A Different Take On Miles .....

I'm in a very fortunate position in that I have an internet related business that allows me to earn a substantial income with a minimum of hours (about 6 per week) and an internet connection. I accomplish the internet connection with an AT&T iPhone hotspot and an iPad on a Verizon data plan for redundancy and to cover dead spots with either carrier. It's worked well over the past few years as I've travelled the US in an RV.

My goal in exploring an OTR career, being on the road several weeks and being able to spend a weekend near my son who is in the Army on my "home time" and essentially being homeless / living out of the truck, is somewhat different than most on this site who are looking to maximize earnings during their time out on the road. I fully understand and respect the desire to maximize income during working ours to provide for your families and it's a credit to each and every one of you.

I would be happier to work at a steady pace, albeit slightly slower, than most here are looking for. $40,000. per year would suit me just fine. I'd be much happier being able to stop at the Big Texan on my way through Amarillo regardless of where I was at on hours than rushing through because I have to make 3,000 miles for the week. (Again, I recognize what a blessed and fortunate position I am in). Part of my goal is to enjoy the country I'm traveling through on occasion, not having to rush through and see only the interstate as I go.

So, I guess my question is; If I'm not as aggressive as most of you seem to be, am I putting myself in a position to be a "problem employee" with most companies? I have a great attitude and I'm not a slacker, I just am not in a position where I need to push-push-push constantly. I'm guessing after the first / rookie year a $40k salary equates to about 2,000 miles per week. Is that a schedule that is relatively easy going?

Steak Eater wrote:

So, I guess my question is; If I'm not as aggressive as most of you seem to be, am I putting myself in a position to be a "problem employee" with most companies? I have a great attitude and I'm not a slacker, I just am not in a position where I need to push-push-push constantly. I'm guessing after the first / rookie year a $40k salary equates to about 2,000 miles per week. Is that a schedule that is relatively easy going?

Keep in mind the customer's delivery time determines how fast we run. Your goal as a driver is to safely get the freight to your customer, on time, every time. If there is enough time on a load, then you can slow the pace. That is not always the case though. This is a performance based business, highly competitive. If you show your dispatcher/driver manager you'd rather stop to smell the roses at your discretion, over time you will be passed over and find that you are sitting more and more, dispatched on predominantly crappy loads, and driver management will be far less motivated to get you routed near your Son's location when you want to be. Driver management and planners are compensated on their ability to keep trucks moving and the utilization rate. And honestly,...consistently expecting home time on weekends to visit your son is perhaps unrealistic. If a recruiter promised something like that, take it with a grain of salt. It's give and take,...initially the driver is the one that does most of the "giving" until a positive performance record is established. That will take time, months. If your post is an indication of your paradigm and associated priorities, no offense, but you might not be a good fit for this. You may not be happy.

And this:

I'm in a very fortunate position in that I have an internet related business that allows me to earn a substantial income with a minimum of hours (about 6 per week) and an internet connection. I accomplish the internet connection with an AT&T iPhone hotspot and an iPad on a Verizon data plan for redundancy and to cover dead spots with either carrier. It's worked well over the past few years as I've travelled the US in an RV.

Do you intend to continue operating this business while you are road training and then OTR? Please say no.

I suggest you read the content of these two links (if you haven't already):

Truck Driver's Career Guide

Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving

I'm in a very fortunate position in that I have an internet related business that allows me to earn a substantial income with a minimum of hours (about 6 per week) and an internet connection.

Steak Eater, forgive me for asking the obvious...

But, I have spent most of my lifetime as a business owner, and I do not understand why you don't just go ahead and commit to this internet business of yours for forty or fifty hours per week and really make some money at it? I think it is obvious from your post that you are not the type of person who is going to excel at truck driving. I'm not being critical, it is certainly not for everyone. This is a performance based business, and therefore the top performers are the ones who get established and make a success of this. Those who just aren't all that interested in being the most productive usually fall by the way, or are just miserable in the occupation.

My parents know a man at their church who just started driving for Schneider several months ago. He's retired and got into truck driving because, among other reasons, he was driving his wife nuts being home all the time! But he wasn't interested in running his ass off. I don't know how many miles he runs each week when he is out on the road, but I know that as a company driver he does western 11 and is only out for two weeks before he comes home and takes 2-3 days off. I met him--he's a very nice guy who doesn't appear lazy in the least, but he made it clear he's not in this to make big bucks. The week I met him, he was taking off 5 or 6 days that week and had parked his truck bobtail at the local truck stop. I actually know for a fact Schneider didn't make him clean out his truck because I saw it parked at the truck stop all week! What I did take note of was that he hadn't had any incidents/accidents or late deliveries.

So it is possible to not run your ass off and still enjoy trucking. But I noticed this guy's list of demands/requests was really small. All he asked for was to be home every other week (I think weekend was part of the deal so he could attend church, but I'm not sure) for a couple days. Wanting to run western 11 exclusively doesn't bother a big company like Schneider--alot of companies specifically ask you if you want to run all 48 or western 11, so it's not an issue. When he's out, he does whatever load he's given, delivers on time or early and doesn't hit anything. So, although he may not be turning quite as many miles as some other drivers (I got the impression he was probably averaging 2000 or slightly more after accounting for days off), he's still quite an asset to his dispatcher by being a safe and punctual driver with a good attitude.

