RVs?

8 days on and a week off, how about 18 days on and 12 off?
which is what I had at the Airline.....that is my goal, work to live not live to work. I'm thinking I'll have to be an owner/operator to achieve the schedule I want. ie, just stay out on the road for LONG stretch, but then have a long stretch of days off?
Any trucking company's you know of that either operate like that or hire people that want that?
I neither want or need a load of money, just enough to meet my needs
Thanks
Dan

 

could you share what unit that would be, as I am about to enter the field, I had been reading about such "no idle" laws and would want an APU.
Strange, Rv'ers call them Gensets or Generators, and on aircraft they are also called APU's, however they are gas turbine.
Dan

 

YuP!
Those Big truck truckin' positions are out there, DF. Usually the very small fleets, often family owned.

I don't know about 18/12.
But, they might have slow periods where they'd have more trucks than freight, and busy times when an extra Big truck would offer some relief. If you can agree on the schedule and seasons, that might be possible.

However, those positions are usually filled by seasoned drivers and O/O's -- and those positions aren't real easy to find. But they ARE out there. And if you can afford to be creative, you just might like it.

Gotta get that experience first though.

BTW, my favorite way to run was 8 or 9 weeks out -- with 1 1/2 days off for each week out, I'd be Off-Duty at home for a week -- 10 days or so, before hearing the (re) call of the road.
Again.

Worked fine for me.

 

FYI since delivering RV's is mostly seasonal many retirees do it to bring some extra cash, also some of them are retired truck drivers. Delivering RV's takes a Class B License. In Calif one has to have a noncomerical class B license(ie can't be paid to drive) and this basically shows one knows how to handle a 40 to 45 ft RV. Some states require some sort of license or training for a vechile that size, but dealerships don't tell their customers that.

 

Depending on the combined weight of the truck and the trailer, a CDL is required when it is done commercially. They are also subject to the same HOS as truck drivers.

 

Most RV's that I come across do'nt know how to drive. On many occassions my truck has almost been hit by an rv that ca'nt keep it between the lines. They take up alot of the already limited truck parking out here. They waste gas and are unesisary hazards on the road in my eyes. At the very least they should park in there own designated spots. Even better just stay off the road.

 

Same thing can be said for some of the trucks on the road. Driving while doing other things, they wander all over the road. I guess those drivers should stay off the road as well.

 

Roadmedic that is true, but when an Individual owns a RV and for personal use a CDL isn't required and each state has it regulations for driving a 40+ ft RV. Like I said Calif has a Noncomerical Class B license for such things.

 

To be totally honest with you, I don't know which unit California has okayed for use. But I'm thinkin' if you post your question in another thread, like Ask An Owner/Operator, or Qusetions For Experienced Drivers, someone there would know the answer. Then again, if you invest some time in research, it's possible your question has already been answered. I remember reading the name of the unit SOMEwhere, but I sure don't want to give you bogus information by guessing.

 

Before today I'd have kept my mouth shut on the training/no training for RVers.. but I was eastbound on I-70, downward from Eisenhower Tunnel toward Denver. Doing my happy little 35MPH, etc., with my 4-ways on. Yeah, the whole nine yards.

No biggie..

I looked in the right hand mirror, I see an RV back about a half mile... in the right hand lane. "Good for him", I thunk.

A few seconds later, I check the mirror again, and I can't see anything but the side of his toy. The entire front of his plaything is completely hidden by my trailer.

He snaps into the next lane and blows by me at some ungodly speed, flipping me off and leaning on the horn the whole way.

Excuuuuuuse me?!?!?

To be fair, it was only one in-duh-vidual, the others I saw were much more sedate and at least trying to drive in a responsible manner. But it's always been the exception that makes the laws.

For my money, yes - specialized training, a special license, and in some cases, Teach the DIPSH*** how to read English! That stretch of highway is VERY clearly marked, indicating that trucks over 30k GVW must use the right lane, and have a speed limit of 35.

As for parking in big rig spots.. Oddly, that subject came up between me and my instructor on that very same trip. He recounted an incident where a number of RVs sucked up 'Semi-only" spots in a rest area and proceeded to party all night. Several truckers asked them to keep the noise down, but were ignored.

Apparently, according to the story, a couple of the truckers parked in the driving lane - one right in front of the RVs, the other right behind them. There was still room to get past them... but the RVers were peeved that they couldn't leave at 06:00 as they'd planned.

Rude, and probably not effective in teaching them anything... but I can imagine just how soul-satisfying it was.

So - not from any personal experience.. just from thinking about it tonight.. I'd have to agree with the bunch that suggests that RVers park elsewhere.