Tractor Supply Dedicated vs OTR Dry Van Eastern 37 States

This saying coming from truckers always makes me chuckle and shake my head. You have chosen a career in DRIVING. you will be spending 11 hours behind the wheel of a big rig. BUT, the extra hour home is somehow just a step to far? HaHaHa.... sorry. I ran across that when I finished Schneiders cdl program to from other class mates. Never could wrap my head around that.

My first week of OTR was stress full as can be because I hadn't experienced the parking shortage fully to appreciate it. By the second week I figured it out. My advice to you is Get up early. I was up at 3 am.... got ready and pre-tripped and was on the road by 4am.Do the math with your clocks and you will see once you get your dispatchers in this rythm you are shut down by the magic 4pm time. At which point you are easily parked somewhere and get to watch the parade of trucks running through that are unfortunate to be running into the evenings. A couple of times searching for parking will make you appreciate that hour drive back to the house if it means a dedicated parking area. One of the best decisions for me.

Yes I miss the daytime scenery, yes I miss the exploration. However for me stressing over parking was killing my enjoyment.....that and ####ty 3rd party wholesaler lots. You will see on here the "trip plan" response....read it understand it, then roll your your eyes and move on. Trip planning is extremely important but things you can't plan for are live unloads that are backed up or short handed and you are there for hours past your trip plan. The 4 wheeler that got their Talladega stripes at the end of a construction zone and now has both lanes shut down. Trip plan, triple trip plan. BUT, get an app on your phone that helps you scan ahead for parking and check with that 2.5 hours before planned shut down.....jus tin case (yes vet super truckers, I know , we are spoiled. I feel your pain as I was an old head from a different industry) . Trucker App saved my butt more times than it should had due to the chaos of the road.

edit: And get a danged CB. Can help with avoiding pile ups if possible.

 

Its a Schneider truck - it doesn't have a shiny side.

 

Don't just look at base rate - find out what the accessory pay is. Short haul, stop off, detention, etc. Also what "average miles" looks like on the account.

That higher base rate might not mean much if the miles per week are non-existent.

 

hey. it rains occasionally..... that's called a SNI Truck Wash.

 

I understand. Being a person that lives out in the woods though. An hour is a trip to the grocery store. It's why I have a 2000 civic that still gets 35 mpg. While the Jeep is used for other. I am with Schneider and I do dedicated. The RDC is about the same distance. 1.5 hour drive. For me it isnt the drive so much as is the time. A lot of my runs take the full 14 on the clock and by the time I get back to the RDC I am wiped. I sleep in the truck and chill when I get up until start time comes around again.

And for some you other folks...lol....... I take care of my Schneider truck. Fortunately once a week I have to stop at an OC for 10 hour reset and make use of the truck wash there. It aint a 80 something Pete or brand new KW.....but I try to take pride in what I have use of. I keep in mind that eventually (if I remain long enough) that I will get swapped out of that truck to the next new one and another driver will come in behind me on the current one. No need to make it crappy for the next guy, because if you are a company driver...you are the next guy.

 

The only thing I would say about TS, is that some of the locations can be a challenge to get in to.
Make good use of Google Maps before going there and it will be easier

 

It's been 2 years since I've been to an oc with a functioning truck wash

 

If I ever see ya, I'll wash your tires for you. No charge.

 

You better get some of Tennman's hooch in ya first, make sure you've got enough to get through the dirt. Plus it will make y reaction a little more bearable.