All that said, I think my parents' friend got a pretty sweet deal and probably has a pretty great dispatcher. Most dispatchers don't allow you to take your truck home for a week like he did. He's also getting more time off in general than most people are officially allowed. So my point is that it's possible to be successful at this without running 3000+ miles a week, but your dispatcher may not be as nice as this guy's is. Truth is, alot of people on this board probably run 2500 miles a week or less and do just fine. Alot of times it can actually be difficult to get more miles than that anyway. But it's still important to be a safe, punctual driver--and that requires focus.

Keep in mind the customer's delivery time determines how fast we run. Your goal as a driver is to safely get the freight to your customer, on time, every time. If there is enough time on a load, then you can slow the pace. That is not always the case though. This is a performance based business, highly competitive. If you show your dispatcher/driver manager you'd rather stop to smell the roses at your discretion, over time you will be passed over and find that you are sitting more and more, dispatched on predominantly crappy loads, and driver management will be far less motivated to get you routed near your Son's location when you want to be. Driver management and planners are compensated on their ability to keep trucks moving and the utilization rate. ......

And honestly,...consistently expecting home time on weekends to visit your son is perhaps unrealistic.

.......

If your post is an indication of your paradigm and associated priorities, no offense, but you might not be a good fit for this. You may not be happy.

Maybe my post made me sound ..... lazy or like a slacker? I'm not looking to deliver loads late or be a negative complaining employee. I'm just truthfully not motivated to knock myself out trying to get loads delivered early in order to get the next one that much quicker. I'm perfectly content to be a steady and reliable employee, but not one killing myself to get 3,000 miles + per week.

It's not reasonable to expect to be out on the road for 3-4 weeks at a time driving and then get 3-4 days "off" at a location near my son? I thought most companies were OK with drivers having a day of home time for each week they spent on the road.

Your points are well taken, and maybe my priorities don't line up with this profession. I can accept that. It's why I'm here answering questions. I'm grateful for your candid and informative response.

Steak Eater, forgive me for asking the obvious...

But, I have spent most of my lifetime as a business owner, and I do not understand why you don't just go ahead and commit to this internet business of yours for forty or fifty hours per week and really make some money at it?

I think it is obvious from your post that you are not the type of person who is going to excel at truck driving. I'm not being critical, it is certainly not for everyone. This is a performance based business, and therefore the top performers are the ones who get established and make a success of this. Those who just aren't all that interested in being the most productive usually fall by the way, or are just miserable in the occupation.

The business produces about $35k per year in consistent and non-fluctuating earnings but it's not scalable with more hours or I would certainly focus on that. It requires about 6 hours of my time per week (non specific schedule) and it's such easy / Guarunteed money I'm not willing to give it up.

I appreciate your candor - maybe OTR driving isn't for me. You are right, I have little interest in being a top performer. If there's no place for a consistent reliable driver who isn't interested in pushing for 3,000+ miles per week maybe I should explore other options. Thanks for your reply!

My parents know a man at their church who just started driving for Schneider several months ago. He's retired and got into truck driving because, among other reasons, he was driving his wife nuts being home all the time! But he wasn't interested in running his ass off.

....

So it is possible to not run your ass off and still enjoy trucking. But I noticed this guy's list of demands/requests was really small.

.....

All that said, I think my parents' friend got a pretty sweet deal and probably has a pretty great dispatcher.

That is - precisely - what I'm looking for. Are those positions really that difficult to get? A situation like that would suit me perfectly with less home time.

That Schneider driver is obviously going home at the same place each time. I'm pretty sure he is on an account that requires his home time to be in a certain area because that is where his loads originate from.

You are wanting to run all over the country, but the way you want to do it is not exactly profitable for the folks who are paying the bills for you to go where you want. You could certainly try it, but I think any fleet manager worth his pay is going to be trying to develop you into a more productive driver.

I don't know what kind of internet work you are doing but it is a very unusual business model that won't allow you to put more into it so that you could make more at it.

I may have missed where you are from. But Roehl offers some very lenient hometime options where you won't be running your tail off all the time. I know my company is very good about working with drivers on how hard they want to run. Maybe it is a Wisconsin thing since that is where Schneider is based out of as well. Gives you 3 possible companies to look at. I know with my company if you are doing Regional it is easy to keep a slower pace. Just don't try to deliver early all the time, lol. Doing Regional you could get away with 2,000 to 2,200 miles a week without beating yourself up. Granted in the beginning as you are learning those 2,200 miles will take up a LOT more of your time. As you gain proficiency and stamina those mikes will become very easy to cover.

Have you considered hauling RV's? There are companies looking specifically for people with a pickup to do that and I'd guess those are going all over.

As an OTR Driver, you might be able to accomplish what you're asking, but I just don't know. With Schneider, once you pick up the load you tell them when your next available time is and how many hours you'll have available. If you're OTR, you can often take home time anywhere. I've visited friends and family (across the country) more in the past two years, than in the previous ten.

If you can be flexible and aren't gonna complain about only getting 1,800-2,000 miles a week, some companies may be okay with that. Just remember; the company's goal is delivering freight, not your carefree adventures.

Good luck!