Starting To Wonder

Is it worth it? I know I am the positive guy most of the time but lately I am not enjoying it like I usually do. I am not liking the constant travel or lifestyle as much as I thought I would. I still love driving, but some of the OTR things aren't really for me. Granted some of my complaints can be fixed, but basic luxuries we have at home I sure do miss. I would almost gladly take the 40hr work week back, but sadly I can't make a decent living doing so. I am not quitting by any means, but I am finding that I don't really like otr as much as I thought. It's one of those harsh reality type things. Man I was stupid for thinking I would work less as truck driver...

Have you applied for a regional driver or city driver position? Both have more home time if that's what the issue is.

Have you applied for a regional driver or city driver position? Both have more home time if that's what the issue is.

I live in an area that is not really close to any cities, so otr is all you got over there unless you know someone. I don't necessarily miss my home, it's that I miss living like a regular person. The lifestyle is tough and I don't like it as much as I thought I would. The lack of a work life balance is what I hate.

Hey man, for starters you're going to have a lot of ups and downs, especially in the beginning. At times you're going to hate trucking, at times you won't believe you're getting paid to do it. That's going to apply to some degree no matter how long you've been driving, but more so in the beginning for a lot of reasons.

For starters, it takes a good while for your body and mind to adjust to the constant travelling, tight schedules, traffic, etc. As time goes on you'll become more accustomed to it all and things you're spending a good bit of time thinking about now will fade into the background after a while.

Also, you'll learn to enjoy yourself out there more and more. You'll start finding places you really love to go because you'll discover a great restaurant nearby or you'll meet someone that lives in the area or there's some sort of attraction you enjoy. For instance, I used to love certain restaurants I'd discovered out there. As soon as I'd get a load going by one of them I'd think, "Oh yeah! Gonna be getting a big, fat, juicy steak tomorrow night!" or "New England Clam Chowder here we come!"

On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during football season it's usually not that difficult to find a high school, college, or NFL game somewhere along your route. For instance, the T/A in Nashville is a five minute walk to the Tennessee Titans stadium. I saw a couple of games there over the years.

Las Vegas or New Orleans? Forget about it! Man, did I love going to those two cities. What a non-stop blast it was! I don't gamble but I loved all of the attractions and shows in Vegas, and New Orleans has incredible food by day and incredible fun at night. Those were my two favorite cities to visit but there were a bunch more that were a ton of fun.

I also loved going jogging, especially when there was beautiful scenery to be had, and that's almost everywhere! Running through the desert, up in the mountains, along the beaches - wherever I went I'd seek out places along the route to park it and go for a jog.

I also love reading. And nowadays with Kindle? Oh man........a million books at your fingertips at all times. How awesome is that?

So give it time and keep looking for fun things to do in different areas. After a while you'll have fun things along your route no matter where you're going.

Gladhand, are you "hitting a wall", "on a plateau"? You say you haven't forgotten the excitement of the open road adventure, yet it's getting to be a drag.

I bet that would happen to anyone, even a jet pilot. Yes there are things to miss, and you are definitely NOT downgrading your life. Like Brett suggests, you just may get used to the lifestyle, then you will be able to look forward to all the new places and new things available to you.

You do have that 1 year commitment to Swift, so at least make that a milestone, then think about it.

Is it worth it? I know I am the positive guy most of the time but lately I am not enjoying it like I usually do. I am not liking the constant travel or lifestyle as much as I thought I would. I still love driving, but some of the OTR things aren't really for me. Granted some of my complaints can be fixed, but basic luxuries we have at home I sure do miss. I would almost gladly take the 40hr work week back, but sadly I can't make a decent living doing so. I am not quitting by any means, but I am finding that I don't really like otr as much as I thought. It's one of those harsh reality type things. Man I was stupid for thinking I would work less as truck driver...

Brother, laziness is not going to get you anywhere, Trucking is a minimum of a 6 day a week job with 12 hour days. Minimum. How much are you making?

How much longer is your obligation to swift? If its almost over hang in there, if its just begun I would tell them if they keep pushing you around you will park the truck and walk. Let them sweat a little. you are not a slave my friend.

You are a young guy, look into the trades, start applying. Electrician, plumber, HVAC. The best thing would be to get a college degree if you want easy work. Blue collar work is hard, dirty and dangerous.

What do you miss the most? Are you lonely? If you are its ok to admit. Its tough.

