OTR VS Local
 

hey whats up? i just got my cdl on the 21st. im tryin to figure out whats better to do. OTR Or Local. im 23, single, broke, no kids, and live with the parents. i was thinking if i go over the road for a couple months to a year i can turn my life around. whats the pros and cons of each? what one should i try first?

Historically, you have posed one of the best questions ever asked on this board.

In fact, such a fine question, that I promise you that I will be back to steer you to the correct career choice. For now........I'll let the apologists blow off some steam while I sit at HOME, drop by the local C-store, stop by and say hello to some friends, and then return back HOME! This won't take long. Certainly not 2-3 weeks!:lol:

I'll get right back with you.

What I'd like to know is how did you get a road test with R&L if you just got your cdl? A company that normally requires experience, in a depressed economy, with most all LTL carriers laying off in record numbers, ....I find this very curious. If in fact you do have this road test and prospective job opportunity you should jump all over it. This a very good job for any driver, let alone a brand new one.

Ya, what he said!:thumbsup:

IF you do have the opportunity to road test and get on with R&L, TAKE IT! You are young, you could build up seniority.

IF not, then I would suggest applying at the local food service companies and places like Coke and Pepsi. Most are home daily(or out one night). Good money(most of them), good benefits, and you could have the opportunity to eventually get out of the drivers seat and drive a desk.

this cannot be serious. looks like a game for belpre and cfm to do some otr bashing. but lets just say that it is true. contrary to popular belief...uhm, hum...belpre's opinion. you need to do what is best for YOU. no one here can make that decision for you. there are also alot of variables, how much do local jobs in your area pay? how many hours on your local job? any overtime on your local job? you see, ****head...sorry, belpre thinks that the only way to work is local. well, where i live local don't pay **** and i actually work more and am home less(quality time) than i am now. i stay out two days a week, home every other day and all day sun and mon. otr might be right for you, it might not be also. do you want to stay out for 5 days min? will you make enough money? basically all of these questions you need to ask yourself, not us. we all got different opinions on this, some stronger than others. my advice would be give up hope on getting an answer here, look inside yourself. but i think the real thing here is a setup for belpre and his croonies to do their usual thing that they do so very well. have fun children.

<grabs a bowl of popcorn>

Sits back to watch the fireworks

Good idea. This could get intresting.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...chsmiley-1.gif

JD couldn't have said it any better.
It's all about what you want to do.

OTR is NOT fun.
I can not speak from personal driving experience OTR, but I went with my dad who drives LTL-OTR many times before I got my cdl, and like I said, it wasnt fun.
*It IS NOT at all like getting paid to go on vacation.
*Sleeping in a truck night after night is no way to live. But some dont mind.
*Driving in a different city every day can be very tense. Especially dealing with idiot 4 wheeler, not to mention worrying about yourself AND trying to make tight appointment times. But some dont mind.
*Living off pre-fabricated food for weeks at a time is no way to live. But some dont mind.
*Working for $0.25--$0.40some-CENTS per mile, and worrying if your dispatcher will give you miles or leave you sittin at the choke & puke or a day or 4 is no way to work. But some dont mind.
*Your main relationship being a 5 minute phone call with your dispatcher everyday is no way to live. But some dont mind.
*Your truck breaking down for 8+ hours and not getting paid a penny is no way to wory. But some dont mind.

On the other hand.
Local is no picnic either.
*Bumping 1 to 15 docks a day is no fun. But some dont mind.
Getting out of the truck/into the truck, into the trailer, out of the trailer 30+ times a DAY is no fun. But some dont mind.
*Backing into spots/docks that are nearly impossible if your trailer was a half inch longer is no fun. But some dont mind.
*Local driving tends to have ALOT of driver unload PER DAY. But some dont mind.
*Local driving is certainly not a 9-5 job. It can be a pretty long day, everyday of the week. Even up to a 16 hour day. That dont leave for much hometime either does it? But some dont mind.


