Re: Company with big sleepers
 

I think you missed my point. Taking a older child for a week here and there in the summer is one thing. Having a child grow up in a truck is another.

Double R is correct young kids should not be in a truck all the time. its a little different if your child rides in the truck with you lets say from your house to the truck stop where the other parent can take the child home but not in a truck all the time. isnt like the standard size sleeper with problebly 95% or even more what companys are putting on trucks like 70 inches? some are smaller and some are a little bigger its only the owner operators (a select few who have light loads all the time) and bed buggers who have the big sleepers. I know personally i wouldnt want to back something with a monster sleeper into some of the places in chicago or into a job site where its tight already

[quote="Double R"] As for the topic, THERE ARE NO OTR COMPAINES THAT HAVE SLEEPERS THAT BIG! AND NO OTR COMAPNY WILL ALLOW A CHILD OF THAT AGE TO RIDE IN A TRUCK! The insurance compaines will not allow it!
[quote]

Just for the sake of playing devil's advocate I know of at least on large OTR company that will allow children that young. If I recall rightly though they have to be accompanied by a non-driving parent or caregiver. Might have been tempting if I didn't have 3 of them not one :lol:

As far as children not belonging in trucks I agree an 18 month old has no business FULL-TIME in a truck, especially at that age they need to be able to move, explore, and investigate the big world around them. However, I wouldn't see a problem with doing it once in a while, but I'm sure others disagree. I currently having a 4 year old waiting (very impatiently) for his 5 year old birthday so that he can go out with Daddy (TMC's age limit). However, even at that age there is NO way he's staying out anything approaching fulltime.

As far as the big sleepers, the only OTR company I know of with larger than normal sleepers is Maverick, and then I don't believe its all of their trucks, or that the ones that are large are THAT large.

I drive for Maverick,trust me the sleepers aren't big enough for an 18 month old.They are single bunk except for the trainer trucks.You mentioned your 5 year old son going with your husband.Don't know how TMC is but Maverick has several customers that don't allow anyone under the age of 18 years old to enter their property.Particularly steel mills,lumber mills and some sheetrock plants.Just my 2 cents worth.

TMC riders are 5 years old and up. HOWEVER...... as stated previously, most places, IE; steel mills, mines, and some shingle plants will not let someone into the plant that is not hired with the company doing the transporting or if the rider is under 18. i have seen drivers not able to load at the mines because the rider was small and the driver/security guard didnt want the kid to stay in the guard shack or visitor waiting area

Not only those listed but most warehouses have the same policy. No one under the age of eighteen allowed past security.

At least as my husband was told the dispatchers work with them as much as possible to avoid the places the children can't be. At least thats the story in orientation and from his FM. The current working plan is not to even leave my son with him overnight at all though, but rather to do a little extra driving on my part, such as when my husband is headed home, and let him ride in the truck with daddy for several hours at a shot. Hubby runs hard, and pushes often, and just isn't sure about "Daddy I have to pee" , "Daddy I'm hungry" and where he would sleep :) Hubby usualy stops twice a day max other than where he spends the night, so it would interfere with his style, BUT my son is dead set on riding in that TRUCK! LOL

As a father of four, I could not imagine a WORSE idea. Children deserve and expect a CHILDHOOD. NOT your low expectations for a "job". Any company that would allow a child that young in it's vehicles either does not have insurance or is just another garbage OTR company. Children need to breath fresh air and go to school (even a pre-school) and PLAY, NOT roam around the country sitting at shippers trying to be quiet while YOU try and "sleep"...Kids need STABILITY and a place to call home. I don't give a rat's ass who thinks I'm "close-minded"...You had the child, they MUST come FIRST. A sleeper (ANY sleeper-no matter how big) is NOT a home...Mandatory sterilization anyone ???? Flame me, I don't care. It's the kids who count, not your crappy JOB...

well said

Lets Get It On

You hit the nail on the head. I agree 100%!

Bluebarber, perhaps you should get a medical opinion on this, did you run it past your child's pediatrician?

If the poster lost his/her job, then they are mobile. Move somewhere and get a job that keeps you home. Period.

I can't understand how you consider most of these posters close-minded for looking out for the well-being of the child, while you are looking out for the selfishness of the original poster. Sorry that's cutting, but it's the truth.

