lot of research and then make a decision, but some think I just take a leap of faith.

I've only had a small taste of it, I used to ride shotgun for an owner/op van line/mover and I would stay out for a 2-3 weeks at a time. Some of it sucked, like for instance moving baby grand pianos down huge flights of stairs, but it was always interesting to me. He didn't need me, he was doing me a favor really. But I kept it in the back of my mind for a long time.

I can relate to it, truth versus reality. For instance I was a Cav Scout in the Army. Greenhorns thought it was all fun and games. That was before they got in, then reality struck home. In the field constantly either freezing my butt off or sweating up a storm, road humps for 20-30 miles with 75lbs-100lbs of gear, lack of any real sleep, and treatment that would make even a dog feel bad, etc. The constant training for warfare was very very tough and I gladly left it behind as soon as I could. The first thing my NCOs told me - I should've chose an MOS that put me behind a desk, lol. Boy were they right.

So I investigate here and other places, visualizing the life of an OTR driver from things I hear, then see if I can hack it mentally and physically. But like I've said, I still don't know.

 

Hop in your car and drive 660 miles and then get off the highway and find the nearest grocery store. Drive around back to where the loading docks are and sit there for 4 hours. Now pull around front into the parking lot and get some sleep in the back of your car for 8 hours. Then wake up and do it all over again.

That's basically it in a nutshell: long hours, lots of hurry up and wait, low pay, irregular shfits, poor health, bad diet, no life.

I really have no idea why someone would want to live like that unless it's to get experience for a better job down the line. But to want to make this your career is utter insanity. For those of you that enjoy such a lifestyle, I feel sorry for you.

 

....why dont you get a local trucking job? tons of them in my area for people with experience.