So you see my point. You gotta decide for yourself whats better for you.
I'm more of the local type. I got lucky enough to get a sweet local gig. I dont have to deal with the stuff alot of local guys do, but I do have respect for the OTR driver and the job itself.
It's just not my cup of tea.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

thanks jimb.
yea right now im broke with out a car and all, so i thought if i go over the road i could save some money and get my **** together. i might go with swift, ill know more tomarrrow, but i might be able to go with R & L, r and l start at 16.20 a hour, thats why im confused. 16.20 seems nice at age 23, but over the road i can see **** and get paid, but paid how much???

Find yourself a Local gig, and be home every night in your own bed, pull in anywhere from $700.00 - $1100.00 a week, and still drive a tricked out Pete, like I do.

Find a Milk Tanker job, the s***** economy will never effect that !!!

Just saying !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly what are you going to see as you go down the interstate at 62mph? Not much. Although you may luck out and get stuck for a weekend close to a major attraction, you will then have to find your own transportation(bus, rent-a-car, taxi) to get to it. Your 23, start think about your future. I started driving at the same age as you. Do what you think is best.

Who knows. NO FREIGHT=NO MILES=NO MONEY.

and how did that turn out for you? id like to hear more what u have to say cause u were 23, should i jump on the local?

It turned out fine for me. I got my CDL well I was working for a moving company. I have been local/regional ever since. Four years HHG, six years food service. I have sleeped in a truck and been away from home a few days. Not saying that I would never have done OTR, but at the time I was in the right place at the right time. Staying local/regional has it benifits but also it has drawbacks.

Now, should you jump on the local? Depends on what YOU think is best. Me personally, I would take the job with R&L. At your age, you can build up senority and make one he!! of a career there. It is possible at a company such as R&L to advance out of the truck and into office job.

You said that you are broke and need money. R&L is starting you at a good rate. OTR pay is based on milage and if the freight is not there, neither is the money. The way the economy is right, it seems that miles are low for OTR driver at this time.

Also, providing your location may help. Someone may know of other compaines in your area.

Which ever you chose, BOL. It's up to you to decide in the end what you do.

Got anymore questions, just ask. Got an early start tommorrow.(drawback of local;I start to damm early sometimes(could be an advantage to though))

im right outside of philly, king of prussia area, West conshohocken, PA

/popcorn

LETS GET READY TO RUUUUUMMMMMMMMBLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEE!

Your right by me. I live around the west chester/glen mills area. I live about 5min from rt1 and rt202. I got to haul a load of stone up to KOP 2morrow morning. Right off of henderson road.

I'm stretching..........

wow thats close man, are u local or over the road?

Im local i drive a rock bucket (tri-axle dumptruck) and lowboy For a local excavting company.

There are no good local jobs in are area right now. But if you want to run the road and be out 4-5 days go to

www.pekramme.com

I almost went OTR with them. They are teamsters and pay 40cpm loaded and 38cpm empty. Since they are teamsters they dont do any training rates. So you will get that rate as soon as you go solo. They were hiring about 5 months ago. Give them a call it is worth a shot. You will talk to Scott Kramme him self. They have around 40 trucks i think. They are in avondale right off old rt.1

I've read all the posts and can't find the culprit . .
 

. . why is this post oversized?

Plenty of oversized personalities that will definitely be a part of this nuclear war. Not a problem though. The war has been coming for quite a while and I am happy to announce Jed as my Lieutenant. Jed will be handling all of my media inquiries. Matter of fact----I hereby promote Jed to Colonel Jed.

If all you want to do is be home, forget about OTR.

I have been to all 48 and learned to make arrangements to do whatever it is I see fit to do in all 48. Lobster in Maine, salmon in Washington and steak in between. That is the essence of OTR. If you find yourself sitting at a truck stop waiting for a nameless/faceless dispatcher to pen the next chapter of your life, you don't "get" OTR. It's what you make of it. Once you've been at it for awhile and you can look at a load and say "Alright, I'm going through . . " then you begin to enjoy OTR.

Different people have different needs. No one is right or wrong and there is no one size fits all solution. Get out and try it or stay home.