It's been said a hundred times on this thread and many more times on the messageboard over the years...the road is no place to raise a child. They need freedom, a learning environment, and the ability to interact socially with others their age, be it friends or schoolmates. The child will NOT get that on the road. McDonalds and truck stops? Give me a break. :roll:

Follow the advice of several of these posters and speak to a pediatrician. Fill them in on the "job" and see what their take is. You'll be lucky if you don't get reported to DHS right then and there. And of course, let's not forget all the Nosey Joe's out there. It will only take one to see your child on the truck, put 2 and 2 together, get your plate number, and call DHS. I've seen it happen several times over the past few years..spoke to drivers (well-meaning ones at that) that lost their kids to the state because they thought it was OK to bring their child with them on the truck for an extended period of time and were now fighting a desperate fight to get them back.

The OP said he/she was researching this and had it figured out. I call BS on that. If you had researched it, you would have run into so many negatives about the plan that you would have immediately abandoned it in favor of something more sane and realistic.

In the end, driving a truck is a job, just like any other job. If it doesn't fit your lifestyle (having kids), then find a different line of work for the time being. There are millions of other jobs out there. Take one of those until the child is much older. Then get back to driving if that's what you want to do and take the child on week-long forays during the summer. That's what childhood memories are made of...not living in the truck 24/7.

Good luck to your child. At this point and unless you see what you are setting your child up for, he/she will need it. :sad:

I think it's perfectly fine to have a 18month old in a 18wheeler. I've been driving for 15years and have seen many of the "old timer's" leave this industry...in the old days this was a Lifestyle, career that a family man could be proud of...these days it's all about Big Business and Corporate Greed..and
insurance regulations.

The cab/sleeper of a 18wheeler driven by a Professional Driver is probably the safest place on the road. You did not state if you were a single mother, or a driver's wife or co-driver- any of these would be perfectly reasonable reasons for having a 18month old onboard. But, because of insurance reasons you'll probably need to think about leasing or buying a Truck.....or have the baby on-board on the Q.T.( which can only be done...if you're a team/ driver's wife)

I just thought I would give my 2 cents, as a child I did go an trips with my dad in the truck, only for about a week at a time and I can tell you that it can be very boring for a young child, so much so that I sometimes couldn't wait to get home. Sometimes we would have to go to a place where they didn't allow children and I would have to hide in the bunk til we left. I think it is fine for an occasional trip, not for long term.

I wonder why someone would want to have children and then selfishly want to subject them to that kind of a lifestyle. That is no life, bouncing around in a truck all day long, no other kids to play with, just sit him in front of the DVD player. What selfish parents you must be to not want what is best for your child.

Oh, the memories this thread brings back :) I took my kid out on the road with me when he was 8 yrs old. Though it was for only 4 days, he could hardly wait to get back home. Years later, he told me the only reason he went, was because he didn't want me to be lonely. All the while I thought he was dying to go over the road with Dad :D

That's funny. My 10 yr old just told me that he wants to go with me for a week when I get my own truck (still a trainee). If I was 10 I'd be bored out of my mind. What is there for a kid to do out there? Personally, I think truckstops are no places for kids.

Well...if he's 10 and you're just a trainee(new to Trucking) I'd say he's saying "Dad I love you, look up to you" and want to spend some time with you! You'd better change your way of thinking about having your kid on the truck with you...or Are you not planning on staying in trucking very long? The years will slip away...my son is 19 and I trucked his childhood away(last 14 years) There's plenty the two of you can do on a Truck together....and he can bring along a XBox for when Dad is driving and it gets Boring. Just keep him close and watch out for him at the Truckstop...be sure to teach him not to walk along close to the front of the trucks(being short...he'll be hard to see) always think safety. And keep the CB off.

Come on you guys, can't we all just get along. Sound like a bunch of children. I think we all have bigger problems in our own lives and also this industry. Lets try and address the problems we need to fix in our line of work and then after we fix that we can all attack each-other. Problem solved. Anyways everyone stay safe.

:roll:

Nice bump.

I grow up in a truck untill I was in 4th grade and I am fine. I was in every sport i can think of since 8th grade. I am also looking for a trucking company that will allow me to go with my infant for acouple of years. untill she is in preschool.

Man ... what happened to the days when kids got to ride in the big truck and they got excited to see big trucks? I wasnt "raised" in one, but I spent a lot of summer weeks in one, and it was the best part of my childhood. I'm more or less normal. Probably heard some stuff on the the CB that could have been sensored, but I didn't turn out a serial killer or anything. I drive now and angle for about 550 miles a day. That gets me a decent check and still gives me time to get a couple hours of walking or exercise in. It can be done. I wish more people took their kids sometimes. It would nice to see the next generation have an appreciation for what we do.

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