OTR VS.Local

I understand that without experience its almost impossible to get a local driving job
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This is not true! I know many local drivers that have never done otr work. They started with a ltl carrier working on the docks and from there they learned how to drive.

When I was with a ltl carrier, I taught several men how to drive and took them to get their cdls. These men came straight off the streets and started out on the docks and showed an interest in driving and the company trained them and allowed them to use company trucks to take the road test for their cdls.

 

Didn't know that path was available! Yeah I grunted out the 1st yr before getting a daycab---gota admit I bailed on 1st trainer, and had second thoughts thru 3rd month. Really took me 1 yr before I felt fully confident, and then I was fooling myself---think you need around 5 yrs min to get there!

 

Well, It's the opposite of what you might think. While all my experience is local, It's quite difficult finding a good OTR company that will hire someone with just local experience.

 

That is true, you don't necessarily have to have OTR experience to drive local,

I started out as a trailer shunter and I also loaded their trucks, did that for about 4 years til I was old enough to drive, I used their truck to go get my CDL, got a job driving for them, I was home everyday, so it is possible

Why I quit that job to buy a truck and go OTR I will never know,

I had no OTR experience when I started OTR either, only local experience

I was just fortunate I guess to get a start with that company, as young as I was, and shunting trailers was the best learning experience I ever had

 

In 1981, my son started with Overnite Transportation working the docks. He was 20 years old, after about a year and shuttling trailers around on the yard, Overnite put him with a man and the man trained him a few days and he went and got his cdl. He started working local for Overnite. I will venture to say that 50% of the local men for Overnite got their start the same way.

As another poster said, most otr carriers do not want a local man. Walmart will not take a local man. This doesnt make sense, but that is the way it is. Walmart wants a man to have otr experience with at least 50,000 miles in each year for the past three years.

I left being an o/o and went with Overnite as a local man, I had no idea that Overnite would hire me, but with my son putting in some words for me, Overnite hired me. But, I must say that I did not enjoy local work, but I stuck it out until I took early retirement. Local men dont make good otr drivers and otr drivers dont make good local men, not their driving but the switch is hard to adjust to.

 

So why is it if a person goes out and gets his CDL and works locally to get some seat time and then he wants to try otr it would be better if he had no cdl and go get one from a school? This doesn't make sense to me. I can see the company wanting to train a person their way. Isn't stick time the same whether it's local or otr?

 

Most companies want either a Recent Grad or someone with recent OTR. It is the insurance companies that mandate this. I been off the road about 3 years. Had a local for a year and a half. Found a gig where I could get home 2-3 nights a week with weekends off. They wanted me to go get 6 months with someone so I would have 6 months recent OTR. All companies that I looked at wanted a refresher course before they would take me. I wasn't into riding with a trainer that was getting potty trained when I was delivering freight.

 

#### yeah.

This Spring I'll have 2 years OTR. Time for some city driving/home every night. Maybe a bit less money, but I'll spend less money. ####, driving a truck is the easiest job I've ever done! I used to deliver furniture; this job's a joke! Might have to move to Mephis, though.

As an experienced truck driver, I can go to any city, any state, in the U.S. Just show up, go to the local state employment office, say I've been driving the last 2 yrs OTR, and BAM!!! job tomorow. If I don't like it, BAM!!! job tomorow. If I don't like it, BAM.......you understand. Man this #### is so easy.