Alot of companies don't want you deadheading around town in their rig sightseeing. Some will pitch a fit about you disconnecting the tractor from the trailer, especially if under a load. Many places with nifty things to see and do and the roads leading to them, are off-limits to CMV's -even bobtails. And then you're usually all by your lonesome with nobody to share the experience with. I always wondered who that kooky guy sitting in the back of the theatre all by his lonesome was. Now I realize it's road drivers.

Sure, you can rent a car but that all depends on where you are in relation to a larger metro area. And you'd have to time it during a 34 hour reset in order to get the most bang for your buck. Unless, of course, you're sitting around due to no freight in which case you ain't making any money and are still kinda technically on-call. Which kind of defeats the purpose. Hometime can be used to see the sights and wonder about the country, I suppose. But when do you actually go home?

So IMHO the whole sightseeing thing is sorta overblown. Not that you can't do it, but for the most part you're out there to make $$$$ and that means keeping them big wheels movin. Mostly your sightseeing involves blowing through town because you don't want to get caught in morning or evening rush-hour gridlock. If so, you'll have plenty of time to sightsee when you're stuck in Chicago traffic on the 94 looking up at the Sears Tower. Wheeee!

Scrap that part of the plan. A few months to a year of OTR is the last thing that you need to turn your life around. Hoboing around the country while earning less than minimum wage is no way to get your life together.

In theory, I think that I understand your plan. However, in practice you are treading very close to making the OTR mistake. The days of becoming an over-the-road truck driver and becoming a part of the middle class is long long gone. Since the deregulation of trucking, the industry has become nothing more than a carnival type job. Far gone are the days that you could get hired on with a reputable OTR company, make a fair wage, work hard and live in the American middle class.

For the most part. A lot of the OTR community now consists of folks that are nothing more than homeless persons driving around the country. At around $25,000 annually. Coolie carriers require that these drivers stay out from 2-4 weeks at time, leaves little time or money left over for any type of life other than becoming what is commonly termed as "trucker trash," as they basically spend a majority of their time malingering at truck stops with nothing to do. Eat, sleep, live etc etc at an endless parade of filthy dirty, drug and prostitute infested truck stops. For $25,000 a year? LOL OK apologists.....I'll go ahead and bump it up all the way to $50.000 for a couple of ya!:p Still, is it worth it? Children growing up without a father? A lonely wife at home as you are gone 90% of the time making very little money. Bill collectors, collection agencies, repo men, service cancellations, living paycheck to paycheck, supplemented by company cash advances is how the majority of OTR drivers trudge through life these days.

Money helps things. No matter what anyone on here tries to say. If the OTR drivers out there were making the $80,000-$100,000 that they should be making, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Instead, what will happen is that a few of the diehards will jump on and say that I am so hardcore anti OTR and I have no idea what I am talking about...............Let 'em.......because they know that I am right and this entire irregular route OTR/CPM scam pay/FLSA exemption mess is one that adversely affects all of us, OTR and Local.

What is coming down the pike? Well the economy sucks! EOBRs are about to become a reality. Not many drivers are being trained as opposed to even two months ago when the coolie carriers were cranking 'em out like rabbits. Some of this may actually work out to our favor in the end,

In the meantime, be careful about making the OTR mistake. The cards are stacked very heavily against you. BOL

I went to R+L after 3 years OTR. I make $900 a week and work average 35h. I drive night linehaul and wouldnt want to do ANYTHING else anymore. Yeah, when I went through the OTR-Hell I saw the country! (OR NOT) I have 44 coffee mugs to prove I was in all those states. ( Or their crappy truck stops?) I went right into a bid nobody wanted and do it now for almost 2 years. I DONT touch my freight and usually wait for my slip driver 15 to 30 minutes. Only problem I see is that R+L hires through a different company these days and will pay a whole amount less for new hires compared to drivers who got hired a year ago or longer.

seems like a fruitless arguement to me.

chevy vs ford
xm vs sirius
pete vs kw
aero vs long hood
dry van vs reefer
local vs otr

see there is no clear cut answer, I've done both in my 22yrs. each has good points and bad ones also. It's about finding something you enjoy and paying the bills. I just don't understand the hatered for the otr drivvers by a few here. How do you guys think you get that bacon you eat for breakfast every morning?

