Personal Vehicle

While reading this forum and this site I've been able to have a lot of my questions answered without having to even ask to them. However I have not seen much about what to do with a personal vehicle when your gone otr. I know some people bobtail home. I live in an apartment and this would not be an option here. Also as I am not married or have kids at home I've thought about giving up my apartment and use my folks address but then just take any home time anywhere in southern California where I friends and family scattered around. So what I guess I am asking is do you leave your personal vehicle at a terminal then drive your truck there for your home time? Sorry I may have taken the long way around the barn on the question.

Hi Matt, I used to work for a bulk commodities transportation company and our OTR guys used to do just that: leave their personal vehicle in the yard while they were on the road. They did allow, however, the guys that lived within close proximity of the terminal to just bobtail it home after dropping off their trailer. You said you can't do that at your current apartment, but if your going to hang with friends or family during your off days, and they have room for your rig, that might be an option. Not sure about the mega-carriers though. I'm starting with Swift the 16th of this month and truth be told, I never asked the recruiter about this. I'm about 40 miles from their Fontana terminal. Hmm, thanks for bringing this up, I'll have to call em tomorrow and see whats up. And if any of you experienced folks know, please chime in.

That's exactly what I do. Interstate's terminal is about 50 miles from home, so I just park my pickup at the yard while I'm out, and then play musical trucks when it's time to go home. When I drove for Central they didn't have a terminal near my house, so I'd park the bobtail out at my dad's and have him babysit my pickup while I was away. For the most part, most companies will have a specific policy as to what to do with the truck while you're on hometime, usually dependent on how far away you live from a terminal.

I don't work for a mega, our company just has 1 small yard and about 70 trucks. Everyone just parks their cars there, goes OTR for a few weeks, then drops the truck off back at the yard and drives their POV home. This is also partly because the company has their own in-house mechanics who service the trucks after each trip, so taking it home isn't really an option.

I currently have no apartment or house and live full time on the truck, all my things are in storage. If you can do this as a single person and no kids you can save your money. Plus if nobody lives with you, you'll be paying rent for 3-4 days a month that you'll be there. It's a good way to get that down payment for a house some day. My mail goes to a family members house mostly junk mail, I drop by every 2-3 months to go through it.

Thanks for the reply's everyone. That is my exact game plan Chris but since my cars paid for id like to keep it to be able to drive around so. cal on my "home time" to make it easier to see friends and family once in a while. Thanks again I really enjoy hearing how everyone handles every aspect of the lifestyle.

It depends on the company, I'm sure, so worth asking about up front, but not something to base a decision on. When I was in training, I parked my car at Prime's terminal in Springfield. After I finished, and before I got my truck, I drove it home and gave the car to my daughter, then took a bus back to the main terminal. We have a yard in Denver where I park on home time, lots of drivers leave their vehicles there. (My wife usually picks me up, but I've cabbed it a couple times.)

Cars are a money pit, btw. If you're planning on going OTR for a year or more, you might consider selling it and putting the cash in savings as a down payment for whatever you buy when you're driving that car a lot more. They lose value and still require maintenance when they mostly sit (battery, tires, etc.) You'll lose the convenience, of course, but a couple of cab rides a month is probably less expensive than letting the car sit.

It depends on the company, I'm sure, so worth asking about up front, but not something to base a decision on. When I was in training, I parked my car at Prime's terminal in Springfield. After I finished, and before I got my truck, I drove it home and gave the car to my daughter, then took a bus back to the main terminal. We have a yard in Denver where I park on home time, lots of drivers leave their vehicles there. (My wife usually picks me up, but I've cabbed it a couple times.)

Cars are a money pit, btw. If you're planning on going OTR for a year or more, you might consider selling it and putting the cash in savings as a down payment for whatever you buy when you're driving that car a lot more. They lose value and still require maintenance when they mostly sit (battery, tires, etc.) You'll lose the convenience, of course, but a couple of cab rides a month is probably less expensive than letting the car sit.