Need A Change To A Get Home

I agree with everyone above. Celadon does things the same way everyone does things when it comes to home time and holidays. You request your home time a week or two in advance and you'll get a day off for every week you were out there. Almost no one offers paid holidays or guarantees home time.

And what is this:

I have to stay out for 2 months in order to come home for a week. Every other driver I spoken with has told me how crazy that sounds to them and it is!

Every other driver of what.......taxi cabs? Because pretty much every OTR driver in America is under the same schedule - one day off for every week out. And there aren't any companies out there that will normally give anyone a full week off at one time. If you required a week off you'd have to turn in your truck so someone else can use it and they'd give you a truck when you got back. If you were at a company for a couple years or more and you had established yourself as a top tier driver you might be able to talk your company into giving you a week off. Maybe. But that's far from the norm.

See, here's the other thing that we see all the time......rookies hear things and start getting themselves all in a panic over nothing. The idea that "every other driver you spoke with told you how crazy this sounds" tells me you're either speaking to a bunch of clueless drivers or more likely you're speaking to drivers who will say anything just to have someone to talk with for a while, especially a woman. Trust me, there are a ton of lonely drivers out there. You want sympathy? You want a shoulder to cry on? You want someone to rally behind your cause? They'll be more than happy to oblige. They'll tell you whatever you want to hear just so you'll stick around and talk for a while. Because anyone who is telling you that your schedule is crazy is simply full of cr*p. They're doing nothing more than telling you what you want to hear. Your schedule is standard for OTR trucking. That would be like telling an office worker that their 9 to 5 schedule is crazy.

"I have to work 8 hours before I get to go home!"

"Oh that's just awful honey! You're at the wrong company. They're not treating you right.".....blah blah blah......whatever it takes to get a few more minutes of conversation out of you. Trust me, I watched guys do this constantly my entire career. Anytime a female driver walks into the room about 20% of the drivers instantly turn into buffoons and run over there hoping to get a few minutes of attention. If they have to agree with you when you say something is crazy, even though it's perfectly normal, they'll gladly do so. I guarantee you that if you told them you like leprechauns it would look like a St Patrick's Day parade in there in 10 minutes.

You mentioned your mom got sick and you don't feel they showed you enough concern and that's one of the reasons you want to quit. Well unfortunately being an OTR driver means you're going to miss a lot of things that most people are home for. Everyone isn't going to stop what they're doing to rush you home every time something happens. That's one of the tougher parts of the travelling lifestyle. You have to count on the people that are back home to handle things themselves. Now if she was gravely ill and it was life or death then that's different. But from the way you described it that wasn't at all the case. So unfortunately it was a matter of you not understanding the commitment and sacrifices it takes to be an OTR driver as Old School had mentioned.

Instead of trying to make it out like Celadon is the problem here, which they're not, why don't we find out what it is that you're looking for. Why aren't you happy out there? Are you homesick? Are you getting burned out from the intense schedule? Are there personal things going on in your life that are preventing you from enjoying your time on the road? These are all problems that pretty much every driver faces, especially in the beginning of their careers. The company you're at is a good company with great equipment and they're paying you a fair wage, especially considering they paid for your training up front. So Celadon is not the problem. If you jump ship you're going to find out that all OTR companies operate the same way. All that's going to accomplish is landing you back at the very bottom of the totem pole again with the same issues you already have.

As always, we highly recommend you stay where you're at until you finish up that first year. Then if you'd like to do something different a whole bunch of doors will open up and you'll have a nice selection of companies to choose from. But leaving the company because they don't have paid holidays or they won't stop their operations to run you home every time something happens isn't going to accomplish anything good for you. You have to get down to what's really bothering you and find a solution to those problems. Celadon is not the problem though.

Chelsea started out with:

I have to stay out for 2 months in order to come home for a week. Every other driver I spoken with has told me how crazy that sounds to them and it is!

There are several things nobody told me my first time out solo: how to take my truck to the shop, where to find a place to stop for 10 hours when the truck stop's full and how to get my time off.

I kept driving and driving for days, until I figured out just use the macro 8 (home call) and simply ask for it! Sound familiar? No one here has chopped Celadon for being a bad company. Re-wind your thinking before you start looking for a new company.

If you look through our Trucking Company Reviews you might find they're all pretty much the same, actually.

I am with the majority in I think the OP should stick with Celadon for a year. I just wanted to point out that XPO pays extra for certain holidays. They also guarantee Christmas at home.

This has been my daily shameless plug for XPO, we'll now continue with our regular scheduled programming.

