Can I Leave My Truck While Waiting To Be Loaded? Can I Leave It In A Safe Spot At A Truck Stop Or Other 'safe Place'?

Tommy as the others have suggested, I do not recommend vacating your truck while waiting at a shipper/receiver. You are responsible for your truck, trailer and load. In addition, these types of facilities are not exactly conducive to "safe" fitness walking. Although some of them might be, for the most part they are like a beehive, downright dangerous for walking. My suggestion (and what I typically do), walk during your 30 minute break. I walk for 20-25 minutes, then eat a light lunch and be on my way. I have managed to not gain an ounce of weight since I started this job. Remember this is a life style that reasonable fitness activities can be accomplished. However not advisable to train for a marathon or other like event while performing this job. You won't typically have the time or energy (especially during the first few months).

I suggest investing time in reading these links for a better understanding of realistic expectations:

- Truck Driver's Career Guide

- Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving

Also if you are serious about getting started in this career path, review and study Trucking Truth's High Road Training Program. This training enables an easier time of passing the exams required for the CDL Class A Permit and cover other trucking related topics.

Good luck!

You can't have a PO Box on the license. It's requires a.physical address. Some drivers will tell you they have a forwarding box or something like that. Get caught with that and get a headache.

That depends on the state. I had a license with a P.O. Box in North Carolina when I lived in Charlotte. I even got a warning for speeding once (pre-CDL) with that license, so I'm not sure what you mean by "get caught and get a headache."

Also, some places are still rural enough that a P.O. Box is the very best way to get mail, and you are allowed to have your P.O. Box on the license. (South Dakota is one such state.)

You can't have a PO Box on the license. It's requires a.physical address. Some drivers will tell you they have a forwarding box or something like that. Get caught with that and get a headache.

Some customers have posted signs "wait in the lounge or in your truck". Its one thing to walk around the parking lot with your phone, by something else to leave. Also, some customers don't notify you they finished. They simply tell you to watch the door light for it to go from red to green.

Its not hard to get in shape if you want to. We have a health guru at Prime that does a meal and fitness plan for you and after 13 weeks if you meet your goal. You get back the enrollment of the plan ($300 or something.) I know drivers who lost plenty on it. Theres a wrist monitor that tells him how mich exercise and heart rate you get...and you log your meals. The guru wrote a book for truckers too.

If you Google trucker fitness I'm sure you can find it. The prime website about him is a little old.

Thank you for the fitness advice, I'm looking into everything I can as far as staying fit on the road.

As far as blanket statements, those can be dangerous, you nor anyone else knows all the laws. Saying I can't have a po box on my license especially when it isn't true can discredit you in the future. It is perfectly legal in my state.

Hi Everyone,

While I am brand new to driving a big rig (going to school in a couple weeks) I am not brand new to driving professionally. The biggest concern I have had about my life over the past few years has been getting in shape. I know fully and without a doubt that trucking is not the industry to get into if one is trying to get into shape but circumstances, life and my financial goals dictate that this may be the best thing I can do for myself. On to my question: Can I leave my truck while waiting at a client/yard to be loaded. I have read and have come to understand that one can spend hours upon hours waiting to be loaded sometimes (no qualms with this). I want to know can I leave my truck and the client's yard and go for a long walk - an hour or two. Note: I would only leave for such an extended period if the client told me it would be at least 3-4 hours or longer until the truck will be loaded.

Along with the above question can I leave it at a truck stop and go on a long walk or bike ride for a few hours?

Walking and riding is how I plan on getting in shape. On another note I will not have a home while I am a trucker as I plan on saving as much as possible. I plan on getting a cheap airbnb/motel or staying with friends for 'home time.'

Thank you in advance for all the help. I really plan on walking and riding every single time I can during any down times. Please let me know how possible this will be.

The simple answer is it all depends on the customer's policy and your company's policy. All you can do is ask the person on the dock if they mind you leaving.

The real world answer though is not so simple. First off, you need to take into consideration the load you are on. What does the load dictate. If you are picking up and need to run as soon as you are loaded then it probably is not a good idea to go for a run, walk, ride. Perhaps do a thirty min walk, but then you need to be resting.

Second thing to consider is you may not be in an area where it would be safe to walk or ride. Industrial and commercial areas are not exactly known for their safety. The customer could be located on a highway with very little foot traffic area or perhaps it is in a high crime area.

Third, as others have mentioned, reality can change quick at a dock. You might be told it is going to take hours to get you loaded or unloaded, but then something happens and they are able to focus on your truck. Unfortunately the opposite is true as well. They may tell you it is going to be quick and you end up stuck there for hours.

It is probably best to plan your trips so that you shut down in an area (if possible) that is more friendly to doing your bike rides and walks and plan to do your exercising then. You know at that point you are down for ten hours and could go on a longer ride or walk.

If you want to exercise at the customer get some resistance bands that you can work out with in your truck or near your truck.

Having a physical "residential" address on your license is part of the Real ID Act of 2005. Homeland Security enacted it after 9/11 when some of the terrorists got US drivers licenses. Since that time, some states faught it as privacy violations, others were granted waivers. The US govt has now deemed all states must comply with the federal ID Act by the end of this year.

Remember last year when they said if you had a MO DL and some other states you couldn't use that as govt ID to fly? It was because the waivers had been repealed and the TSA would not recognize DLs that did not comply.

That is the last I heard...

Rick...oh rick...here's something for you to research lol

Real ID Act 2005