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For those in today's job market, finding a balance of work life and home life can be a real challenge. With the suffering economy many breadwinners have to decide to take a second job or spend quality time with their family. People that have (over-the-road) OTR truck driving jobs face this quandary all the time, especially with currently high fuel prices putting the squeeze on take-home pay. So, what is life like out on the road? Fleet drivers and independents have many things in common. You sleeping hours will be spent inside your truck for most of the time. When you experience a breakdown and have to wait for a long time for repairs then trucking companies will put you in a motel. Some offer to house you in a motel if you need to rest; however, be aware that you pay for it later out of your paycheck. If you are an independent hauler, every dollar you spend on a motel room means one less dollar you will have to spend on the other things in your life, like your mortgage. When out on the open roads, you will need to buy your own food, so you might as well get used to the idea. This can become expensive if you eat in restaurants all the time, even if you stop at reasonably priced truck stops that cater to the OTR folks. In contrast, there are multiple types of small refrigerators and cooking appliances offered in the market that could be use in your rig. To reduce expenditures, pack your meals. Either way, you should hold on to any receipt for food bought at restaurants or at the grocery store. You will need them at tax time when you can claim your meals as a deduction. How far does one have to drive in order to earn a decent profit? An unscientific study says about 2850 to 3200 miles a week should cover the bills with some left over. A lot depends on what kind of freight you are hauling, what company you are driving for if you are a fleet driver, if OTR truck driving jobs companies offers any fuel savings incentive programs, and so forth. You will want to consider all these factors and more in order to come up with a mileage figure that works for you. Consider it your lucky day if you actually lined up a drop and hook gig. No hassle or mess, and goodbye. There are times when the shipping/receiving departments will not have loaders or unloaders available. When this happens you may have to do the loading/unloading yourself or pay a local lumper. If this is the case, it could effect your income and schedule. You should consider this before you start an OTR truck driving job. Your income might oscillate greatly from month to month. The number of miles is dependent upon how much freight is being moved. You can go from “bored silly watching the grass grow” to “insanely, dementedly, absolutely crazy busy” in a short time. Truck driving hours and schedules make it hard to make family plans, but that's part of reality.
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James W. Arnold owns the website at OTRTruckDrivingJobs.org and has been an Owner Operator and Fleet Driver, driving semi trucks for more than a quarter of a century. ------------------------------------ otrtruckdrivingjobs.org
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