Over The Road Pros and Cons

That didn’t take long!

 

I got my CDL in 2012 with Roehl Transport, and drove otr with them for a year. I enjoyed the experience and got to know a lot of good people. Didn’t make much money, but it was a good easy way to get my feet wet and learn the industry.

I eventually fell into a local hourly position and learned that that was more my thing than otr. But I’m still glad I did otr first.

 

Not so, you came to the right place, once the hooligans have had their say, an initiation, of sorts. Pardon the apparent lack of compassion, it's just we here at TTR, get this all the time. It's okay, it's our "mission", as it were, and hopefully help you out.
You will get 47 answers on this topic, some love OTR, many, like me, hated it. Do you have a family or any other ties, such as a house or sick relatives, because you can throw that out the window with OTR. The truck becomes your home, and should be, to make any money. I was a family man, and opted for a trucking career that had me home every day. It's more of what I'd call a "normal" life. OTR, there's you and the truck and that windshield. Pay is always a big concern, and quite frankly, it all seems to pay about the same, so no advantage with OTR there, except, you literally have to save the money as you don't do anything but drive. Social media has made it a lot more tolerable, but you can't hug a phone, and I lived a rich life because I was home. Good luck, choose carefully, as it's tough to regroup from mistakes today.

 

DB Schenker - Hiring CDL-A Drivers

Drivers

Students

 

I think we've given you the best options, considering what you want.
Lots of good choices to choose from.

 

Your situation makes you a good candidate for otr if nothing is keeping you home. You will see some spectacular views from the cab. Chinatown named some good companies to.start with. When applying ask what their average length of haul is and tell them you you are interested in going out west. Out west..wide open roads and less traffic..Long hauls..less.time dealing with shippers and receivers. You can't really make the best money if you want to go home every two or three weeks. They have to spend that last week bumping you around close to home with shorter runs to get you home on time.
I found that staying out with an otr company it's best to.stay out at least 4-6 weeks to make the best $$$ if you are up for that. If you stay out longer that's even better. We spent less money on the road than at home..you can stack the cash up if you do it right..and sightseeing is a possibility. You can always do a reset on the road , rent a car or uber in a cool area and check things out. We did that a handful of times. You will see things the average person will never see. Your gas is paid for. It ain't all.perfect of course but it's what you make of it. Trucking is something you can come.and go.from if.u need a break. OTR will wear on you after a while. My last company was the absolute best. They ran me.like.crazy and I made.good.$$ staying out but had to come.home.for family reasons but hope to.get back.out there next year or.so. If you know.you can drive anywhere under any conditions weather etc. you can do it. Good.luck!

 

I've done OTR, regional, and local. I hated local, go to the same three or four places, long days then home for a quick bite and sleep, exhausted by the weekend so it was hard to enjoy the first day off. Regional is OK if you can make money at it. OTR is OK but most people dislike it. The only part I dislike about OTR is running in the east. Some people hate running in the west. The only way you'll know for yourself is to run 48 for a while to develop your own strong opinions.

I'm running western regional now. It's my favorite. I usually stay out at least four weeks (more or less) so it's like OTR, average about 3200 miles a week. Sometimes I get a night at home in the middle of that if I'm going by the house.

I've been on a leave for the last six weeks and I'm very tired of it already. I want to get back out but the missus and I are dealing with our parents to make sure they are cared for. That's the hard part of OTR.

Put in a year at a training company, then look around for a better deal. I have strong opinions about some of the training companies but that won't be helpful. You can search here by company name and read others' strong opinions in the Bad Company forum.