Do You Have To Live Near Your Terminal?
Topic 34370 | Page 1
For local ( like myself) yes it does matter.
For OTR it does not really matter, you will be able to take the truck home and park nearby to your house.
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.
When I was OTR at Prime my employers main terminal and my dispatcher / fleet manager were located in Missouri. I live in North Carolina. Living 1000+ miles away was not an issue at all. It was actually the norm. You just need a locate a truck stop or some other location to park the truck when you go home.
Different story if your pursuing a local or regional position. You're going to want to live more locally in those circumstances.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
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.
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.Fleet Manager:
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.
It won't matter for OTR. Knight has a training facility in Phoenix, so does Heartland aka Heartless. You could park your car there and only have a 4 hour drive when taking home time or they may let you take the truck home with you. Prime is in Springfield, MO and they would provide transportation to them for your training. Most companies will. Just get in where you can.
Good luck
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.
Many carriers have drop yards near their biggest freight lanes. If you are located near one, you can always park the truck at a company yard for your hometime. You may also be able to park it at a local truck stop possibly.
I'm exploring whether truck driving could be a option for me, given that I am in my 50s and never worked in a job even remotely related to trucking. In other words, apologies in advance for my dumb questions... On your website I noticed several companies that offer CDL training indicate they hire from the lower 48 states yet their terminals/drop lots are only in a few large cities. How does this work if you live hours or even states away from your employer's hub/terminal? I live in Southern Arizona, about 4 hours from Phoenix where a few companies have a terminal/drop lot. I can't visualize hopping in my car and commuting four hours each way to the terminal when I may only be getting a day or two off at a time. Hopefully I am missing the obvious here. Thanks.
Michelle, your biggest concern should not be where you live. You stated that you are in your 50’s and have never even remotely done anything related to truck driving. How knowledgeable are you about the challenges you would face? Are you mechanically inclined at all? It’s a tough job. Not to discourage you, but you need to get a realistic idea of how difficult it is. Do you have any specific questions about the profession that we can answer for you?
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.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Michelle, I have never lived near my company's terminals. I very seldom even stop at a terminal. The only reason I go to terminals is for maintenance, or possibly parking if it falls in my route as a good stopping point. Terminal location shouldn't be one of your concerns right now.
If a company shows to be hiring from your area, that means they run freight through those freight lanes near where you live. That's how they get you home. They will provide you a load that terminates near your home address.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate your advice and input. Sounds like I need to do more reading and researching about your line of work. This early on I am still trying to figure out what questions I need to be asking. The private CDL schools provide a rather rosy picture so I most definitely welcome a good reality check. Thanks much.
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.
Michelle, start with the links you can find free here on this site. Good luck and never hesitate to ask any question whatsoever.
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road CDL Training Program
- CDL Practice Tests
High Road CDL Training ProgramPaid CDL Training ProgramsTruck Driver's Career Guide
Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving
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.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Sounds like I need to do more reading and researching about your line of work. This early on I am still trying to figure out what questions I need to be asking.
Michelle, you came to the right place to do your research, ask questions, and read stories. Luckily this site was the first one I came to when I was at your stage and didn't look any further. It taught me what's needed to survive and succeed in this career.
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I'm exploring whether truck driving could be a option for me, given that I am in my 50s and never worked in a job even remotely related to trucking. In other words, apologies in advance for my dumb questions... On your website I noticed several companies that offer CDL training indicate they hire from the lower 48 states yet their terminals/drop lots are only in a few large cities. How does this work if you live hours or even states away from your employer's hub/terminal? I live in Southern Arizona, about 4 hours from Phoenix where a few companies have a terminal/drop lot. I can't visualize hopping in my car and commuting four hours each way to the terminal when I may only be getting a day or two off at a time. Hopefully I am missing the obvious here. Thanks.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.