Quitting

It's really disturbing for me to say this. HOWEVER, NEVER inform your carrier you are quitting until you are at your home terminal. They will play games, if you abandon the truck they will place this all over your work history.

 

always fuel up then tell them as your pulling into the term. i quit on the spot once. i told company i was taking a 34 break at the yard for home time. they said you dont want to go home with family. i said no im seeing a girl in the area. about 10 mintues later enterprise pulled up and i sent a message on the qualcomm that i parked truck on yard and keys are in it. jumped into car and never looked backed.

 

I quit my last OTR job while on hometime 900+ miles away from the terminal. I told them when I would be able to head back to the terminal and they deadheaded me from Ft. Lauderdale to Braselton GA to grab a load heading back to the yard.

That's the difference between a good company and a crappy one. I had no fears whatsoever that they would make things difficult returning the truck.

 

The mega/bigger companies don’t care about a notice anyway. To them you are just a number, a money maker for them. One mega I worked for I called a cab, got an airline ticket, cleaned out my truck loaded up the cab walked inside to their dispatch and gave them the keys...trucks cleaned out and parked in your yard...see ya bye. Never heard from them again and it never hurt my job opportunities. It’s just the nature of the trucking business.

 

i agree. he's already AT HOME, and no worries on getting BACK home, from IN when he drops off the truck.

i'd say call the company and ask them if there is a local place, like a tow company yard he can drop it off at...

although they may end up charging him the recovery fee's.

 

and that is a GREAT feeling.

but to be honest, i had reached that point in my trucking "life" after about the 1st year......

 

Document and save any conversations, try your best to return equipment within reason

 

Guess I got lucky also, gave 2 week notice & date I needed to be in. Ran me full 2 weeks & got me back that day.

 

sometimes they will call you back after you quit.

 

Right now I am exchanging emails with a guy that drives for JB Hunt. Actually has a dedicated run. has been with them now for close to two years. Recently divorced and miserable. I have asked him several times to take some time off and clear his head. His physical is up in Feb and he told me he was not going to get another one. This guy is a great paint and body man and can get a job doing this tomorrow. Sometimes I think drivers are quitting simply because they are tired of the general BS of OTR trucking, they make the mistake of jumping ship thinking the grass is greener. Most of the time afterward they see that grass is astroturf! During my career, I handled this burnout by doing different types of trucking. My father was an OTR trucker from the early 60s until he was medically retired in the early 90s. Before that, he drove a city transit bus in Houston. I have the highest regard for the people that can get into a CMV on a regular basis day in and day out for an entire career. In the BS world of an OTR trucker, that's HARD!