Missing your love life? There are ways to get a date on the road that don't involve a diseased lot lizard, its not something many drivers will talk about but you can get company for a night on the town in almost any city over 100,000 people. I have done it and am not ashamed. you are a young guy and missing out on almost unlimited no strings attached hookups. Heck you can get a very classy lady or guy or whatever floats your boat, if your truck is clean they may even be willing to come back to check out your "house" after your date if its a nice clean truck. I have had company that wanted to try new things and were thrilled to check out my truck.

Are you a drinker? I am not but my trainer was and every so often he would take hometime in some new place, get a hotel and some company and drink so much he forgot his name. He said he needed to have a good hard drunk every couple months or so he said it was kind of like a reset for his mind.

Your in a rut brother. It happens to all of us. Even Joe six pack that works in a factory. I am not saying that you need to stay in trucking, but don't be afraid to spice it up a bit.

Brent had many good suggestions as well.

Gladhand, are you "hitting a wall", "on a plateau"? You say you haven't forgotten the excitement of the open road adventure, yet it's getting to be a drag.

I bet that would happen to anyone, even a jet pilot. Yes there are things to miss, and you are definitely NOT downgrading your life. Like Brett suggests, you just may get used to the lifestyle, then you will be able to look forward to all the new places and new things available to you.

You do have that 1 year commitment to Swift, so at least make that a milestone, then think about it.

I will say that your statement is true IF you LOVE trucking. Devan is a young fella and he should not live in a prison of his own making if trucking is not for him. For old farts like us we don't have much of a choice, but hes a young guy, lets encourage him to look at things objectively and consider all the options.

A guy who is in prison eventually "get used" to it, but that don't mean they like it. Im not saying he should quit, but he needs to not be afraid to asmit trucking is not for him and move on if he truly feels that way. Lets not hold a young man back because we want to feel better about our life choices.

Rick, with two posts, your excused for this comment to Gladhand:

Brother, laziness is not going to get you anywhere, Trucking is a minimum of a 6 day a week job with 12 hour days. Minimum. How much are you making?

Gladhand is one of the active, rising rookie stars here on Trucking Truth. He had to take his selfie avatar photo off because some of the lady truckers here wanted to know what truck stop he was at.

He's a good guy to know, and, like your "rut" paragraph suggests, hitting this wall happens to a lot of people. Gladhand is generous enough to share his thoughts here. And thank you, Rick, for your suggestions! Adding them in here makes them available to all the readers.

How much longer is your obligation to swift? If its almost over hang in there, if its just begun I would tell them if they keep pushing you around you will park the truck and walk. Let them sweat a little. you are not a slave my friend.

You are a young guy, look into the trades, start applying. Electrician, plumber, HVAC. The best thing would be to get a college degree if you want easy work. Blue collar work is hard, dirty and dangerous.

Most of what you said was ok but that right there isn't gonna fly here. We're trying to help get new drivers off to a great start. You don't tell rookies to start pressuring one of the largest, most successful companies in the nation. All he has to do is make his appointments safely and on time and keep lobbying for more miles. He should stay right where he's at until at least his first year is up, and he's gettin closer.

That's what we teach the new drivers coming in - you stick to that first company for a minimum of a year, learn your trade, prove yourself, get to know the right people on the inside, and learn how that company functions on the inside. That's when you'll really start getting somewhere with any good company. Doesn't matter which company it is.

And telling a guy in his first year to start looking around at other careers is also rather premature in my eyes. He's just getting started. He needs to work through the ups and downs and steep learning curves of the first year. No matter how well you're cut out for this you're going to get frustrated at times and get sick of trucking at times. You have to work through that stuff a little bit, and he will. This dude is young but has a good head on his shoulders. There's no need to make any hasty decisions or start stressing out relationships within his own company.

Most of what you said was ok but that stuff I just mentioned is critical to our way of thinking. We never advise anyone to leave their first company within that first year.

Rick, with two posts, your excused for this comment to Gladhand:

Brother, laziness is not going to get you anywhere, Trucking is a minimum of a 6 day a week job with 12 hour days. Minimum. How much are you making?

Gladhand is one of the active, rising rookie stars here on Trucking Truth. He had to take his selfie avatar photo off because some of the lady truckers here wanted to know what truck stop he was at.

He's a good guy to know, and, like your "rut" paragraph suggests, hitting this wall happens to a lot of people. Gladhand is generous enough to share his thoughts here. And thank you, Rick, for your suggestions! Adding them in here makes them available to all the readers.

I must say I never meant to say he was lazy, I have lurked here for a while and I know he is a smart hardworking guy, I am sure anything he puts his mind to will result to his success.