Snackbar is chillin'....at Shaffer

So I've been reading SSB different job threads for over 15 years.
Entertaining way of describing frustrations for sure.

I had a revelation on the job front near 20 years ago.
My wife was diagnosed with cancer for the 2nd time and started her journey.

I've a bit more time in the biz than you but decided her needs were more important/significant than my wants in this forsaken industry.
Things won't go back to the "good old days"

I decided to focus on the wife's health, her financial security and our mutual happiness for whatever amount of time we were given.

I found a job where I could be home daily.
That provided the best insurance coverage/pay available.
I mean after you've seen all 4 corners a dozen times how many more did I really need.
While I had not sought out a fortune 300 or union company, my search led me to what I thought was the best match for my wife's needs as she could not work any longer.

Now over 15 yrs later the Mrs still hasn't went back to work.
I've reconciled the fact "you can't always get what you want" and go home each night to a partner who understands the sacrifices I've made for her.
Hell I would probably still be hauling your favorite rock bands around idk.

I truly hope you can find something w the balance you need while meeting the wife's medical needs.
Life gets shorter everyday.
Good luck to ya .

 

He’s not saying home every day. He’s saying out and back. Which imo is the best trucking gets

 

Yea but SSB needs 600 miles a day for his mental health. A healthy body does one no good if the mind is not.

 

SSB desires irregular routes. He strives for 3000 different miles every week.

 

He’d still find something to ##### about

 

I agree with @Dennixx

In the short 4 years ive been driving, I've done a mixture of regional and OTR. I by no means claim to be a veteran of the industry. There's tons of people here who have more experience than I've been alive. While OTR, I've seen pretty much every place there is to see, in a lot of cases multiple times, barring a few major cities that have no business having 53 footers wheeling around in them.

While I'm in no such situations with health and things, I've seen the writing on the wall that traditional OTR isn't viable for the long term, at least for me. And I've been opened up to the fact that life isn't just about making money. It's the reason why I moved back home to Kansas from Michigan. It's the reason why I recently moved back to regional and will permanently stay in such a position unless something drastic happens. That being said, I'm in a unique position where I don't have to be tied to running I-35 all the time. I'm a phone call away from being put on the next load to California or the southeast with no questions asked if I choose to do so.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you're trying to support your wife, but you're basically never at home because of it. But never being at home trying to make more money obviously hasn't worked out. At some point, something has to give. Kind of a catch 22

 

unfortunately where i live there's just not much to go around. Wichita is an hour's drive from town but they don't really have anything that appeals to me. I don't really want an LTL job because those people get worked like a dog and then you barely have time to eat supper and sleep before having to wake up and do it all again. The best option for me was to find a regional and/or OTR carrier that had a major lane or two running right by the house, which is what i picked

 

I mean we service about 105 stores right now and talk is we'll be doing a lot more than that by 2028 when the warehouse expansion is finished. I've been to all of them but go to different ones every day there's some I haven't seen in 6 months or longer. So kind of irregular but not really. There's enough familiarity that I remember them all which I like. That's the same with any carrier though you get familiar with the customers. It's weird that I know most all the secondary and pig paths in TN, AL, southern KY and north GA and area we run like the back of my hand but even with that once in a blue moon I come across a new path. It's mixed up well enough that it doesn't seem monotonous.

The part I like the most is the gripes we have seem trivial to my days running regional OTR truckload. Like if I get backed into the dock at a store by the time I walk around to the man door they need to have it rolled up ready for me to walk in. And the dock plate already inside the trailer starting to unload. If they don't that's a problem and it gets reported. When I first started here they had been serviced on refrigerated by outside carriers for 20 years and you could tell. Nobody would answer the door buzzer for 15, 20 minutes or longer. Sometimes you even had to walk around to the front to get inside. They even expected drivers to open doors and drivers helping with tipped over pallets. It took a few months but all of that got straightened out. We drive trucks we don't finger print any freight or open doors and that's how it should be. Outside shippers/vendors treat us with respect too. None of the dismissive attitudes or I'll get to you after you stand there a while like with OTR. Or park it over there driver we'll get on it in a few hours..

 

That’s why I like tankers. Load out of Dallas or Houston, go anywhere except the PNW, unload, and return home to Texas.

Went to Tualatin Oregon a few months ago and made it back to Moriarity New Mexico on my 70. Sat for 24 hours and went home. Hadn’t hit my 70 on the road in 15 years. I work 4-6 days a week, OTR was fun but I thoroughly enjoy my time at home, life’s to short to work 100% of the time.