No spare time
 

Will there ever be a point where I can come home for a few days to a week without having to spend every waking hour doing something related to the truck?

I'm not complaining, I sort of like it especially when it's something I can do.

stop sleeping more then 4 hours a night


thats what I do anyways so I have plenty of family time, plus time to take care of shop work and the truck my wife runs with a driver.


and if I don`t sleep at all I even have time to work on my father in laws farming equipment :lol:

Well there you have it Steve. :shock: :lol:

That's the problem. When you are away from home, EVERYTHING is related to the truck, because you are never sitting long enough to get anything done. Things as simple as going to the dentist are related to the truck.

Until someone's been there, they just don't know how crappy this business is.

Considering the time away from home, the risk, the long term health issues and the costs associated with all of these things, this is possibly in the top 5 worst ways to make a living.

Then quit cryin and change

Just tellin' it the way it is.

Well said JRHBULL.

Long term health issues? Learn to eat salads and drink water, you'll feel better and your outlook may be better.

I personally like everything to be "truck related", when I'm on the road. I like to be singleminded about the task I'm dealing with.

If you've got too much concerns for home, you might consider working close to home. Over the road is not for, and should not be for everyone.

Btw, I've had some of those "worst job" feelings about other jobs I've had as well, and also a couple of companies "I owned", the problem was, I couldn't just quit, although I wanted to.

jonboy

Everyone's got an answer for everything :roll: Rank doesn't drive...he dispatches.

So that's where the bulk of the health issues come from? While diet plays a significant role, there are other issues just as detrimental to your health that you can't escape, no matter how vigilant you claim to be.

kkkkkkkk

Yea, and people get fat from NOT eating too much. :roll:

Sure there are a lot of other things, but obesity is a major problem, and the limited food choices truckers have because of the trailer on behind contributes to that. I see guys in their twenties all the time, that most likely, will not have a long career in trucking because of the onset of diabetes and heart disease.

I'm anxious to hear the other health concerns that puts truckers at more risk than the average desk job?

As far as RANK being a dispatcher, I would think stress would be an obvious one, but I can't see trucking as MORE stressful than other lines of work. After all, you're forced to sleep at night, which is more sleep than a lot of self employed people enjoy. The ten hour break is the best thing that ever happened to my health.

Well, it's stress, irregular work schedule, lack of sleep...to name a few!
Did i mention STRESS? :D :P

My point about rank is he was told to when he's not even a truck driver. He wasn't pointing out the negative aspects of his own job.

As far as health concerns go, you're absolutely right, obesity is a huge problem. But that's a byproduct, for the most part, of a person's own bad habits. Stress as well is an individual thing. Sure there might be more stressors in our line of work than others, although there are certainly other professions that are worse. It's all about how one deals with it. Personally, I think the biggest health risk to truckers is the air we breathe. Studies have shown people experience significantly elevated blood pressure and pulse rate when driving on the freeway. These studies discounted the role of stress and pointed to air quality as the primary culprit. The health consequences associated with auto emissions are well-documented, with diesel exhaust being the worst. Consider how many hours a day we spend completely immersed in auto exhaust. Have you ever looked across the truckstop parking lot at night and noticed the haze? Or even more poignant, approached a truckstop in a rural area and noticed the haze engulfing it. It's just like looking across Los Angeles before you drop in.

You can eat better, you can exercise, you can control your sleep schedule to an extent, and you can control how you deal with stress. But you cannot do anything about the environment that you spend the bulk of your time in.

Truckstop buffets. A fella' can get very sick from these.

Lot lizards. A fella' can get very sick from these. :lol:

I think I read somewhere the life expectancy for a truck driver is 15 years below average.

As far as you being forced to sleep, you are not forced to sleep. You are forced to show sleeper berth time or book off duty. This does nothing for a regular sleep schedule.....see below.

Wednesday:
set my alarm for 04:30
left the yard near Kingston, ON at 06:00
was unloaded near London, ON at 14:30
didn't want to drive back through Toronto rush hour, so I stayed ay my London home. Visited wife, played with 3 year old daughter, went to bed at 22:00

Thursday:
Set my alarm for 01:00
Left London, ON at 02:00
Arrived at yard near Kingston at 07:00
Swapped trailers and reloaded for outbound.
Booked off duty (but continued to work until dark)
Went to bed that night at 22:00.

Besides, the original post was not about "driving" at all. It was about all of the OTHER STUFF in your life that doesn't get done because you are driving.

Now if you are just a driver, maybe you do have a regular schedule and that's great, HOWEVER, the OP is not just a driver.....he has a truck to maintain, invoices to create and mail, IFTA to file, slow payers to call etc etc.

BTW, no-worries is correct...I do very little driving and I'm not complaining . Just saying. :)

Well, when I had my previous office job I had a life outside of work.

Tues = golf
Wed = hockey
Thurs = softball
Sat = golf

Trucking is more than a job...IT IS YOUR LIFE.

[quote="rank"]
Now if you are just a driver, maybe you do have a regular schedule and that's great, HOWEVER, the OP is not just a driver.....he has a truck to maintain, invoices to create and mail, IFTA to file, slow payers to call etc etc.

I'll do the driving and the paperwork and my wife will maintain the truck. :wink: lol.

Re: No spare time
 

Yes Steve. When you decide to retire.. It's in your blood and you love it!!! And when you retire, you'll probably wish you could get your hands on something truck related, and you'll probably find a way to do that!!!

Re: No spare time
 

Ya, I'm thinking Sports Illustrated will do a swimsuit edition and they will see my old red truck and how nice it is then the cover will read "From hauling steel to hauling ***". Of course, I'll be in the drivers seat with Paris on my lap.

Re: No spare time
 

[quote="SteveBooth
Ya, I'm thinking Sports Illustrated will do a swimsuit edition and they will see my old red truck and how nice it is then the cover will read "From hauling steel to hauling ***". Of course, I'll be in the drivers seat with Paris on my lap.[/quote]

Thaat's Hooottt!!! As Paris would say.

I got tired of my off time being about trucking too, so I got rid of the leased truck (had gotten rid of the rest of them long before), at least then I wasn't on the phone everyday loading other trucks when mine was parked.

Eventually I decided to put the authority on hold and go back under lease myself, a hard decision, but one I don't regret. That cut down on a lot of my work, we run more, but I don't have as much 'other' stuff to keep up with and I'm not on the phone all day every day.

When I'm home, work is scheduled on the truck. Day 1 I get out and take everything else that needs to be taken care of (laundry etc) out, finish up any paperwork and leave it alone that day.

Day 2 I clean up the inside and if it's going to the shop for any reason, I take it that day and leave for as long as they need it. If it's not going to the shop, but I have a project that needs to be done, I start it and work on it as many hours or days as necessary to complete it before my off time really starts. That way I know everything is in good working order should they call with something worth messing up my off time for.

I start the truck once a week, other than that, I ignore it until 2 days before we go back to work. 2 days out, it gets inspected and washed inside and out. The day before going back, I pack everything clean and go to the grocery store for fresh stores and pack them. Hook back to the trailer (also washed) and move them back to the driveway.

After all is ready to roll, we enjoy one more evening of adult beverages and brace ourselves. :D


I adore my truck and love my job, but I do have other interests and the truck can easily consume your life; it did mine for years.

I don't mind the work. I just feel guilty if I don't go down and fix the latch on a draw that doesn't work anymore, or put RainX on the windshield.

I'm the type who MUST be 100% organized and ready to go well before I'm ready to roll.

If there's something to be done I'll go non stop all day even though I have 6 more days to do it in. Then I sit at home at night, a few drinks and bingo, my list of things grows once again.