Regional vs OTR as a new driver?

I started out local. Pulled milk from 6 farms in Idaho back to Utah. Money was fantastic but you get sick of seeing the exact same places all the time. I'm 48 states now and loving every minute of it

 

That is all dependent on what regional job you get and what company you work for. I know here there are stores such as dollar general and a couple others where the driver will unload the truck at each stop. However they get paid extra for unloading the truck at each stop.

 

A lot of regional work is dedicated run, not much unloading quite often pin to pin.

 

If i lived in Louisiana I'd rather start OTR just to get away from that traffic mess. There are some nice places to drive.

 

Dude this country is great. Experience it! And from knowing a few guys out there it doesn't matter... For example I know guys in Maryland that never go west of the mighty Mississippi and guys in California that don't go past Texas and both are OTR long haul not regional

 

Regional: Trucking companies that have "Regional" , break the USA into regions and the regional drivers stay withing that region. Different companies break it up differently.
Here is an example :
drive4marten.com
Click on Company Drivers
Scroll down to "View regional maps."

Yes, regional is truckload with sleeper trucks.
The companies that use daycabs & are "less than truckload", are few and far between.
In most cases you will make more money weekly, if you run regional with a reefer company. The same applies if you run OTR with a reefer company.

The larger companies with regional , will let you switch to OTR or visa versa if you wish.

 

A few years back I was looking for a "OTR experience" job and alot of companies I talked to 7 states was the magic number. They were looking for experience with all kinds of weather and different terrain.

 

This is fine like I said, if you land a cherry job. Won't flame you.

Here's the problem. You need to make a living and if that means that you have to work outside your comfort zone, then you've just limited your employment potential. When Michigan's employment was down because of Auto industry downsizing, regional/local jobs weren't available. Many companies were not hiring Michigan drivers because they had no freight lanes to get them home with any reasonable frequency to satisfy a homebody. The alternative was drive 48 out of their comfort zone (and get the experience driving all 48 ) or look for other work....which at the time, wasn't to be had.

Which is why I point out that unless you land a cherry job that will be "recession resistant", you will be limiting your ability to be hired, and this will be by your own choice. As one other poster noted, some employers don't consider 7 states sufficient experience for 48 state running....especially if the states you've run aren't in their lanes. See?

It's still your choice, but if you need a true OTR job one day and can't seem to get hired when the economy is down and your not in their freight lanes, at least you'll know why. It seems hard to believe that with a driver shortage they wouldn't hire you but believe me, unless they can get you home, you won't be happy and they'd be better off not hiring you, unless you can be happy being out and about.

 

It is really interesting listening to all of you. I am just starting truck school. I have my DOT physical and CDL permit. I have no idea at this time who I will go with. I live in michigan. Any
Suggestions.