Question:
I just read Cesna's post. It seems like long 18 hour days are the norm in this industry.
Is that the case? Are there other companies that don't make you run so hard?
"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them."
Epictetus
[image]http://users.stargate.net/~kananga/face2_65x65.jpg[/image]

Answer:
If you run by the book. It's 10 on 8 off 10 on 8 off over and over.Some days 10 and some days 14-16, by the book.
Realistically a lot more. Loading and unloading time is when you creatively log. You write it in as off duty or sleeper. Thats what most of not all OTR drivers do. It's not legal but it's what bis commonly done. That does in fact make for long days
Even a legal schedule leaves little time for sleep when you account for eating, showering and doing things that come naturally. It by no means is like being at home. You have to become very versatile. Breakdowns, accidents, traffic jams and the like all get into your sleep time. Their not supposed to legally but they do non the less.
It's a job you'll have to become accustomed to both mentally and physically.
I will also add. There are plenty of times you will not have to rush. Layovers and slower runs will allow for plenty of rest. Sometimes more than you want.
Great Stuff
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it"

Answer:
8 to 12
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"I ain't paying somebody to work"
Would sooner work and complain about not getting paid for it.
Answer:
6 1/2 hours per day. Paid for 8.
Cigar
Just Go Back, Please...!

Answer:
If you run by the book. It's 10 on 8 off 10 on 8 off over and over.Some days 10 and some days 14-16, by the book.
Realistically a lot more. Loading and unloading time is when you creatively log. You write it in as off duty or sleeper. Thats what most of not all OTR drivers do. It's not legal but it's what bis commonly done. That does in fact make for long days
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yep, what Stuffs said..


Answer:
I think the hardest I have worked was when I was a regional and stayed mostly in the state of Texas. If you don't cross state lines and your home terminal is in Texas then you can legally drive up to 12 hrs. in one day. 12 hrs of drive time and an extra 3 actually worked was always on my logs pretty much everyday but Sunday. I usually got 2 loads a day and averaged about 600 to 650 miles everyday for about 5 months.
#3 still the man to beat in my heart and always will be but dang it go #8.


Answer:
Started at 6AM today, and got home at 4PM. A VERY short day. Usually 12 to 15 hours a day working(tying down,waiting for unloads etc) and driving. The short days are when I have to go somewhere to far to come home in a day, and have to spend the night in the sleeper. Thats 1 or 2 days a week.This isn`t a job for lazy people.
fishman

Answer:
This isn`t a job for lazy people.
Lazy? Did you actually mean normal?
Mike
Answer:
This seems to be a rather low paying gig when you consider all the hours you guys work. It's an awfull lot of inconvenience. You work in dangerous conditions. You are all over worked and tired. You don't have a home life. You can't raise a family. You might be able to support a family but someone else will be raising them if your only home for 4 or 5 days per month. Even when you do get home you probably just sleep.
The most attractive feature of the job is you don't have management breathing down your neck. That is a small price to pay to have a life.
I am not in the work force solely to make money. I work to enhance my life, not to replace it. I don't want to end up as just a money making beast of burden.
"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them."
Epictetus


Answer:
Kananga - I have to agree with you. I'm not a trucker (yet) so my perspective is slanted from the outside looking in - but - from what I can tell - the folks who drive trucks do it for a few very compelling reasons. One reason is that many truckers just simply cannot or will not "do" anything else. They got tracked into a trucker's career and cannot or will not break out. Also - many truckers I've talked with simply love that feeling of power - managing a rig that weighs 80K or more - they love the machinery - they love the open road and the change of scenery. For those who have a failing home life - trucking is a great way to escape whatever ails them.
But I do believe you're correct. Trucking really does leave a lot to be desired if you are a home-body who values family, friends and a sense of neighborhood. The pay is barely adequate but then again for a person who simply can't or won't do anything else - it's a job - and a respectable one given what it takes to operate the machinery.
I know truckers that would still drive even if they won a lottery. It just gets in your blood I guess. From what I've seen of truckers, it appears that this industry surely attracts the desperate, the introverts, the lazy, the folks who can't handle being under anyone else's direction. And this is all well and good if you're not hurting or disappointing anyone at the home front for the sake of a paycheck.
I guess to summarize - if you talk with any experienced OTR trucker - and if you can get him/her to really be honest about why they like being out for 5-25 days at a time - the reason is usually because they are "getting away from something they don't want to deal with" on a daily basis.
JMHO - cat

