whats life like on the road?
 

how is it for you guys traveling across the country?

do you just drive and sleep pretty much? how much off time on the road do you have?

whats the best open road you've been on? open road meaning a road where you won't see anyone for a long time, possible hundreds of miles.


just whats life like on the road. trying to get a better idea. thanks.

Somewhere else on here I suggested www.newbiedriver.com for basic questions. They really have a lot of info about how it is out here. Your questions are pretty generic meaning there are a bunch of answers for each question depending what type of driving job one has.

Driving the interstates through the desert southwest gives you a certain sense of *open road*. As for not seeing anyone for hundreds of miles......
there's too many of us out here....won't happen. :wink:

lonely and boring.

sure, i get to see alot of beautiful country. but after a while, it all looks the same.

im lucky though, im only gone for a week, 2 at the most.

my hats off to all the true 48 staters that are gone for 3,4,5,6 weeks at a time.

when your wife calls and says the stove, or the air conditioning is not working and theres nothing you can do about it, it is frustrating.

sometimes, i get a sad, empty feeling when ive been out more than a week. i miss my home and my wife. i cant imagine how i'd feel if i had kids to miss too.

www.newbiedriver.com has some good info on this.

It's mostly sitting in the same spot for hours on end. Putting up with 'stupid' drivers, shipping/receiving clerks, gaurds. Having to deal with paperwork on a daily basis. Seeing some interesting things, seeing a lot of the same scenery over and over. Your days are determined by your pick up and delviery schedule.

Another way to put it, long periods of boredom coupled with periods of physical work, coupled with periods paper work, coupled with periods of pure terror.

But of course whatever you experience will be based on your own personal experiences, comfort levels, wants, desires.

I stayed out for 2 months last tour and I'll be coming home in August on this trip. It's very up and down. One second you could be having a great day on a 2000+ mile load and then your dispatcher tells you switch with another driver. Right then and there your day goes to hell and you hate it. But in the end everything works out and you're happy again. It's a love hate relationship.

You got that right!

Tropolis, like any profession, you have good days and not so good days.

Your attitude is the single most important "skill" you bring to any occupation. If you have a good (=positive) attitude about life in general, you'll tend to enjoy what you're doing more than if you don't have a "good" attitude about life in general.

There is definately a lot of drive and sleep involved. Also a lot of sit and wait. But, if you hit your schedules right sometimes you can break the monotiny. Understand you'll never be a tourist on the road, as you generally can't drag a 53 foot trailer around to the tourist spots. But, you can make the best of your downtime by finding activities or good restaurants within walking distance or cheap cab ride of a truck stop. Thats about as good as it gets most of time. There are times when you get to see some great scenery and truly enjoy the ride (I15 across the Virgin River Valley at the NW tip of AZ is truly beautiful, I84 along the Columbia river in Oregon is very nice.)

As far as wide open roads, I10 in West Texas between San Antonio and El Paso sure fits the bill. Not the most scenic route in the world, but it's wide open and pretty vacant as interstates go. Another good one is US70 across the gut of NM from Portales to Las Cruces, a lot more scenic and really quite vacant.

Re: whats life like on the road?
 

I took US 50 across Nevada as I had to deliver in western Colorado. It was winter time and there was nothing for quite a while. As my day came to an end I couldn't find a good place to park I finally came through some little town and then a few miles later I climbed a small mountain and on top was a little pull off, probably a plow turn around but I couldn't go any further. It was very lightly snowing all night and when I woke up there was a single set of tire tracks that went by. All night long and 1 car drove down that road.

Another road is one I travel quite a bit is if I'm coming west on I-40 I take 95 south out of Needles,CA into Vidal Junction and then west on 62 to stop by my Grandmothers house in Yucca Valley. There's a whole lotta nothing along that route especially on 62. However there is those dozen or so tank rail cars sitting out in the middle of the desert with nothing around for 50 miles. Whatever is in those I'm sure is rather nasty. 8) 8)

If I was having any more fun I would kill myself. That sucks that you guys have to put up with people with bad attitudes. I unloaded in Owensboro, KY Wednesday morning and couldn't believe that the construction crew helped me untarp and roll my tarps up. They said that they know that if we aren't moving we aren't making any money so they try not to hold us up any longer then they have to. Try to find that at a grocery warehouse.

all i can say is always have a little supply of food and beverage.
i ran out of hours in Montrose, AR. the only thing there was a laundromat with a toilet. otherwise i would have had to pee on the ground. all i had to eat was a couple oranges.