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Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdFrostyMug

Broken promises from dispatch. Hometime always a roll of the dice.

Precisely why I quit roehl. You should've too.

It has been my experience that most of the time you can make more otr. The problem that you run into is you are gone for weeks at a time and you never know how many miles you will run. I am a local driver I get paid by the hour and I work the same amount of hours every week. I prefer to have a set schedule. Thats just me. You just got to decide what is important to you and what kind of money you want to make.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsfan

The replies that you have received so far are very true. I ran OTR, made really good money and was home every weekend, running absolutely 100% legal. Now I run "local" which means I am home most every night, but I cover the entire state of Ohio and parts of Indiana, Kentucky and on rare occasion I may go into western PA. Companies like Swift and JB Hunt consider this regional and not local because I am running 3 or more states. I just happen to live in a "Tri-State" area. My pay is not as good, but it's not terribly far off and I could exceed my OTR pay if I chose to run illegal like they want me to. I'm not saying that all local gigs are like this, but a lot of them are.

I had a driver tell me just the other day, I've heard this a thousand times and in a lot of ways he is correct. He said, " I think you can take all of these companies and throw them in a hat and just pick one out because they're all the same." There are successful and unsuccessful drivers with every company and every position whether it is local or OTR. The driver has more to do with the results than the company ever will. If you do your homework beforehand instead of just diving right in and you are willing to do the work, you can be successful anywhere. It may exist, but I've never seen any profession that offers as many opportunities, even to noobs, as what trucking does. However, for every successful driver there are a few more who got "burned" by a "bad" company or a "lousy" lease-purchase deal, etc...

I think the statement "you can be susessfull anywhere" is a load of crap.

for example if a company only pays .28 CPM and you struggle to average 300 miles a day due to sitting ,and alleged lack of freight ...How are you going to succeed in making good money ? I ran into this at Werner ,and yes if you wanted to train you would get good trips ,and could make money ,but in my opinion running in this fashion is no different than a solo driver who runs 2 log books ,as if you utilize a student to run like a team you the "trainer" will be up pretty much around the clock with little to no sleep .

I'm just throwing this out there ,Because it's not entirely true that you can make good money with just any company ,as some companies just don't pay well . Yes you can train and make 55-60 k ,but I think if you are talking the ability to make good $$$ you have to be talking the ability to make good $$$ as a solo without the need to pick up a 2nd log book in the form of a "STUDENT".

i disagree with most of you. I prefer local and made alot more money than when i was OTR and gone 3 weeks at a time living in a nasty truckstop, eating out all the time etc etc. I prefer LTL work, I run linehaul and am gone 2 nights a week. all drop and hook, no dock work, and sleep in a motel instead of a truckstop. I have only been on linehaul 2 years and averaging around $65k a year. Alot of it might depend on your area. obviously if you live in Stumpwater Springs, Arkansas, your local probably doesn't pay as much as OTR. I am in metro Atlanta area and you can find plenty of local jobs in the $20/hr+ range. Try both and see what you like, I like spending time with my family, watching my daughter grow up and having a life instead of being gone 2 weeks straight. If you are OTR factor in all the hours you spend sitting for loads, waiting to load/unload, the hours you actually log, divide it by the gross pay for the week and you will be suprised to find you probably make $8/hr. That is when i decided to get out of OTR trucking. The bottom line is you have to do what you like and what works for your family. all the $$$ int he world isn't worth it if you are miserable, divorced and hate your job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Templedawg

The bottom line is you have to do what you like and what works for your family. all the $$$ int he world isn't worth it if you are miserable, divorced and hate your job.

He's right. You have to decide. This board can help you by alerting you to poorly paying companies. We all have our list of companies that we won't work again.

For me, I'm local, running fuel, making about $1000 per week. I only take 4 loads a night, and most of the time, done in 11 hours. And I'm moving to days within a week. And I know drivers who work harder than I, making $1300-$1500 per week. And some owners/operators make more than that.

i agree local does have it's perks.like friday at 4 pm for me i'm done til monday morning.although i miss OTR sometimes,i agree when you factor all time spent in the truck it averages about 10 bucks per hour,maybe less.