Define OTR?
 

What classifies as OTR?

10days out- 2 days in?

2 weeks out--2 days off?

3 weeks out--3 days off?


where is the line drawn between Regional? and OTR?

doesn't seem to be the miles anymore. Regional drivers frequently report being dispatched out of their regions.

other drivers report -- out & back so does this make them regional or OTR?

There really is very little difference between OTR and regional, at least as far as counting towards OTR experience.

As far as when looking at job descriptions go, Regional is typically 3-7 state operation and OTR is 7 or more states. time out has little or nothing to do with it, with the exception of being out for several nights each week and having to run a log book.

As far as the "out and back" thing goes you could live in Bangor, Maine leave home, go to San Diego. CA and right back to Bangor and that would be "out and back". :wink:

I make the distinction between OTR and regional based upon the area traveled and the time away from home. To me regional is home weekley whereas OTR is 2 weeks+ out. Regional 3-6 or 7 states. Actually regional driving is a form of OTR driving when you really look at it so in a sense they can be one in the same. Either your a local driver or an OTR driver.

this is the way I always looked at it too--same as you-- I always considered the guy home 2days a week--(the weekend-preferred) as Regional-- and anyone staying out the full week(7 days) as OTR-

Because basically-- if you're trucking away 500 miles a day-- you can't go too far AWAY from home-- If you want to be back by Friday Night.
But lately- I'm finding many drivers-- bending the definition and working the system Using the "regional" I will be home every weekend-- and demanding
a cross country run-- then straight back HOME----- I'd call this Heaven!

And THEN there's the viewpoint of a TEAM Driver! :roll:

You know, the FORGOTTEN sons? The whole world, and MOST of your minds are focused on the SOLO driver..... but, there IS another side of this story!

I go East coast to West coast and BACK every week (in 5 or 6 days) and then get 2 or 3 days off (if I want,) and can do it again the next week!

5000 -6000 miles divided by half the pay (and half the work,) and I STILL don't sit around crying about weeks of 2000 miles or less! I NEVER do laundry on the road! I don't waste my money on video machines, and my food budget is less that when I worked a local job (non trucking.)

OTR means OVER THE ROAD.... period! NOT LOCAL city delivery! Regional counts if out overnight, dedicated counts (but is boring!) and solo AND team counts if going out for more than a couple of days! THAT is OTR! I don't do Canada, or have to deal with NYC. But, Over the Road means OVER THE FRIGGIN ROAD! :lol:

If you can SEE your house, or GET there in one day, you are NOT OTR!

You drive a truck for a living. OTR drivers live to drive a truck! We go "where the loads go!" as our dispatchers are fond of saying, and we deal with the strange and unknown.

An OTR driver outruns a tornado one day, only to be faced with a snowstorm on the next! And unless you work for one of the "biggies," you deal with Truck Stops and Tire Service companies, and not TERMINALS!

There's no shame in getting a CDL and working for a DUMP TRUCK company or a delivery route and being home every night..... but don't confuse this with being an Over the Road Trucker!

OTR drivers know how to get around a scale (if need be) or an accident/road closure. They don't think TWICE about going through two states, that weren't on their route, to deliver a load "on time."

You have to make the choice of what you want, or what is right for you at this time. And then, when "the road" calls...You'll know what OTR means.

Wow! How do you find the time to sleep?

:lol: :lol:

Otr = not home every nite :lol:

You nailed that one, golf!

Now why would you need to dodge scales?

"3 weeks on the road and I'm a gonna make it home tonite." No thanks, no how, no sir, no way, uh uh...been there done that. Let's leave the long-haulin' for the diehards. Nobody does it better.

Now, WHY did you change my words? Are you trying to say that we OTR drivers are nothing but steeringwheelholders?? That a guy who drives a beer route and humps product all day is the REAL 'trucker'?? Like I DID say.... there's no shame in gettig a CDL so that one can HAVE such a "local" job. Dump trucks, to me, are more like having a Heavy Equipment Operator job. Again.... no problem with that.... just don't want to DO it. (But, would LOVE to have the money they make!) :lol:

As for dodging scales..... I rarely need to. I don't haul more weight than I'm allowed, but there are reasons at times. I can't go into detail at the moment, but let's just say there are times when I don't want the "man" to stick a scope up my butt! :lol:

