Living In The Truck
Topic 5100 | Page 1
Glenn, welcome to the forum!
A lot of people do this. You can save a lot of money by not having a residence to be paying for all the time. Another advantage of this is that you can take your home time at any place you would like as long as it is near a freight lane your employer runs in. You will need to have a friend or a relative that will let you use their address as your permanent address. You will need to have some sort of an address, and most states will not allow you to use a P.O. Box for your CDL address. If you decide that you want to take a few days off in Las Vegas, or some other place that interests you, just make your request for home time at the place your interested in and your dispatcher should be able to route you in that direction.
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.
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.
Thx for the reply oldschool
how do trucking firms in general respond to their applicants and/or student drivers not having a permanent address? With most other businesses and govt dealings I can see that as one of those situations that becomes difficult for them to deal with, especially govt!
I suppose there are practical ways to make it work and deal with the details, but the part I'm most looking into is the emotional/psychological aspect of being a totally free range chicken without a coop.
Do you live this way?
thx Glenn B
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I use a family members address as my permanent address and get my mail there. All my things are in storage, I pay no rent or utilities only $100 per month storage fee. As for living on the truck full time, I love it. I'm spending the day at the Prime terminal in Springfield and went in for a shower and went in to ask for some towels and the lady thought I wanted a bunk room which is basically a small motel room and is free, but I turned it down cause I'm more comfortable in my truck.
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.
Glenn, I don't live this way, but I do usually stay on the road for about six weeks at a time. I love the OTR lifestyle, but I also love the woman I've been married to for 32 years. I keep a home and enjoy my time there immensely.
As long as you can provide an address for your company to have on file you don't actually have to live there or do your home time there. Like I said, there are many who have done it that way. Brett did that for years and just bank rolled his money until he could buy a little farm and retire (lol) there.
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.
This seems like a great option for young adults and empty-nesters, doesn't it ?!
-mountain girl
Hell yea it does!! Being an empty nester myself I decided that I needed a new adventure, and well, here I am lol
Well these are encouraging comments all, will look at how to make that transition.
thx!
I live this way now and although sometimes I like being out of the truck I prefer most times to stay in it. Past few night ive been in hotels due to a down apu and now Im itching to get back in the truck to sleep. It takes a bit of getting used to but over time this truck becomes your home.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
I use my mother house as a permanent address and for my mail. She also picks me up from the shopping center where I park my truck during my down time. Do laundry and eat nice home cook meal. But my bed room is now a guest room and all my stuff are in the garage. And I love this life style, did take a while to get use to it but my truck is my new home. Prefer my truck then a motel. Unless I'm home or in diffrent city.
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
Hi all, have been reading and reading, looking over company websites, and doing what I can on the net to learn about a trucking career. This is a great site btw !
If I do make the move to learning and driving 18 wheels it would make sense to me, now with no wife/kids/pets/dependents, to not need to have a permanent residence and those mthly payments if you expect to only home a few days a month (at the most) to lonely house. That would mean living those few days a month in a motel or just the truck. I'm not sure how I would adjust to that type of living - might like it, might feel trapped, maybe just ambivalent, so I'm fielding that question to everybody for some thoughts and experience.
Thx glenn b
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.