I've been driving a big rig since 1999. There are some good & bad things about the job. Let's start with bad things:
1. For otr (long haul) drivers, you only get 4 days off at home per month. It doesn't give you much time for a life.
2. You have to use alternative bathroom arrangements in your truck at times.
3. It is challenging to eat right while on the road. Having a refrigerator & some cooking tools helps.
4. You work very long hours. That's if you are with a good company.
5. The job can be deadly.
The GOOD things.
1. You can see the lower 48 & Canada
2. You can put your stuff in storage, and live in the truck and save lots of money. You can "start over" in your life. Pay off debt, save money, etc..
3. You can buy a lot of acreage and park your truck in your yard when you're home.
4. You can live cheap by getting a mobile home put on your lot. I call it "good cheap living".
5. You can get a nice education while driving. The truck is a rolling classroom. Learn a new language, listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Get podcasts from iTunes which is usually standard on everyone's laptop. Get to know how to use iTunes and podcasts.
6. If you are with a good company, then you get medical, dental & vision insurance.
7. Some companies let you take a pet on board with you. A dog or cat.
8. Warning: Don't ever lease a truck. See www.daveramsey.com to learn how a lease is a fleece. Fleecing you out of your hard earned money. Here's a basic understanding of what a lease is: Dealer, middle man = trucking co, and you the driver. Dealer charges trucking co $300 a week for the truck. The trucking company charges you $500 a week for the truck. Trucking co makes money off of you. Don't ever lease!!
If & when you can't make the payments, because you are not getting enough miles, you lose the truck. The trucking company takes the truck back, and you've made most of the payments for it and you don't get to keep it. You basically purchased a free truck for the trucking co. It's a legal scam.
The trucking co will lure you in with talk of making over $1000 a week. But the reality is you need to make a high cpm (cents per mile) to cover all your costs in order to make a profit. And the truck they give you is old, used, and has at least a min 300k miles on it. The truck breaks down a lot & becomes a money pit. And you are stuck thousands of miles from home, with no money & few options to get back home.
That's it for this first post. Stay tuned for other posts by yours truly. Trucker Sue, 10-4 & over and out!
1. For otr (long haul) drivers, you only get 4 days off at home per month. It doesn't give you much time for a life.
2. You have to use alternative bathroom arrangements in your truck at times.
3. It is challenging to eat right while on the road. Having a refrigerator & some cooking tools helps.
4. You work very long hours. That's if you are with a good company.
5. The job can be deadly.
The GOOD things.
1. You can see the lower 48 & Canada
2. You can put your stuff in storage, and live in the truck and save lots of money. You can "start over" in your life. Pay off debt, save money, etc..
3. You can buy a lot of acreage and park your truck in your yard when you're home.
4. You can live cheap by getting a mobile home put on your lot. I call it "good cheap living".
5. You can get a nice education while driving. The truck is a rolling classroom. Learn a new language, listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Get podcasts from iTunes which is usually standard on everyone's laptop. Get to know how to use iTunes and podcasts.
6. If you are with a good company, then you get medical, dental & vision insurance.
7. Some companies let you take a pet on board with you. A dog or cat.
8. Warning: Don't ever lease a truck. See www.daveramsey.com to learn how a lease is a fleece. Fleecing you out of your hard earned money. Here's a basic understanding of what a lease is: Dealer, middle man = trucking co, and you the driver. Dealer charges trucking co $300 a week for the truck. The trucking company charges you $500 a week for the truck. Trucking co makes money off of you. Don't ever lease!!
If & when you can't make the payments, because you are not getting enough miles, you lose the truck. The trucking company takes the truck back, and you've made most of the payments for it and you don't get to keep it. You basically purchased a free truck for the trucking co. It's a legal scam.
The trucking co will lure you in with talk of making over $1000 a week. But the reality is you need to make a high cpm (cents per mile) to cover all your costs in order to make a profit. And the truck they give you is old, used, and has at least a min 300k miles on it. The truck breaks down a lot & becomes a money pit. And you are stuck thousands of miles from home, with no money & few options to get back home.
That's it for this first post. Stay tuned for other posts by yours truly. Trucker Sue, 10-4 & over and out!