I WILL admit that the REAL OTR drivers are the Solos who stay out for weeks at a time. I'm not ready to do that just yet. I LIKE getting home weekly, but I DON'T want to stay in THIS "region." So..... I drive TEAM so I can enjoy the Western States, and still get home to B.S. with YOU guys! (Don't have a laptop yet!) :wink:

But, even so..... I'd say chaining up in Oregon one day, and then covering Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa (14 miles of it,) Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and back to North Carolina in two days.... qualifies me as OTR! The fact that I just left 5 days earlier, and am home for 2 days, doesn't make me "regional." :shock: :lol:

To me, OTR is running 48 states, from one coast to another and everywhere in between. Regional on the other hand is running 11 western, southeast, northeast, midwest, etc. I have been out for 5 weeks and don't know when I'm going to go home. I'll go home when I wake up one morning and want to be home more than I do out here. I'll probably take 5 days off and come back out after only 3. It's addicting and blows local out of the water...FOR ME!

Amen to that!!!

I drive for a "Regional" flatbed carrier - 4 states dispatched from my terminal/ FM in the 'Texas Division'... "Home every weekend." While I might spend 2.5 days 'out' pickin' up here and delivering it over there, and while Texas can be like crossing several other states miles-wise what I see is that I drive a "fairly closed Circuit."
IMHO, when a Company is looking for OTR Experience - they want a driver with the ability to Start here at loading and be able to calculate how to get that load there on time where there might be 700+ miles away, across several states, several kinds of terrain and weather, solo, and then repeat that process over and over without any Routine Route or Circuit and without seeing a Terminal or Family for a minimum of a week's time ... up to however long a driver will put up with it.
My driving in a 'closed circuit' despite no real routine runs now has me pretty comfortable - almost settled - with the Timing, various Routes, easily calculable Fuel Stops, with pretty well set terrain and weather knowledge and a growing 'comfort zone' with the reasonably limited types of commodities I haul around.
I'm sure that if you run OTR long enough over the lower 48 you could achieve the same sort o 'comfort zone', but getting back to a prospective Employer's idea of OTR - they're looking at how much Challenge you've already faced in order to determine how much Challenge you can or want to handle Out There for them...
No Whiners or 'Drivers needing a hand to hold', a 'ready and waiting Kleenex or roll o toilet tissue', or any Constant Supervision ... need apply.
There's a level of Maturity, of Confidence and Independence required for successful OTR operations where your Regionals and Locals will, uhhh, "expect less" where they have a little tighter control over your everyday movements and activities... where the Communications are more frequent because they have to be...
An OTR driver might sleep with a Load 2 or more nights in row where a Regional is more likely to have to deal with 2 or more loads In A Day... in, like I said, a more Closed Circuit where the Company can, uhh, get hold o your bad a$$ if you're in a jam or if you're a trouble maker......... :wink:
Which makes the Trust Level higher in OTR ops.. You don't really know what you're hauling or where it's goin', but unlike Regional - an OTR Company is looking at/ for a Driver that can tend to bidness all by his lonesome for a longer period of time stretched out for more miles in places like BFE that still want their JIT. :mrgreen:
All of which makes it a little harder to hire into OTR without prior experience unless you start out in vans with a MegaCarrier..... Flatbedding is a little more 'ouchy' about OTR from what I can tell.
But they have to be.. There's not that much climbing all over a load spreading tarps in a Box Van from what they tell me.
It's Different.

I couldn't agree more.

Hobo. You mean that some of you guys actually sleep in those trucks? :wink: I'm not sure that my Freightliner would know what to do if I accidentally left Indiana and wandered into one of those strange places with names like; Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois or Michigan! I enjoyed the entire post. Your point is well made. Sometimes I wonder if us locals are even in the same world as you OTR pros. My hat is off to all of you. Especially teams............

Geez, I'm shakin in my boots with all of the big bad otr drivers responding to this topic. The next time, and there will be a next time, because I've lost count how many times that a big bad otr driver has asked me, me, a piddley little local day cab driver, where this road is, or where that place might be, I'll be sure and get down on one knee and thank the road gods for these guys to even recognize my presence in the truck driving universe.

Codger

The next time an OTR driver hauls freight into your terminal so you can run around town all day a play mailman you should thank him to.

I definitely will do just that. I will thank him for spending weeks on end out on the road so I can do my mailman job and be home every night. When I get punched in the face, I'll let you know how appreciative that OTR driver was when I expresed my gratitude.

A jackass like you deserves to be punched in the face.

