Otr Or Regional

Without knowing the company or the type of freight you are looking at, try to evaluate what the possibilities are for regional running. If it's a freight rich area, with lots of manufacturing and end users, and numerous towns supporting each other, then regional can be a great opportunity. I live in Michigan near Kalamazoo, which puts me in the heart of the manufacturing "rust belt" and within easy drives of Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Clevelend, Columbus, etc. it means that I can easily run planty of loads to various places and have a good chance to run short distances to pick up another load. I am rarely more than a days drive from home, and typically I hit the house 2-3 nites out of 5. The longest I have been out is 7 days, and that was just recently. Some weeks I am home every nite.

There's no glamour to running endless miles just to be racking them up. And many of the longer haul jobs are poorly planned to make use of your time. My typical haul is about 225 miles on average, and it makes my days pretty productive.

Depending on where you live in Illinois and what type of wirk you are going to do, regional is nothing to shake a stick at. Look for the best work, not the best myth about work

 

You will probably find that there are plenty of things to do and sights to see right here in the midwest. I don;t find myself bored. And occasionally I make longer runs. Monday I was in Stuarts draft Va, near Roanoake. Two weeks earlier I went to Springdale Ar, then crossed the top of the Ozarks heading back to SW Kentucky for a pickup. This Monday morn will find me in the mountains of SE Kentucky. I was in Philadelphia a few weeks ago as well. But mainly, I am in Mi, Wi, Il, and Oh.

 

There are fewer and fewer companies keeping drivers out for months on end.

Many want you to come home as often as possible. Some, like SRT require that you come home every 5 weeks for 5 days off. Or, you lose the 5 days, and start back at zero.

Most are willing to get you home every 2 weeks now days.