Shedule Question

I stopped working (not trucking) 4 years ago to help care for my elderly mother. I don’t have kids and my Domestic Incarceration sentence ended about 10 years ago. I had stuffed quite a bit of money in the bank and have been living off that for years, but the reality is I’m going to run out in about another year or so. I need to start putting money back in the bank.

Taking care of my mother is my first priority and I’ll make whatever sacrifices necessary to take care of her. I’ve been looking for a job which would still allow me to take care of her, and getting a CDL and driving actually seems to have some of the best flexibility as far as schedules go. I’m wondering ‘how flexible’ some of these companies may be and am hoping someone here can answer my question.

I have a sister that is off weekends and can care for my mother then. So for me, I’d like as much of my driving time to fall on weekends if possible. From reading through this forum it sounds like a lot of guys (and girls) want to be home on weekends and my preference would be just the opposite. I’m hoping someone can tell me if some of these companies are flexible enough to drive every weekend and get weekdays off when possible.

I wish I could find something local where I could drive all night and be here during the day when she is awake, but there isn’t anything here in Podunk, PA.

Dan, this is highly unlikely. The jobs you see where drivers are home for the weekends are a lot of times flat-bed jobs. The reason these companies can work this out is that most of the type places you deliver to with a flat-bed are only open on weekdays.

It is not impossible to find part time work in this industry, but it is not easy. I wish you the best, and if you find something let us know about it. I would recommend you scour the Craig's list advertisements in your area for driving jobs - you just might get lucky there. A lot of smaller outfits will advertise there, and you may just be able to find something like what you are looking for in there.

Roehl has several really good home time options, the one that would probably work best for your situation, being the 7/7 . This would be 7 days on the road, and 7 days home. This would technically be part time work, but you can still make a lot more than a lot of full time, non driving jobs, from what I have seen. You would just need to find someone to help watch your mom while you are out on the 7.

There are also companies that would have you home daily, or a few times each week. These jobs tend to be harder for brand new drivers, though.

Good luck in your search

Dan, this is highly unlikely. The jobs you see where drivers are home for the weekends are a lot of times flat-bed jobs. The reason these companies can work this out is that most of the type places you deliver to with a flat-bed are only open on weekdays.

It is not impossible to find part time work in this industry, but it is not easy. I wish you the best, and if you find something let us know about it. I would recommend you scour the Craig's list advertisements in your area for driving jobs - you just might get lucky there. A lot of smaller outfits will advertise there, and you may just be able to find something like what you are looking for in there.

Thanks for your comment. I did look on CL and that's kind of how I got on this train of thought about driving. There is literally nothing local, but they have a few hundred ads about the schools.

I know I won't find anything perfect but I'm just trying to be here as much as possible on weekdays. I started creating a spreadsheet to list all the companies, types of runs (OTR or Regional), possible schedules, pay, etc. It may take a few days but should give me all the info on one place for comparison purposes. So far, the best thing I saw was some regional runs that would be 7 on, 7 off. That's about half perfect.

Schedule is more important then money.

Where is Podunk, PA in relation to a major city? How are are you from, say, Pittsburgh? This can make a big difference. You might be podunk, but if you are close enough to a bigger city, or a good freight lane, it will increase your chances, of finding something,

Roehl has several really good home time options, the one that would probably work best for your situation, being the 7/7 . This would be 7 days on the road, and 7 days home. This would technically be part time work, but you can still make a lot more than a lot of full time, non driving jobs, from what I have seen. You would just need to find someone to help watch your mom while you are out on the 7.

There are also companies that would have you home daily, or a few times each week. These jobs tend to be harder for brand new drivers, though.

Good luck in your search

I’ve only spent about 2 hours looking through ads specifically for schedules that may fit my needs and I agree, the 7 on 7 off is about the best I can hope for, especially just starting out. That’s actually about ‘half’ perfect and acceptable. I did see a few ads for Roehl and they seemed decent as far as schedule and pay. Money is a consideration but second to schedule for me.

One thing that amazes me is the number of ads that mention being ‘home on weekends’. I’d drive 53 weekends a year just to have a few more weekdays at home. I’m hoping my willingness to drive every single weekend may help when and if I begin looking for a driving gig.

Where is Podunk, PA in relation to a major city? How are are you from, say, Pittsburgh? This can make a big difference. You might be podunk, but if you are close enough to a bigger city, or a good freight lane, it will increase your chances, of finding something,

I'm about halfway between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. There is literally nothing in this area but I have no issue traveling. I’m still not familiar with how the industry coordinates shipping but so far it appears a lot of the runs would either originate or be transferred out of regional hubs. I would have no issue considering being based out of any hub between Jacksonville and somewhere south of Gotham City. If I am running OTR I don’t consider the hub location to be that critical.

For tax purposes, I'd actually prefer Florida as crazy as that sounds.