Are Truck Drivers Assigned A Truck That They Use Every Time They Drive? Or Do You Switch And How Often If So?
Topic 27439 | Page 1
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If you're an over the road driver you will be assigned a truck that is your home on the road. You will likely be in that same truck for a year or more before the company gives you a (usually) newer one. You're not required to go "home". We have a couple people that live out of their truck and when they want time off they request it somewhere they want to visit such as Las Vegas or someplace they can relax on the beach. When you hear people talking about sharing trucks (slip seat) they're usually talking about local jobs. How are you obtaining your CDL? is it a private school or Paid CDL Training Programs?
Good luck, please hang around and keep us updated on your journey.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Sounds like I want to be an over the road driver then, thanks for the information! :) I'm going to Apex trucking school https://iwantmycdl.com/ in Salt Lake, UT. Thanks for being so welcoming :) I love Penn & Teller I would love to go see them in Las Vegas or go to the beach that sounds perfect :)
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
I was wondering if the trucks are alway on the move? I know they must get some maintenance at some point. I heard we’d get like one day off a week and 3 days off every few weeks or something like that. Is the truck moving during that time?
Isabell, make sure and read those links Rob provided. There's some really helpful information in them that will help you understand more about the trucking career/lifestyle.
You'll definitely want to be an over the road driver as you start your career. The big OTR companies that hire inexperienced drivers are the best way to get started. Your company will help you know when and where to have your truck maintenance done. They will also help you understand how to schedule your "home time," or time off. Rob is correct in that you may take it where you want.
As you gain some experience you'll understand better how to set it up where you want. I've been known to find myself making a delivery near an interesting place and just messaging my dispatcher to let him know I'd like to take a couple of days off here before you assign me another load. You will be in control of scheduling your time off, and those drivers who are dependable and easy to work with typically find a lot more ease in scheduling time off.
Here's an article you should check out about being a Top Tier Driver. Take the time to read it, and keep hanging out here with us. We should be able to help you considerably - that's just what we do.
What It Takes To Be A Top Tier Driver
Oh yeah, welcome to our forum!
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Isabell C, hello. I for one live in my truck fulltime. If I take time off I park the truck at a truckstop and go of and to what I went for. Once my daughter and 2 grandsons picked me up from Pilot and we spent a week in a cabin in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, went to Dollywood, swimming/hot tub, go carts etc. then they dropped me back off at the truck. I've gone to the beach in Florida and several other fun things. Just call an uber, go do your fun stuff and uber back. Generally you have a ten hour break every day and you either keep running on recaps or like I do I take a 34 hour break almost every week. I like the 34s so I can clean the truck out, do laundry and generally unwind and relax a bit. Well plus I dont like recaps as I dont like my workday limited by how many hours I get back each day. Living in the truck fulltime is awesome for several reasons, I save all the money I make since I dont have to pay rent, utilities, car payment etc. Also the company basically pays you to drive their truck to wherever you plan on taking time off by getting you a load close to where you are going. Living in a small place fits me fine, not everyone can do it though. Next weekend I'm going to meet my daughter and my son in Tunica Mississippi, we are gonna gamble a bit, hang out and she is bringing me a dog I just adopted. Yes most companies allow you to have a pet fulltime also. As far as downtime for maintenance they will either put you up in a hotel or you just sleep in the truck if it's not in the maintenance bay. As long as you are driving OTR you are never homeless as you are paid to drive your very own motorcoach.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
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First off thank you so much to all the commenters on this forum your insights in other posts have been extremely helpful for me to get a better idea of the job. I thank you in advance for all comments. I’m kind of planning on being homeless while trucking. I'm about to go to school for truck driving and may have a job as soon as April so I'm trying to plan ahead in the meantime. I was wondering if the trucks are alway on the move? I know they must get some maintenance at some point. I heard we’d get like one day off a week and 3 days off every few weeks or something like that. Is the truck moving during that time? Basically I’m wondering if I’d be able to sleep in the cab even when I’m not working until I can afford a car to sleep in? Is it different with different companies? What’s the policy? Am I going to have to find some other place to sleep during my time off of work? Can I store anything I’d use in the Cab while I’m not working? Are truck drivers assigned a truck that they use every time they drive? Or do you switch and how often if so? I appreciate any insight you can give.
