Hello everyone. I've been lurking here for awhile, but am now in need of some help. I've worked as a company driver OTR, then got my own truck and have been hauling water in the oilfields for quite some time, and am now wanting to leave this area and go back OTR. Since being new to OTR being an O/O, I've been researching options and am overwhelmed by information. Confusion is definitely setting in. So, I have a couple of pressing questions that, if cleared up, would help me understand the big picture here.
If you have your own authority and want to get your own loads do you use your own trailer? I assume the answer is yes based on what I've read here, but how does that work? Don't you spend a lot of your time sitting around waiting for loading/unloading? Here in the oilfields we're paid by the hour so sitting around waiting is fantastic. When I was OTR as a company driver I had days filled with frustration of sitting around waiting to unload so I could get back on the road and make money.
As for getting your own loads, do y'all who are successfully doing this have a, or several, freight brokers you work with regularly? Do you simply spend time on the load boards? If y'all could point me to a thread that deals specifically with learning the logistics of obtaining loads, that would be great.
Thanks for all the info. on this forum. It's a great resource.