Trying to understand the the trucking life

7 on 7 off is really only short of full time by five hours a week if you are working 70 hrs a week.

We used to work 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off but we worked 84 hours a week. People used to always wonder how we made any money taking two weeks off every month. If you look at it though we worked more hours per month than someone who worked forty hours per week and we had 44hrs of overtime per week.

 

Might have been the case for you, but a lot of people don't work a full 70. Most companies that offer the7/7 are starter companies and don't pay well. Plus they are usually regional and don't have a lot of miles

 

7 on7 off if perfect for a retiree but someone that has bills and no other income , you would never be able to keep afloat.

 

With the 7/7 you share the truck with another driver, when your off, he has the truck, so it's not likely they would call you in. With 14/7 it's like 2 trucks shared with 3 drivers or something like that

 

Maybe in the trucking world you are correct. We are in the oilfield with a little bit of trucking mixed in and the 14 on 14 off works fine. New hires make over $2000 a month and have 2 weeks off to do whatever they want with. Some work other jobs some don't. Guys with some experience make $3000 a month only working two weeks a month. It ain't the best money but 36k a year ain't bad considering you have a two week vacation every single month.

 

We go all over the US. Mostly Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas though.

 

All the different work configurations you mentioned are available - DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE.

If you're in a bad freight market (ie northern Michigan) or too far from a terminal then options become more limited.

As others have said you will take a hit to.the paycheck working the "home time" configurations. Load options will be limited based on getting you home.

 

I run 7/7. I'm in a bit of a different situation as I'm paid hourly. Personally I think its a great shift if you're working in a remote city/camp but I would rather have the 5/2 if working near home. I clock in 80 hours a week when working or 160 hours a month. (We get 3x 30 minute breaks paid each day to stay legal with HoS). I imagine being paid by the mile with a 7/7 shift would eat up a bit of income at the end of the year.