XPO pays extra for certain holidays. They also guarantee Christmas at home

Nice on both counts! I think there's probably a lot of companies, especially smaller companies, that can guarantee Christmas at home. Hard to say if they'd guarantee Thanksgiving or any others but most drivers get home for most holidays. I've stayed out over Christmas and Thanksgiving a time or two and it was pointless to do so. The truck stops are empty, most businesses are closed, and it's just boring and slow out there as a driver. It's much more fun being at home.

So yeah, most drivers are home most holidays but you're not going to find many guarantees, especially in your first year at any company. Put in a good year or 18 months of top notch driving at your company and you can be sure you'll get home for the major holidays. You'll know the higher ups by then. You'll know how to make one friendly phone call to the right person and fifteen minutes later you'll have a load taking you home. Trust me, that's how it works. You prove yourself to be a top notch pro and you'll have all kinds of people willing to help you out.

My 2 cents.... if you have a problem with celadons pay the fault is yours for not researching enough before you joined on. All companies post the cpm. Stay the year to show other companies you will make a commitment and full fill your obligations. But before you switch. .RESEARCH..

Did you ever work in a place where they hired college grads with degrees that have nothing to do with the job? Do you know why? Because college takes commitment and determination. That is what employers look for. Stay the year then try other places if you want... quit now and although you might get hired you are still goi ng to have to prove yourself.

As for holidays.. I was told at Prime I can have either thanksgiving or Christmas off but not both. My mom had heart surgery whike i was in training and i flew home no questions asked. It would be differenr solo though.

This is going to surprise a lot of people but for the first SIX years at the post office... not only did I not get paid holidays.... but I was forced to work 70 hour weeks each holiday and never had ANY holiday off including Christmas for 6 years. After that they were paid... but even after 18 years I still got forced thanksogovng.. new years etc.

The more I read from rookies the more I'm thinking you guys had cake jobs or my job was so bad that trucking feels like a paid vacation lol

Stop the complaining and comparing yourself to others. Improve yourself and make money. Cause guess what... I run constantly I make 41cpm with almost 6 mos solo and I hear other prime compnay drivers complain they are sitting and not making money. Do you know why? Cause of the attitude.

If every time you are given a load you complain about it.. if you message dispatch every day cause you can't make a decision on your own... if you whine like a little girl.. you will sit just like those other drivers. So would you rather run hard at 27cpm....or sit at 41 cpm?

Cause no offense.. I can already tell you are not the "run hard get it done" kind of person that you need to be in order to make good money in trucking. Read the posts here to learn how to do it... and be happy with lots of money.

Rainy......Why don'tyou tell us how you REALLY feel! Lol.

Rainy......Why don'tyou tell us how you REALLY feel! Lol.

Sorry.. I'm hormonal this week. Hahah. I didnt mean to come off nasty. It's just that it seems the last three or four posts I read were new people with unrealistic expectations or even demands... and I'm wondering if it is an age thing? Maybe I'm getting old and younger people have easier lives than I did. Idk.

If these imaginary jobs they created in their heads are out there then by all means post links so we can all apply.

But tractor man... at what point was I not truthful???? Hhaha

I agree Rainy, I'm in one of those harsh moods too. Where are these easy jobs with no demands where you can blame others for your mistakes? Sign me up--- NOT.

This is going to surprise a lot of people but for the first SIX years at the post office... not only did I not get paid holidays.... but I was forced to work 70 hour weeks each holiday and never had ANY holiday off including Christmas for 6 years. After that they were paid... but even after 18 years I still got forced thanksogovng.. new years etc.

I have always been under the impression that a Post Office job fell into the category of cakewalk Federal job. Where was the Post Office that you worked in, Nazi Germany?

This is going to surprise a lot of people but for the first SIX years at the post office... not only did I not get paid holidays.... but I was forced to work 70 hour weeks each holiday and never had ANY holiday off including Christmas for 6 years. After that they were paid... but even after 18 years I still got forced thanksogovng.. new years etc.

I have always been under the impression that a Post Office job fell into the category of cakewalk Federal job. Where was the Post Office that you worked in, Nazi Germany?

And you were under the wrong impression. Nope... Bellmawr NJ. 24/7 distribution center that shut down only 6 hours a year for fire inspectors. When the roads are shut down to blizzards or hurricanes we were told we are emergency personnel and federal charges would be held against us for delaying the mail.

Youz guyz just don't know. Sure ingot 6 weeks vacation a year plus sick leave. But every day I was on edge ready to fight with management. That is stress