Time away from trucking.

I don't give a #### what line of work anyone is in. Once a year you need a break. Newbie or experienced. It's a necessity of life

 

They give you vacation time for a reason. Go use it.

 

I would grab the bobtail, stash the trailer in a well protected friendly yard. Take off straight for the Shady Grove Subway Station NE of Rockville on the Red Line It's not yet sunrise and we are fixing to leave that bobtail taking over two parking spots (Sue me...) plus a carefully selected curbing as a thirdway out.

40 minute subway ride later Im inside Smithsonian Center coming out of the ground fixing to visit museums today. I usually start at the technology Museum where they keep a number of older trucks and similar technology. There is a PS4 class Steam Pacific used to haul the Southern Cresent passenger set The Steam engine probably had a 350 ton presence which drove itself to the yards not far from the Capitol Building itself and then placed onto a Heavy haul and trucked close enough to run it off the heavy haul onto rails which basically parralel parked the entire thing inside the museum before completing the construction, rail removal, window installation etc. it helps me clean forget my troubles in trucking whatever the dispatcher conflict may be. Then it's over to the history natural and finally the coup de resistance, the air and space; At the time Star trek was original bridge etc under twenty thousand gallons of sprayed paint. The set rotted in storage for about 25 years then got purchased and trucked to Seattle Washington state where it is colored andrestored until the original musum omfg came out to light for the old series enterprise.

I can go on and on about DC but if you are careful and the weather is good you can essentially lose yourself being a tourist and somehow restore your moxie for a couple weeks trucking. wash, rinse and repeat until you truly get too tired to care if the people you are going to hit live or die. That is when you put in for home time. a minimum of 10 days.

 

I'm in my 7th year now and I've taken at least a week every year since the 1st year.

You gotta get that time away from the truck, especially if you have family and no matter how good your hometime is.

I'm home for at least 34 every weekend and roll hard doing 3000+ a week. By the time vacation rolls around I'm approaching burnout point and have to have the time away and recharge.

Once you find a company you can stay with and build seniority those vacations really start to mean something. I've got 3 weeks now and soon will have 4. I take every #### one of them. Got one coming in 2 weeks. I'm ready.

 

I take a set amount of time off the road every year and it's a Heck of a lot longer than a week. With as bad as it's gotten out there between the dbag drivers and their disgusting behavior in person , the wonderful treatment from customers.
Its just something that needs to be done.
Yes I've been out 27yrs but I can completely understand a newer driver having to do the same. Take a break and enjoy yourself life is way to short.