I have done both also, there are good and bad points no matter what you do.

Somewhere the wires got crossed with some of the guys here and instead of ragging on the companies that treat drivers badly, they take their hatred out on the OTR drivers instead. I just don't understand that and never will.

I'm sure there will be a few posts now along the lines of 'no, we hate the carriers, not the drivers'.... well, y'alls posts sure don't show it that way and haven't for a very long time.

<dons flameproof suit>

p.s. I've been on and off this board for several years now, I had another name until the database got screwed up a few months back, can't access the original e-mail I signed up under to get my old name back... and no, I've never been banned!

OTR or local?

Out of the years I've been driving, I've only been OTR for a MAX of 5 months. Everything I have done has almost always been local.

Of course, I have a wife and kids, which in my case, have prevented me to go OTR. Too many problems.

But if I could set the wayback machine to a time when I was single, and with no kids, then I might have preferred to be OTR.

I do know this much. If I ever get a divorce, or my wife dies... I think I would rather be OTR, providing that the kids are with their mother, or provided for.

However, the pay would have to up a bit to be OTR. What is the sense of going out for $500 per week?

Just my opinion.

Thanks, Rev! :thumbsup:

i started local for 4 years then tried otr for 3 weeks. phuck that.. for my lifestlye i need to eat good and hit the gym. local is for me. work from 4 am to 12-4 get some overtime. go home eat **** shower hit the gym watch some tube go to sleep. its a good life.

There ya go.... FIXED that for ya! :lol2:

Okay.... I'm "IN."

You should TRY both first. Depending on your area, you may find you can't GET a local job without OTR experience first. But, you can TRY if that's what you decide you WANT.

However, as some have said, the "skills" needed for tight docking in heavy traffic (with NO experience) could lead to preventable accidents that could end your career.

And, in most cases, you will work HARDER, and even possibly longer hours than OTR. When you are done for the day, you will be able to continue "hanging out" with the same crowd that could lead you into "activities" that are prohibited in trucking. And then you get to go home to your PARENT's house! :hellno:

You're already BROKE, so money is not the biggest issue. You live with your parents... nuff said. You have NO KIDS, so WHEN would be a better time for you to go OTR? And don't forget that LOCAL experience will most likely NOT COUNT should you ever decide to progress your career in REVERSE.

I suspect, at your age, you've never been outside of PA. Never SEEN this great country you live in, and I dare say haven't been in the military to defend. (no harm, no foul.) I don't care if most of it IS through a windshield at 62 mph, it is STILL a sight you can't imagine until you've done it!

I would rather wake up broke on a ramp overlooking the sunrise from the eastern slope of the Rockies, than to another day in my parent's house in Conshocken anyday of the week!

Do you KNOW that, if you keep your watch on EDT (during the summer) you can watch the sun set over the Pacific at around MIDNIGHT?? The winds that blow that time of night are WARM and friendly, and so are the Senoritas! ;)

The sound of diesel engines idling in a truckstop at midnight on a balmy 70 degree night, can rival the choirs of angels... to a true TRUCKER. And SOME of the people you will meet will rival or exceed those that post here on CAD every night.

Don't let those who've never managed to SEE the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, the London Bridge (at Lake Havasu, AZ) The strip in Vegas, Chinatown or Fisherman's Wharf in Frisco, or any of the OTHER great places in this country convince you that it can't be DONE. It CAN.... and I KNOW so!

In your OWN words, you are looking for something to "turn your life around." LOCAL work is NOT going to do that for you! I'm not saying that OTR will be the answer to all your prayers.... but, I DO know that it is a life changing experience that many of you "youngen's" could be well served by! Driving a truck during the day, and returning it to the yard and going HOME each night, is a JOB! OTR.... like the Navy.... is not JUST a job, it's an experience!

It may or may NOT be for YOU! Obviously, it hasn't helped many of our brothers here on CAD. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink! ;)

But, HOW will you KNOW if you never try it? I believe someone said along time ago that there is a difference between a plowhorse and a stallion. You must decide which suits you best. And if you can make that decision WITHOUT trying both alternatives, you are a better man than ME!

