What credit line should one have when going OTR starting out

Cash

 

Always have enough on a debit card or credit card to get you home. We hear way too many stories about new drivers being put out of a truck in Oregon with home being in Florida.

 

Try to have all of your bills paid off before going OTR. It will take a lot of stress off of your shoulders.

Also, have additional cash or credit available for emergencies, plenty of stories on the forum.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

You are asking the wrong question. It is not what credit line it is how much cash.

Trucking is not my main profession but I do some hauling for hire. There is not a ton of money in this business unless you have a bazillion trucks and there is so much to go wrong and none of it is cheap. You can't borrow your way out of all the problems.

 

3000. No joke. Enough for a 200 dollar cab ride to the airport and a 1000 last minute plane ticket to get your ### home and some left over while your finding a local job.

 

Wow its that bad? Even if i got stuck with a horrible trainer i would at least rough it out until i got closer to my home state at least then jump ship. I would do it without the trainers knowledge too so it doesnt make things,worse.

I dont have 3k but,im bringing at least a grand. Roehl pays 500 a week during training so that helps.

 

If I had all of my bills paid off I wouldn't be OTR.

 

1.5 billion!

 

The 3,000 available credit sounds about right to me too. There are literally hundreds of stories here about new guy's having to quit prematurely for many reasons.

Last minute tickets are costly. You have to ship belongings home or abandon them. You may need a hotel room for a few nights. You need cash for immediate needs once you get back home. You need a hundred a week while out to eat on.

You should have at all times $500 available for cash access and 2-3k available credit [card] IMO.

Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they have you by the nuts in a desperate situation where you and they both know you can not leave no matter how bad the situation may get.

 

My memory has failed me on the name of the company. A friend of mine called me from a truck stop in Wyoming. His company went out of business and he was stranded. He did not want money to go home, but to eat. Eventually the bank got him enough money to take the tractor to a dealer but once there he was stranded again. 4 people that knew him got him a one way ticket from Phoenix to Atlanta. That ticket cost almost $1400. I wired him a total of $500 for eats and to get home from Atlanta. I have always advised an OTR driver to keep at least $1000 on them and easy access to at least $2500 more. This may seem like a lot of money, but trust me its not! The various carriers out there will not fire you out on the road. They will direct you to the closest terminal and tell you to clean out the tractor. Thankfully most companies will buy you a bus ticket but some won't and you still have to ship your stuff home. I can't tell you how many fired drivers I have seen in terminals trying to get their stuff shipped, its not cheap.