Need advice on local driving
 

Hello,
I have always wanted to drive trucks but I am kind of a fitness freak and the over-the-road jobs just seem to be too hard on you physically. I mean, as far as getting proper rest, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising regularly, this all sounds very difficult to achieve while driving otr. Am I correct?
So naturally I am interested in local class A jobs that work a normal 8 hr day. I know the pay is less but what other negatives are there?
And I guess a whole 'nother matter is, will I be hireable fresh out of truck school with no experience and unwilling to work otr? I can swing paying for the training myself but want to know what I am getting into.
I hope folks don't get mad at answering what must be tired questions for many.
Thanks!
J

ask roadhog he gets plenty of time for fishing and playing around ,he old school and would no all the tricks to help you,could even get one of shanias mates for you .only kidding mate you only gota do what you can and what suits you

Proper rest, diet and exercise are habits you develop through discipline, no matter what you spend your day doing.
People find ways to blame this or that for not being able to stay fit.

I drove reefer and put a lot of fingerprints on my loads, and drove flatbed which was rugged work at times. The challenge wasn't in getting enough of a workout, the challenge is to not hurt yourself. In trucking, you hurt yourself, you still have a job to do, and a thousand miles yet to drive.

Take the OTR job!
Get your training OTR, and doors will open for you, that most likely won't otherwise.
What you are asking to do is skip any and all apprentice training, and jump right to the journeyman job... maybe even start out as the foreman. :roll3:
You are very unlikely to find anyone who is going to hand you the keys to a 1/4 million dollar rig, with no experience, and give you a load to haul, worth more than you make a year.

You have to prove yourself in most any high risk job, and OTR is the best way to do that in regards to trucking as a career.

Maybe class A isn't for you, consider class B work. Lots of great driving jobs available, plenty of opportunities to go in.

Thanks guys. Roadhog, thanks for the insight. It does appear that otr training is the best way to enter the field, as much as I am trying to deny it. What is the shortest obligation to a company that trains you? I keep reading '13 months'. I do realize that most of the contracts are rather draconian, ie crappy, for the first year. Low pay is less of a concern for me than miserable working conditions. And I have already driven some local boxtruck stuff, not class B( well, a few times, hush hush). I have driven giant earthmovers and auto wreckers some too. I just think that if I had a class A I would be more employable and be better able to choose something that suits me. Does that sound right?
Thanks!
J

We know what you want, and thing is, :) everyone else wants that job too. You have more competition on the local level. You can make it happen, but it might take you awhile, and thing is, these days, employers don't want to see any lapse in employment, especially when it comes to driving skills.

There are some nice class A jobs in construction and agriculture, that may require long hours at times, but keeps you local.
If you wanted to relocate, that would help a lot too. You could find a start in the oil fields, and they will work you harder than Golds Gym :)

Many of those kind of jobs, might have you doing other work, besides driving.
Your "primo local driving gig" is the piece of cake everyone wants, so your competition is going to be tough.

Yeah... I already GOT the only one! ;)

Listen to Roadhog! He must be OFF his meds... cause he's making sense!

think it some one using his name hobo,just dosnt sound right

God gave us a penis and a brain, but only enough blood to work one at a time. :)

That is ok with me if i have to do stuff besides just drive, that is one of the reasons I want a local job, so I can get out of the seat for a little bit every little bit. But I dont wanna get worked to death either! I guess it does sound like a primo job.

There have been few who have been able to go directly from school to a local job. I would not expect to have an 8 hour a day job when doing local work. It could happen, but I would not expect it. There are too many things that can delay you during the day, such as traffic, accidents, etc., Local driving can be a faster pace job with many stops. Most local jobs prefer to see at least 1-2 years of otr experience. To tell you the truth, driving otr isn't nearly as bad as some make it appear. It may be a bit challenging, especially starting out. There is much to learn and the real learning begins once you get out of school and into a truck. The only thing that most schools do for students is help them get their CDL. Driving otr is part of the learning experience. I don't think that I would want to drive local. I prefer otr. You will be away from home and family, but the goal is to learn and earn a decent living. You can do that otr. Much of the negative that you read comes from disgruntled drivers with poor attitudes. If you have a positive attitude and are either someone who can manage their time or is willing to learn, then you can do well. Being away from home and family can be challenging, but you will adapt. Some find that driving local can keep you away from family about as much as being on the road. I did drive more local at tone time and I averaged about 70 hours per week. The money was good, but I was still away from home. You go to work, come home and go to bed. You can make periodic stops along the way when you drive otr. I eat fairly healthy when on the road. I try to have vegetables at least once per day. I also try to eat fruit at least once per day. Like Roadhog stated, it is a matter of choices. I am not over weight. I make a conscious effort to eat healthy. I get some exercise throwing tarps, chains and straps. I could do better in that area. There are some who carry weights, exercise and/or walk. You do have to prioritize. You may need to work around your driving schedule. Most of us work irregular routes and that can be a challenge, at times. But, if this is something that you really want to do then it will be up to you to make it happen. One great thing about this industry is that as long as you have a clean mvr and work history, you can have a job, long after many professions require you to retire.

