Local P&D to OTR

[Chris]

Hello All!

I am considering doing OTR instead of local P&D. My main objective would be to save money, get rid of all my payments and live on the road for a couple of years. I figured I could save up some decent cake. After all a year goes bye quick. I would appreciate feedback.

Happy New Year!

[GMAN]

You are going to want to get out of the truck from time to time. If you elect to live in the truck, I suggest getting a motel room every now and then. You need to have a break from the truck. From a tax standpoint, you need to have a permanent address. Unless you have an address you could lose deductions for road expenses. But I have met people who have done that for a couple of years. You can save a lot of money during that time without having to make house or rent payments, utilities, etc.,

[NevadaJim]

I will be doing the same thing. Look in your local paper and try to find someone that is renting a room. Anyone that has a room for rent would be more than happy to rent to someone that will only be there for a few days a month. This will save you a ton on rent and utilities, and give you a place to come home to. If you plan on just living out of the truck, there are mail services that you can use to have your mail forwarded to, as well as give you an address. Some will even give you a street address rather than PO Box number.

[Rookie McRookerson]

I'm going to be doing basically the same thing. I'm going through a divorce and living with my son. He has suggested I just use the spare room when I'm in town. I don't know how much money I will save due to maintenance support to the ex-wife. But it will keep me from eating cat food! I couldn't get my head around having all the monthly expense of maintaining an apartment and only being there maybe four days per month. This should work out sweet.

If I didn't have the wife and kids at home, the truck is exactly where I would live.

I have never understood guys that have houses and land and are single and have no intention of having family's, and they spend their lives on the road.

I know one guy right now that pays for 50 acres and a house while he's out a month at a time to come home for 3 days and go out again because he's bored sitting around already.

Like suggested above, put funds away for a hotel room so you can stay someplace now and then.

I'd use this to my advantage if it was me. when I knew I was heading to a place I wanted to check out. (near the Grand Canyon, The Black hills, or any of the other many vacation spots. I'd be requesting layover time, renting a room, a car, and doing some site seeing. YOu could have 3 to 4 days of vaction every month in a different spot, and still not spend what you would for a house, taxes, insurance, electric, heat, etc. And you'd get paid to get there, and paid to leave.

This is why when people ask me what I do for a living I simply use the age old line, "I'm a professional tourist!"

You can check out mailboxes etc, I believe you can get an address from them. You can't put a PO BOX On your DL you need a street address so you have to find a mail service that provides you with one. Also, Buy a nice Digital cam to have with you. Guys in the service carry cameras all the time when they travel, why drivers don't I will never understand!

BOL with your life in the truck. I have an address, but in reality, I live in my truck. I only visit the wife and kids. (26 days out, 4 days home on average a month)


nendail

[Karnajj]

Do you have any OTR experience? Most companies worth driving for won't let somebody with local exp have their own truck without a few weeks of training. During orientation at Crete we had a guy who had almost ten years of exp driving locally but he still had to do 4 weeks of training.

[LadyNorthStar]

I know one guy right now that pays for 50 acres and a house while he's out a month at a time to come home for 3 days and go out again because he's bored sitting around already.

Investment.

[ssoutlaw]

I know one guy right now that pays for 50 acres and a house while he's out a month at a time to come home for 3 days and go out again because he's bored sitting around already.

Investment.

My thought too lady North Star!