Answer:
it appears that this industry surely attracts the desperate, the introverts, the lazy, the folks who can't handle being under anyone else's direction
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Maybe some are desperate, desperate to make a good living & fall into the marketing schemes of comapnies & recruiters...
Lazy, well, lazy drivers won't make it more than a few months,as driving the truck is just part of the job..
As for not being able to be under someone elses direction, well, if thats the case that driver wont last long as a company driver, as the driver has load planners, driver managers, DOT, FMCSA, shippers & receivers and everyone else telling them what to do & how to do.. hell a driver is even told when he is supposed to sleep.
If a driver has a problem with the above people, they basically will not be driving a truck very long..
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guess to summarize - if you talk with any experienced OTR trucker - and if you can get him/her to really be honest about why they like being out for 5-25 days at a time - the reason is usually because they are "getting away from something they don't want to deal with" on a daily basis.
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Maybe the last sentence is tru for some, but it is in my experience with talking to drivers that the real main reason the stay OTR is....
They do not have a emergency fund or a means to pay thier mortgage, rent, car payments, electric bill & all the other monthly bills, most have a family & kids, and even if the significant other works, it is still hard to save up a few months of bill monies to leave OTR and look for something else.
Most drivers also don't want to lose thier insurance on thier wife & kids, maybe there are medical conditions to consider and just leaving OTR without another job could be devastating for many reasons..
Being away so much makes it almost immpossible to apply for local jobs and be home when companies actually do call to set up interviews.
My husband and I are fortunate that we have 2-3 months of bill monies right now, so even though he has just gave notice & has a local job lined up for when he gets home.. We also have the means to pay our bills for 2-3 months if the job does not come through for some reason..
But, we also have no kids and that made it easier to save.

Answer:
Lazy, I really have to disagree with that assesment. I was in a job drving 12 hours everyday on top of unloading for 2-3 hours at a time. I was home daily but my job was an hour away from the house. I wasn't allowed to take the truck home. I worked odd hour's all the time. As soon as I was off duty I usually had to go back 8-9 hours later. Know figure out haw many hour's I was working in a 24 hour period of time, and I was getting home everyday. So if you figure 12 plus 3 equals 15 plus 2 hour round trip that is 17 hours. Plus the time at home to eat supper, shower and cleanup, and time to just talk about the day. I was living on 4-5 hrs. of sleep. But you know what I enjoyed it a lot. I would still be doing it if it paid mileage instead of a percentage of the load. I was getting something like 3200 miles a week. But only averaged about $600 per/wk. It really sucked. But lazy work I would say not. Oh yeah and that working every 8-9 hours that time started when I left the terminal to go home.
#3 still the man to beat in my heart and always will be but dang it go #8.


Answer:
Truckin' In Texas - you make a good point. What I meant was - and you so aptly put it in your response - if someone is working all of those tiring hours - and making only $600/wk - I'd call it "lazy" if that person does nothing to better him or herself. And I do believe it's a cop-out to say that you can't find a better job "just because you're not home to answer the phone." There are cell-phones nowadays.
Hey - it all comes down to how motivated an individual is - to better him/herself. Personally - I will never work the kind of hours you spoke of in your posting for $600/wk - because if you put in that kind of time you basically have "no life" except running the miles - but - I do have my price - and with 70-80 hours/wk - my paycheck had better read something like $2K.
JMHO - cat

Answer:
Yeah I hear ya. That is the main reason I quit driving for them. If they would have paid by the mile I would still be there, maybe. I didn't like working those hour's for nothing. It was one of those jobs where you actually did get to drive a lot. A lot of the loads were out in the middle of nowhere away from all the major metropolitan areas. So I really didn't have to deal with traffic that much. But they didn't pay by the mile and so I went back to my old job. Yeah I get paid less than $600 per week but I also don't work an absurd amount of hour's and get to have a social life for now. But I can't wait to get back on the road. I know I will make more than I make now, a whole lot more.
You know though, now that I think about it let me add one more thing. I was working for basically $100 dollar's a day. Working at least 14 hrs. everyday. That comes out to, oh wow a whole big $7.14 per hour. Man I was really raking it in!
Now, boys and girls lets figure what I would have made per mile. Let's see .26 cents per mile times 3000 miles per week is-780 per week. So that is why I left.
If it ain't broke modify it, that's what I do. Funny thing is it alway's end's up falling apart. Can't quite figure it out.


Answer:
Thanks CoffeetheCat. You have helped me make my decision. You all have helped. I am no longer considering trucking as a career option.
One of the main reasons I was considering this was the money. Now I see that it is not really a good paying job at all.
"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them."
Epictetus