I would agree with Gman. I worked LTL local for awhile. You want a 8 hour a day job, dont go LTL. Each day when you come in dispatch has you figured for at least 10 hours. Although if you only worked 10 each day, 5 days a week, you were lucky. Most averaged around 11 to 14. Now if you are lucky and get a Line Haul gig, there the hours are usually less but around 10.
Although ltl usually will take 6 month experience at the least, or it was when I did it. Some places may even have a dock to driver program, where they hire you as a dock worker and use you as a driver when needed. Until you prove to them you can drive. For local be sure to get your backing down, lots of tight and crazy places you have to get into and back into.
Actually, local is in my opinion tougher then OTR. Just my opinion, good luck in whatever you do.

That is the info i needed, many thanks guys.
I guess now I will try to find the company and training program that has the shortest, or best, commitment. I am sure there is a ton of info about that on here,

Proper rest, diet and exercise are habits you develop through discipline, no matter what you spend your day doing.

On my side I'm more than willing to work as many hours in the day as allowed, but until my son enters school I can't hit the 7+ days OTR. I can dig 2 to 4 days, but raising and taking care of family as well as working is a tough racket.

Normal eight hour days, driving a truck? There's an unpleasant surprise awaiting you, unless, perhaps, you plan on being a municipal employee. Then your primary function won't be as a driver, but you'll emerge from it being able to do more than sit in a cab all day.

Trucking kills
 

Hello everyone i am also new here and it is co incidence that i am also looking for some advice about this and thanks for some advice.

" local class A jobs that work a normal 8 hr day."

HAHAHAHA oh my god ... good one thanks for the laugh.

The only truckers who can stay healthy...er.. ish are flatbedders and bedbuggers. As for eating healthy good luck with that... it's damn near impossible. And the average bedbugger (who does the work not just drives the truck) could twist the average bodybuilder into a pretzel.

[QUOTE=cdreid;528829]" local class A jobs that work a normal 8 hr day."

HAHAHAHA oh my god ... good one thanks for the laugh.

I only worked 54 this past week, have the weekends off, and made just over $1400 for the week. not to rub it, just saying it can be done.. However the week before I used every bit of my 70 hours, and just cleared the $1400 mark as well, so in the end it is a wash, take the good with the bad..

Timberwolf

I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I got a linehaul job right after I got my CDL. It wasn't a cakewalk, but compared to OTR trucking, it was easier, of course. I had a five day work week and weekends off. My hours were approximately 2 pm to 2 am. No unloading or loading of freight. Took me about 2 years to not be a total zombie, though. Those night shift hours weren't gentle with me. As for linehaul being every trucker's dream, the OTR drivers at my company didn't want to do the linehaul route because they thought it was too boring just driving, driving, driving , plus it paid less. To each his own, I guess.

Timberwolf you work 11 hour days.. which we both know is actually low for any trucking job. I work 5 days a week plus a short 2 hour run saturday to drop the last load and pass my house 3-4 times a day now. Though i pretty much eat up my 70. But even those jobs are extraordinarily rare and every experienced driver competes for them. the idea of trucking 8 hours a day is just.. well it makes me laugh.

Imho honestly the best option would be bedbugging. The small companies will generally toss abut anyone in a truck... help you get your b's then a's then stick you in a truck with another bedbugger a month and send you out in a truck. Which scares me actually but ive seen it done over and over. Those guys generally dont really know what theyre doing even after a couple years.. though as far as driving skill noone can outdrive an experienced bedbugger. Ive put semi's into some absolutely insane places.

I was a newbie last fall. Pretty much a line haul driver home every night. Long hours, can't expect less than 13 to 14 hours. But it's nice to have an actual weekend with a full two days off.

I was told that I would have to go otr to start, glad I didn't listen to those people. I love driving but also love having my own life and if I couldn't live at my house and had to sleep in my truck every night I'd have to find another job. Other people love it but that's not for me.

Considering that most ovr drivers don't make much the first year, I'm not losing out much financially at this point. I'm making in the same range as most newbie ovr drivers and I'm home every night and weekend. It can be done.

i was able to get local right out of school, but i think it was a luck thing. So, i think you can find it, but it may take some real digging. Where do you live?


Right now, i am OTR and i'm trying to get a 1hr run in every other day, but there's just no time because our company has a boatload of miles. There may be OTR companies that DO have a good amount of work but have looser/more flexible scheduling so you'll have time to exercise and do other things. This will take research too, so you may want to consider that route also.


As far as pay differences between local and OTR, i feel one does not necessary pay more than the other---it depends on the company. The other thing is with local, i noticed that the local gigs that DID pay well, i only had time to go home, eat, take a shower etc. and then come back the next day. So really with local in a lot of cases, there is no time to exercise either.


P.S. Auto-truck transport was a OTR company i worked for that had a boatload of miles, yet had flexible scheduling----you delivered when you wanted to deliver (within reason). So, with this you could make time to exercise/do sightseeing (provided the truck could fit where you wanted to go), yet make as much money as you wanted.