Not Liking Otr Work
Topic 9196 | Page 1
Pretty difficult to answer without knowing what part of OTR you might not like. I put 'might' in bold print, because according to your profile, you haven't driven 1 mile yet. I'm assuming you've read Truck Driver's Career Guide , so that you have a general "book knowledge" of what it's like, before you get started.
What about OTR do you think you might not like? Because the things that are not attractive about it for most people, viz. being away from home and family, can be dealt with to a certain degree. Mind you, some people wanna be away from home, or put another way, don't have any ties and wanna travel.
But if you'd like to drive a truck, and you can identify certain qualities unique to OTR that you don't like, there are plenty of ways to make a living driving a truck that might not have those OTR qualities you don't like.
Local or OTR, there are many opportunities for drivers, especially if you live in a major freight lane. Dump trucks, garbage trucks, and tractor and trailers. Truckload or LTL - if you're in the right area. Home daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly.... Pulling reefers, dry vans, tankers, doubles , hazmat or no hazmat. All this is covered in the Truck Driver's Career Guide .
Personally, I would have some major obstacles being an OTR driver. I'm a linehaul driver for an LTL company. It fits me and my family well.
Trucking is hard. It's boring. It's exciting. There's a reason why we tell prospective drivers that it is extremely difficult, that you need to be willing to have your expectations smashed, that you need to definitely NOT quit on a bad day, and you need to go into it with a great attitude and strong work ethic. It'll take time for it to sink in. You need to give it time. But only you can decide if it's something you're willing to commit to from the beginning. Be more specific w/ things you're possibly not looking forward to, and we can answer more specifically. If you're just generally wondering if you might not like it, well, you probably won't on some days.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
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.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
There are many options for a driver besides OTR. Some, but not all, may include: Construction driving (dump trucks, belly dump, end dump, heavy haul, water, tanker, fuel), delivery (food, drink distributors, goods), food hauling, milk hauling, grain hauling, hazmat (fuel, waste, mines), equipment hauling, mobile home hauling, tow truck, trash/transfer. There is a lot of local work for a driver depending on where you live. Lowe's and Home Depot hire CDL drivers, farms and dairies, cattle, concrete blocks or stone, etc etc. There are many options and even some semi OTR positions where you drive out and back over 2-3 days etc. Everything has a downside and one downside of local is that it will pay less, much elss to start than otr.
Phil
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
I'll clarify one thing from Phil's informative response. LTL , considered local, will almost always pay better than truckload / OTR. P&D drivers will usually rival OTR drivers in pay (and P&D is usually home every day), and linehaul drivers will usually earn more than OTR drivers, or any other driving position for that matter.
On the flip side, dump truck drivers are usually paid some of the lowest wages in trucking.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
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.
P&D:
Pickup & Delivery
Local drivers that stay around their area, usually within 100 mile radius of a terminal, picking up and delivering loads.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers for instance will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.New Reply:
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So what do i do if i dont like otr?
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.