When You Go Home.......

Does anyone else have a hard time re adjustimg to the "real world"? I just feel so disconnected and way more comfortable in my truck.

Red, I don't know about the trucking life yet. But I will tell you I would feel the same way in the military when I would go overseas.

There is a little difference. When I was in the military, I would be gone for 6 months at a time.

But yeah, when I got back it took several days and sometimes a couple of weeks to feel "normal" again.

But this too shall pass.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

Joe Im out 6 weeks home 2. (My choice due to bills) By the time I could get readjusted im back otr again. Its like Im depressed when im not in my truck! Go figure lol

I do believe that is what they call "having trucking in your blood".

You feel more alive when you get behind the wheel of that truck. Not much different than a race car driver when they get behind the wheel of their race car.

The adrenaline starts pumping and your body and soul become one with the truck. And the more you are in that truck, the truck will almost come alive to you. You will learn all it's "moods".

Pretty soon you will know something is going to happen before it actually happens. A breakdown. The feel of a tire on the road that isn't quite right. Etc.

Yeah, yeah, I know that sounds corny. But that is the way it is.

I thought the same thing when I first started working on aircraft in the military. An old shop chief told me the same thing about airplanes. And I thought he was off his rocker too. Till I started feeling the same thing in about a year working on the same airplanes over and over and over again.

You can't explain it to someone that has never felt it. But it is there.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

Redgator, i feel the same way sometimes. While on the road I'm usually up at 5am and sometimes 4 am. It's when I like to start my day. I do the same thing at home. I don't even sleep in. There's just nothing to do and I hate having nothing to do, so I'm finding things to do when everyone around me is screaming at me to sit down and rest.

Not only that but it's just mentally difficult to adjust in such a short time. I mostly like to take my hometime because it keeps my wife from complaining too much and because as soon as I'm done with hometime they send me east. And I'm in CA. So there's usually a long load involved and my hours for the first week are always insane.

And another thing, I have the addiction of NEEDING to be in a different city and/or state every single day. I can't sit in the same place for days.

RedGator, that's because you're a trucker now. We talk a lot about it being a lifestyle, and you are confirming that truth with your feelings.

I love going home - I'm home right now after eight weeks on the road - I'll be here for about five days - my daughters came home for the holiday to see me, and I enjoy every moment with them and my lovely wife of thirty years.

But where I live I can park my truck right at my house, and I have to try and not look at it sometimes. I can't help but hear it calling me off to some new adventure, or one of those glorious sunrises we've so often shared together, or even the whimsical sights we've shared together like the time I saw the mother pig with her little piglets trotting right down the middle of the highway down in south Texas.

Yes, this lifestyle gets in our blood and causes us to enjoy living like some modern day gypsy whose home and consolation is the road. It gives rhythm to our lives, it enriches us with experiences, sights, and acquaintances that few people ever get to enjoy, it brings solace to us in a way that only another trucker can understand.

Yeah, we understand what you're talking about.

This is a normal feeling I am sure. I know I can only take about 3 days at the house and I am itching to get back in the truck and go. My friends can't understand why I get antsy after the 2nd day. They are always telling me to relax and have a "normal" few days at home and my response is always the same being at the house is not "normal" to me. I actually catch myself missing the sound of my reefer unit at night when I go to bed.

Does anyone else have a hard time re adjustimg to the "real world"? I just feel so disconnected and way more comfortable in my truck.

I actually talk about in my book (which is free to read online) Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Trucking.

There is nothing like the trucking lifestyle and life "at home" seems to move in slow motion in comparison. I would come off the road to visit friends and family and they used to call me "The Whirlwind" because I was so excited and wanted to do so much. It was like, "Let's go here...and then we'll go there...and then we'll hit the bar...and then we'll hit the beach..."

It was overwhelming to everyone at home. They're used to an 8 hour day and most truckers put in 8 hours before noon.

A good example. Saturday my mom and I took a 5 1/2 hour trip from Buffalo to Columbus, Ohio to see the University of Buffalo play at Ohio State. We got up at 1:00 a.m., starting driving at 1:45, arrived in Columbus at 8:00, tailgated until noon, watched the game until 4:00 p.m., and got back to Buffalo about 10:45. My ma said, "Well, I thought you were crazy trying to schedule the day that way but it worked out great. But that's a loooooong day!!!"

I told her, "Now do that 5-7 days a week and you know what it's like being a truck driver. Almost every day is that long."

After being off the road for a couple of days I rarely could stand another minute of it. All I could think of was, "My GOD most people living boring, mundane lives!" Now I cherish my boring, mundane life after all of those years of go-go-go out there!

It really does take fierce dedication and a true desire for adventure and challenge to thrive in the trucking world. It's really not for most people.

This thread made me have a dream last night about going home with my truck.

This thread made me have a dream last night about going home with my truck.

Careful Daniel, you don't want wifey to know your dreaming about anyone but her...