This thread, as I interpreted it, was for the purpose of making just an argument for the distinction between OTR and regional. And once again someone needs to voice their dislike against OTR when there is no need for it. If you like local, fine. If you like OTR fine. It should not matter what type of driving you do. You local guys come on here and preach and preach and preach about how easy it is to get local gig. You tell them "well go around start knocking on some doors and kissing ass, etc, etc." Since it is so easy to get a local gig then obviously an OTR driver must do it by choice, so why is that of concern to you. CFM, or whatever screen name he uses now, argues the case consistenly. If thats his opinion then thats fine by me. But no one should be put down for the occupation they choose to do in life. I don't have to drive OTR but I enjoy it for now. If his gig is so spectacular then why is he so concern about OTR?? It all leads back to the old adage that those who are miserable try to make everyone else miserable.

Jeez Young Z.W. take it easy! :D

We are all truckers and we all choose which part of the field we go into. All I am saying is that if I were a long haul trucker and was told thank you for your spending a lot of time on the road so I can do my linehaul/local runs and be home every night, I'd take offense! Being OTR is very hard on marriages and family life and I know that personally because I have been recommended by an OTR trucker in my family to stay at home. My friend CFM has offered me valueable advice concerning the industry and people can learn a lot from him.

To the OP, I think an OTR trucker can be defined as anyone who stays out more than 1 night at a time, has to sleep in the truck, and keeps a log book.

Sorry, had to edit for spelling, syntax errors.

My Apologies Colts :oops: No Harm! No harm!

Hey Peyton...........another valuable tool that us locals in Indy have..... Is the ability to jump off on McCarty or West St. exits when west-bound from the spaghetti bowl to make sure that you and your buddy Marv are gonna make us proud this year in that shrine we are building over there in your honor. :D Not only will I be coming by daily.............usually 3-5 times daily on the way to Holt Rd. 8) Consider yourself notified
:shock: :D

10-4 driver! It's a helluva facility and I'm so excited to see the games in the new palace. Did you see that we drafted Mike Hart today? Great pick-up in the late rounds. He will be a great compliment to Joe Addai and the running game.

I occasionally make some stops at the main post office which is right across the street from the new stadium and the Greyhound station (Illinois St.). It makes the RCA Dome look like Danny Devito in the movie Twins!

I think OTR includes anyone who sleeps in a truck. Regional, long haul, lower 48, dedicated...they are all sub divisions of OTR. If you aint at home then you must be over the road! :wink:

By that definition...............A whole bunch of US local/linehaul/fuel drivers just made the cut. Else a good number of us are guilty of having a questionable/unhealthy relationship with the steering wheel while parked on certain ramps and behind some well thought out "hiding spots" around the Circle City! 8)

:lol:

I don't. I ran dedicated. Spent two nights a week in the truck(monday nights and thursday nights) and I have been told by several companies that I have ZERO OTR experience. I think it depends on what the hiring company considers OTR.
If I used your example, then technically I am an OTR diver since I spend some hours in the sleeper either on the way out or the way back well my co-driver drives, but yet I am home daily.

I know several guys (and a few on here have mentioned) that put all their stuff in storage, and LIVE in "those trucks!" :shock: That would be pretty hard as a TEAM! But, if I ever go SOLO (long term like 5 weeks at a time "out,") I may do just that!

As for you "locals," no.... it's not the SAME world. You mostly work within the world you LIVE in. I.e: you work around the area you KNOW. You know the roads, the stores, the parking, etc. AND you still know your WIFE! :lol:

IMHO, true OTR drivers experience a different "world" nearly every day. They take with them everything they need to LIVE. They do laundry in truckstops or terminals, eat in restaurants or out of a lunchbox stove, and PAY someone (or let their kids) mow their lawns! We are no more "pros" than you local guys..... but it certainly is a different world!

I chuckled at Codger's reply. I certainly never meant to disparage local drivers..... well, just a little..... but ONLY in fun! We're ALL truck drivers, and that is a common SKILL! Heck, I SHIVER sometimes when I think of all the tight docks and sidedoors and alleys locals have to deal with! I want NO MORE of big city driving than is absolutely necessary! :shock: :lol: Get IN.... get OUT.... and back on the BIG ROAD! :wink:

What I REALLY want, though..... is a truck like YOURS that will do "wheelies!" :D

OTR is to Trucking.... like a cattle drive is to Ranching. We ALL ride the horse and punch "doggies." Some just sleep under the Stars!! :wink: 8)