Home Time?

My biggest concern in becoming a Truck Driver is the the "away from home time". I've read a lot of the blogs and one really stood out. Forgive me, I can't remember the author but it was very adamant about not taking a job that will keep you away from home for weeks at a time if you are married or have children as it is hard on the family. that is a huge concern to me.But, is it possible to get a regional , or dedicated route when you're a new hire out of school? Is it a situation where you bite the bullet and do long haul for 6 months to a year and then are qualified? I'm fine with that. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems from what I've read that it's better to go with a larger dry van carrier to have more opportunity for regional or closer to home dedicated routes? I don't expect to get rich but can you make a decent living/get enough miles doing the regional or dedicated thing?

Getting a gig that will get you more home time is tough straight out of school. Its not necessarily impossible but its harder. Certain companies will have better opportunities so research the companies before going there. Most local gigs want a year or two of experience due to the congestion of city traffic and driving. Once you've put a solid year in otr quite a bit will open up for you.

I believe dry van and flatbed get you home more often while reefer keeps you out longer. I may be mistaken though.

Everything Britton said is right on.

But, is it possible to get a regional , or dedicated route when you're a new hire out of school? Is it a situation where you bite the bullet and do long haul for 6 months to a year and then are qualified?

Yes to both. There are some companies that will offer regional or dedicated straight out of school, others will require maybe 6 months of OTR first. Off the top of my head, TMC, Schneider, Swift, Millis, and Roehl are all companies with good home time packages straight out of school - home weekly is at least a possibility at those companies. But they're certainly not the only ones.

I believe dry van and flatbed get you home more often while reefer keeps you out longer. I may be mistaken though.

That is definitely true. You'll want to focus on dry van and flatbed for home time.

I don't expect to get rich but can you make a decent living/get enough miles doing the regional or dedicated thing?

Absolutely. A lot of over-the-road drivers wind up sitting for a day or two each week, especially over the weekend. So getting home on weekends does not necessarily mean making less money. It depends on the quality of driver you are and the opportunities available in the division you're in. But you can make a solid living and be home on weekends.

One thing to consider for staying home if you don't mind the hard work is driving for places like beverage and grocery distributors. You'll do a lot of unloading everyday and it's hard work but you can make $40k+ and be home every night - Pepsi, Coke, Budweiser, Frito Lay - places like that.

Also, for getting your career started, check out Roehl Transport Company-Sponsored Training . There are like 4 or 5 pages of information, but the big thing is on page 4 where you'll see their Roehl Transport Home Time Plus™ Fleets which are the best home time packages I know of in the industry. Now with some of those options you're not going to make the best money, simply because you're sitting home almost half the time. But it might be a great way to get some over-the-road experience while still getting home quite a bit, and then you can move on to something local that pays well and gets you home every night.

Those are just some considerations.

Thanks for the info! I greatly appreciate it. I'm so glad I found this site. All the other ones I looked at were non-stop griping and complaining. I previously mentioned i did some time in prison years ago and there were these same types in there..."wah wah its not fair! wah wah". really gets on your nerves. You have to accept responsibility for your own actions, some people would rather blame everyone and everything else for their problems. Everyone here is very helpful. No arrogance or condescension. Thanks!

You're quite welcome! We're always here to help out in any way we can

I accidentally hit "report" - what I WANTED to do was express agreement. Thanks, BlueC. And you're right...there's a lot of negativism on Trucker forums.

Thanks for the info! I greatly appreciate it. I'm so glad I found this site. All the other ones I looked at were non-stop griping and complaining. I previously mentioned i did some time in prison years ago and there were these same types in there..."wah wah its not fair! wah wah". really gets on your nerves. You have to accept responsibility for your own actions, some people would rather blame everyone and everything else for their problems. Everyone here is very helpful. No arrogance or condescension. Thanks!

Blue C.

I started with Knight Transportation right out of driving school 10 months ago. I drive dry van. On average I'm home every other weekend for 2-3 days. That does not include the day you arrive home or the day you depart. I've been very satisfied with this schedule. Knight also works with for special events you need or want to be home for. Check them out. They might be your best option just getting started. Good luck

A regional flatbed job should get you home just about every week for at least one full day. You won’t have to do no dollar stores or hard labor and you can make good money. I made 80k regional flatbed second full year, 75k third and If corona don’t destroy the world I should make 75k again this year. That’s home every weekend plus some holidays plus a whole lot of long weekends plus a few days throughout the week here and there when near by. You will be home for just about every holiday because these places we deliver aren’t usually open on holidays. You can run every bit as hard as a long haul driver and be regional so don’t go long hauling unless you really want to. You aren’t losing any money going home for a reset if your running hard. That’s the typical money and type of home time you would get doing regional flatbed. It’s still not a whole lot of home time. It’s just a reset at the house that last usually around 40 hours give or take. There will be weeks you get home Friday and leave Saturday. Some weeks you get home Saturday and leave Monday. Some weeks you will get home Saturday and leave Sunday running on recaps. It’s just enough time at home to keep the wife thinking she got a husband.