Now, as you may have noticed.... I am a firm believer that trucking (especially OTR) is NOT for "wusses!" And "I kid" my wussy local buddies when I say that local drivers ARE wusses. There is NO trucking job that is not honorable. It is all about what is best for YOU!

But, if I were your age again, and wanted or NEEDED a change in life and circumstance, and lived with my parents, had NO kids and NO wife.... it would be an easy choice! With a few years of OTR .... and REAL "experience" under your belt, you can come home whenever you want! But, once locked into a local job, with NO OTR experience, you may NEVER have this chance again.... especially once some woman gets you pregnant! :eek1::lol2:

As a final note, you should ask Belpre WHERE he got his "experience" driving a truck. Where did HE start out? But, don't ask his reasons for wanting to be local. I've seen both of them, and they are beautiful! He has made the right choice for HIM! But, he has no right to make that choice for YOU! And neither do I!

The difference between us is that "I" realize that. :smokin:

GREAT post Golphy

Thanks, Mike! Some will "get it" some won't. I've always known that YOU "get it." You're an O/O, right? Maybe, I missed your "introduce yourself" post.... never MADE one, myself. I am curious though. How did YOU start out? WHY do YOU do it?

Been around trucks all my life,Dad still drives for Wally World. I started driving straight trucks out of high school, then went to driving school at 21. Absolutley lucked into a job with a local private company and helped them build their fleet from 1 truck into 8 running mostly to FL from MI and then went through some other jobs running mostly for other O/O's.

Finally got tired of running other peoples trucks that they wouldn't keep up so I bought my own 12 years ago and haven't regretted it yet. Since I have been an O/O I have run local (11 p/u's every day in Detroit) and run 48 at Landstar and everthing in between, currently doing the best job I have ever had hauling chemical tanker for one of the best companies out there.

One thing about running for a O/O is that you get a better idea of what it is like to own your own truck, you see actual pay stubs and actual repair bills/maintaince cost. When driving for a O/O I feel you get a better understanding of what works and what doesn't. I never wanted to be an owner until I started drivng for one, being a company driver usually gives a sense of me against them, where driving for an O/O gives you more of a us against everyone else, if that makes sense. I always worked harder for a O/O.

IMHO, OTR with a well-equipped company is the best route to go.

Depending on which city I found myself in, I was always able to go to a different gym and experience a different night-life on every trip.

City traffic is a nuisance when you have to deal with it every once in awhile, but for the past, seven months with this local, LA-based, container hauler, it was one experience I wouldn't want to repeat everyday for the next 20 years.

OTR FTW.

Both local and OTR can suck. Slow economy=no freight=no miles. Slow economy=no freight= no hours. Maybe if your friends with a bunch of losers and you need to "turn your life around" then OTR would be best. It's hard to believe R&L would hire a recent grad in this economy. The market is currently flooded with layed off, experienced drivers.

Crappy local jobs, yes.

Good local jobs, no.

Good or crappy OTR job...it doesn't matter. You WILL work over 70 hours per week and you will not see home. Anytime you combine a logbook with a sleeper berth, you are going to get ripped off.

Good local jobs rarely advertise because nobody leaves those gigs. Generally, someone has to die, get fired, or retire for an opening. Who in their right mind would give up a local job that pays good and gets the driver home every night with weekends off? Especially when the driver can make just as much or more money than living out of a tin can for 2+ weeks and peeing in parking lots.

Good local jobs are the holy grail of trucking.

When freight is slow at a local job, you go home early. When freight is slow in OTR, you sit in the truckstop.

If the local job is slow, you can always get a part-time job to pick up the slack until things get better. Or you can go to school and take classes on the side. If the OTR job is slow, you sit in the truckstop.

If I never see another truckstop again in my life, it will be too soon. Done with the hookers, greenhorns who can't back, people selling cheap/stolen goods, panhandlers, bums, idiots cruising along at 10 mph with the jakes on.

Lebron Makes his return!!!! And surely will be dismissed soon!!