OTR Truck driving ~ thoughts ~
10-08-2015, 01:07 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: 06-20-2011
Location: Savanna Illinois
Posts: 737
I spent more years than I really want to remember being a bigtimeprofessionalovertheroadtruckdrivingman {yes its all one word like that}
The driving part got real boring. The worst part is if your not moving your not getting paid. At the time I was getting top pay of $0.37 a mile. I was supposed to get an additional $10.00 for each dock I touched on one load, but that never happened.
I was also supposed to be getting paid $12.50 per hour while loading and unloading the truck but that never happened either. There was always some excuse for why I did not get the pay.
When I took the job I thought Great, I'll get to see the country and get paid for it!!
Well I did get to see a lot of the middle of the country with a few trips to Canada and selected parts of the east and west coast, mostly at night. I got to go to many large cities, always the worst part of town, where the grocery warehouses are kept.
It is up to the driver to unload most things most places. You can hire a marginal dude called a lumper to unload your truck but you must pay him out of your pocket. On most loads the lumper wanted more money than I made driving it so I unloaded the truck myself a lot. I did get a dollar a ton so usually $34.00. the cheapest lumper I ever hired charged me $75.00.
I don't really remember the specifics anymore but back then You could drive up to 10 hours and work and additional 5 hours then you must take an 8 hour break.
It got to where I was driving however long it took to get there then usually had to unload the trailer. Once unloaded you called in with your empty 'hub' and they would assign you to another load that had to be there the next morning.
If you were fool enough to turn down a load you might just sit for the next several days.
I spent several of my birthdays, my kids birthday, my wife's birthday, many holidays and other days I really think I should have been home out somewhere far away. Usually just sitting on the holidays because no one else was working so you couldn't even get a load or unload if you had one on.
I've set waiting on a load in all kinds of weather. Had to wait out a hurricane in Florida once, blizzards in the north, had to deal with flash floods more than once in Texas, things like that all the time.
There are stretches of highway that are always under construction. A lot of times you really would be better off using secondary roads than the interstate, but you have to be sure your on a truck road or you might just get a big fine and ticket.
Every company I drove for was the same way, like politicians they will promise you anything to get you to sign on then screw you every chance they get.
The maintenance of the truck is up to the company but getting in to the yard to have work done is tough. Unless you own your own truck you will probably be assigned the crappiest truck in the fleet. I always was until I got a few years in, once I had 'tenure' I rarely got a truck with more than half a million miles on it {nearly new in the company's eye}
One company I drove for assigned me a different truck every time I got into the yard. I figured the reason was because I actually cleaned the dam things. The company would reimburse you for any cleaning products you bought if you actually used them on the truck, I did.
I fixed dozens of CB's and stereos in the trucks too. Everyone wanted the tractor I had been driving.
So in my not so humble opinion, if you really think you want to spend the next few years always broke, dirty, hungry, tired, horny, and not home,... go for it.
The driving part got real boring. The worst part is if your not moving your not getting paid. At the time I was getting top pay of $0.37 a mile. I was supposed to get an additional $10.00 for each dock I touched on one load, but that never happened.
I was also supposed to be getting paid $12.50 per hour while loading and unloading the truck but that never happened either. There was always some excuse for why I did not get the pay.
When I took the job I thought Great, I'll get to see the country and get paid for it!!
Well I did get to see a lot of the middle of the country with a few trips to Canada and selected parts of the east and west coast, mostly at night. I got to go to many large cities, always the worst part of town, where the grocery warehouses are kept.
It is up to the driver to unload most things most places. You can hire a marginal dude called a lumper to unload your truck but you must pay him out of your pocket. On most loads the lumper wanted more money than I made driving it so I unloaded the truck myself a lot. I did get a dollar a ton so usually $34.00. the cheapest lumper I ever hired charged me $75.00.
I don't really remember the specifics anymore but back then You could drive up to 10 hours and work and additional 5 hours then you must take an 8 hour break.
It got to where I was driving however long it took to get there then usually had to unload the trailer. Once unloaded you called in with your empty 'hub' and they would assign you to another load that had to be there the next morning.
If you were fool enough to turn down a load you might just sit for the next several days.
I spent several of my birthdays, my kids birthday, my wife's birthday, many holidays and other days I really think I should have been home out somewhere far away. Usually just sitting on the holidays because no one else was working so you couldn't even get a load or unload if you had one on.
I've set waiting on a load in all kinds of weather. Had to wait out a hurricane in Florida once, blizzards in the north, had to deal with flash floods more than once in Texas, things like that all the time.
There are stretches of highway that are always under construction. A lot of times you really would be better off using secondary roads than the interstate, but you have to be sure your on a truck road or you might just get a big fine and ticket.
Every company I drove for was the same way, like politicians they will promise you anything to get you to sign on then screw you every chance they get.
The maintenance of the truck is up to the company but getting in to the yard to have work done is tough. Unless you own your own truck you will probably be assigned the crappiest truck in the fleet. I always was until I got a few years in, once I had 'tenure' I rarely got a truck with more than half a million miles on it {nearly new in the company's eye}
One company I drove for assigned me a different truck every time I got into the yard. I figured the reason was because I actually cleaned the dam things. The company would reimburse you for any cleaning products you bought if you actually used them on the truck, I did.
I fixed dozens of CB's and stereos in the trucks too. Everyone wanted the tractor I had been driving.
So in my not so humble opinion, if you really think you want to spend the next few years always broke, dirty, hungry, tired, horny, and not home,... go for it.
10-08-2015, 02:16 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: 07-17-2006
Location: Dallas, GA
Posts: 6,050
10-08-2015, 05:18 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: 04-20-2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 844
Wow, Grizzly old man about summed it all up in his last sentence ! I've been driving truck since I was 18 back in 1970. Started with dump trucks hauling local for a few years.
then bought my own tractor ( 69 R model Mack) and hauled coal then flatbed hauling steel and building materials to the deep south to the great white North. Fun for a young single man with no reason to get home on a regular basis.
It's a full time job driving , then when you get home you are the mechanic , bill payer, load finder everything but the relaxer. You really got to have diesel fuel in your blood. After 45 years I still do.
In 1990, I got a local driving job driving a new truck and trailer hauling grain to Pittsburg from Ohio. That's the way to do it . Home every night, hospital insurance ,holiday pay , all the goodies. I miss it but the job ended. Did that until a year and a half ago.
Now I drive from 4 AM to 4 PM hauling sand and gravel, overloaded always looking for the DOT and portable scales. I still love it. Still get the same feeling when I fire up the big diesel as I did 45 years ago. Driving my life away ...john
then bought my own tractor ( 69 R model Mack) and hauled coal then flatbed hauling steel and building materials to the deep south to the great white North. Fun for a young single man with no reason to get home on a regular basis.
It's a full time job driving , then when you get home you are the mechanic , bill payer, load finder everything but the relaxer. You really got to have diesel fuel in your blood. After 45 years I still do.
In 1990, I got a local driving job driving a new truck and trailer hauling grain to Pittsburg from Ohio. That's the way to do it . Home every night, hospital insurance ,holiday pay , all the goodies. I miss it but the job ended. Did that until a year and a half ago.
Now I drive from 4 AM to 4 PM hauling sand and gravel, overloaded always looking for the DOT and portable scales. I still love it. Still get the same feeling when I fire up the big diesel as I did 45 years ago. Driving my life away ...john
.. . . . . . . !
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