Why do we stay OTR?

This community is full of 24/7 Funny Guys. Or I'm dead and already in hell.

 

Thats quite some miles between Michigan and Chicago. Can’t stand 294/94/80 between Chicago and Gary

 

I suppose the question could be rephrased to "Why did you consider blowing your brains out?"

 

It can be pretty soul-sucking, for sure.

 

I started off doing local work, which lasted 10 years, got sick of the boss and took a job running OTR. I'd been married two years, and had a 1 year old at home. The day I quit the local job, wife informed me she was pregnant.

She went through the pregnancy alone, going to all the appointments and such with our 1 year old in tow. I was able to make it home to see my youngest born, then I left the next day. To say it was hard on our marriage is an understatement. But I loved what I was doing and she said she was ok with it.

Then this local job came along, and the money was good enough that I'd be a fool not to take it. Been here for 10 years now, and have no plans to leave. Home everyday around noon, no weekends unless I choose to work, all the benefits the big outfits have.

Do I miss the OTR life? Sometimes. Waking up in a different place everyday, seeing other parts of the country, talking with the locals and listening to their dialect (the southern twang was always my favorite, as well as the New York accent) It was a good experience for me personally.

But I chose marriage over my own desires, and I'm content. For now. Later on once the kids are out on their own, I might consider OTR again if the conditions are right.

That crap about starting OTR, doing two years with a mega and then getting a local job? It's ########. I'd bet that most people quit before that first year is up, partly because of the crap that the megas are shoving down their throats. Yeah, I know that's what the training mills preach. But there's more than one way to skin a cat they say.

 

Not worth it. I'll keep driving! Lol

 

If I don’t stay OTR, Jody wouldn’t have a job

 

After 4 years of OTR I just switched to local/regional...

As an OTR driver I had MAYBE one contact with office personnel per week. I LOVED that aspect, I was pretty much my own boss. I set my route, schedule, where I stopped, ect. I also loved seeing the country and going new places. I've driven truck in pretty much the entire northern half of the USA from Portland, OR to DuBois, PA... Something like 26 or 27 states.

But what made me change to local/regional was mainly home time... Even though I got home every week doing OTR, I wanted more time with my family. In 4 years I missed 3 funerals and 2 weddings. And I have 2 small children and a teenager at home, my 2 boys are 3 years old and 8 months old. The older of the 2 is getting to where he really wants to do "Boy Stuff" with Daddy. And he really missed me when i was on the road. Not mention that my wife (a stay at home Mom) was struggling to keep her sanity while tending to an infant, a toddler, and a teenager. I needed to be home more.

On top of all that you can add the standard crap we all put up with as drivers... Traffic, idiot motorists, ect. I live in a very rural area so most of hose kind of problems are minimal around my area... They still exist, but to a much lesser degree. No more Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville type insanity for me. Now the worst I get is Boise or Salt Lake.

Now I'm home almost every night and have weekends off. I'm paid an hourly wage for everything from beginning of Pre-Trip to End of Shift. The diffenence in annual income will be minimal.

I still have the same truck I had OTR and I dont slip seat, most nights I take the truck and trailer home with me. In the last 3 weeks I've only drove my personal vehicle once.

 

I love OTR. I love the lifestyle. Wouldn’t want to live any other way.

 

Because it’s a great way to build savings fast.