$ per hour worked..

And that, my fellow posters, is the perfect example of how NOT to win friends or influence people!
You'll certainly never get me to agree that your line of thinking is correct!

 

I'm not here to be your friend or to influence you. I'm here to tell you the truth whether you want to hear it or not.

I'm not asking you to agree with me. I'm asking you that if you hate the industry so #### much.... Then please don't change things. Just get the hell out!

Dave, I know all about your issues with Knight. And I sympathize with you. But to be honest, I can only imagine that some of those issues were created by yourself & your negative outlook on the industry.

 

You tell the "truth" as you see it, not as I see it. We will have to agree to disagree on this issue.
As to me getting out of the industry because I dont like it, you are right! I hate what I have allowed trucking to take from me. Actually it would be more accurate to say I hate what I have given up to continue trucking! The following list is probably not complete but just what comes up off the top of my head.
I have given this so called "industry" my health, my relationship with my wife, the last 15 years of my kids growing, Working with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and having a positive affect on kids outside of my house, my hobby of making my own pens, sleep, showers,numerous meals, my ability to be compassionate, even my sanity. It didnt happen overnite, but it's been getting worse in the last 10 years. I am scared to think what demands will be thurst upon me in the next 10 years, cuz let's be honest, it's not going to get better out here.
I used to love trucking and couldnt wait to get back on the road when I was home. I couldnt wait till summertime and I could take 1 of my kids on the road with me...That's all gone now.
I strongly resent my employers for thier callous disregard of me or my safety. I see the customers as the single biggest obstacle in having a succesful.career in trucking.
I could go on and on but you would just call me names if you havent already.
But, here's the real problem, for 15 years, this is all I've done. As a matter of fact, my very 1st real job, not counting paper routes or mowing lawns as a kid, was delivering flowers at age 16. Technicaly, I been paid to drive for almost 24 years now. I keep doing it hopeing that maybe it will be fun again, besides like most of us drivers, what else are we qualified to do???
Most of us lack the tolerance required to work around other people for long. We get bored to easily. We are used to being in absolute control of our enviroment.
I've tried to get out of trucking several times and each time I jump back in.
So if you are though judging me or calling me names now, let's just agree to disagree on this issue for now. Personally, I think as you get older and your priorities change, as mine did, you will see that I was probably right.

 

What can you do? You still hold a CDL right? Go get a grant from the state & everyone's buddy Obama. Enroll into a tech school... And learn how to repair the #### things.

 

All this post did was confirm you did it all to yourself . You should be in control of whether what you do is safe or not and leave the "we" out regarding being qualified to do anything else , work with other people or have the need to be in complete control . Your personal problems are unrelated to the circumstances of the rest of us .
You regret staying OTR . So get out of it .

 

All of you are right. Sometimes this is the best job in the world. Sometimes this is the worst job in the world. But there seems to be an attitude that we should all love driving so much that we are happy to do it for free. I for one, am just asking to be treated with dignity, and to be paid for the work I do. Basic concepts of integrity don't apply in this industry though since you are not paid for the work you do on line 4, and you are not paid for all the miles you drive.

 

Interesting! Well, I'm paid for every single mile my truck moves... Plus I'm paid for all the misc. work that I do. But I guess that is the perks of actually being in business for yourself.

So yes, I understand everyone's gripes about how poopy things are. What did I do? Instead of complaining about it, I took a negative situation & turned it into a positive situation that benefited myself.

 

Have you tried gas haulin'. I'm home 12 hours out of every 24. I get4 weeks vacation every year and 6 paid sick leave days. Been slow this year, but still made $60K. Havn't slept in a truck in years but the truck I do drive is a new KW ... company lets me keep it 4 miles from my house in a "safe haven". I work 6 days one week ... 5 days the next and get paid for every minute I'm pullin' loads. My loads are always waiting for me in my box when I come to the terminal and when I am through I go home driving their truck both to and from work. I could work just 5 days a week if I wanted, but am gettin' pretty near retirement age so I work a little more now just to save up a few more pennies for the big day when I can go home for good. And when I do retire we shouldn't have to live in abject poverty as the wife makes more than I do as a clinical patholigist with the local hospital.

Oh ... btw ... I always hated OTR ... guess I'm just not a very good truck driver but I had kids at the house and a wife that still gets me excited The way I see it ... no man with young kids should be anywhere except at home at least once a day.

 

Thanks,John!..Actually, I didnt keep my Haz Mat endorsement up so I had to reapply for it. I just got my TSA letter 2 days ago so I am now studieing (ugh, cant spell!) for the test. I will have the endorsement by Jan 1.
I have heard that gas hauling can pay very well. Do those jobs hire drivers that have no experience driving tanker though?
and just as a question I've always wondered about, how safe are you really when pulling one of thosse tanks, full or empty? Does it kinda freak you out a little, pulling a bomb?