Advice For Single Truckers Who Are Homeowners

Hello, forgive me is this has been covered already although I cannot find anything in the topic list.

After 25 years+ in the auto parts business, I have become disillusioned and for over two years now have been considering getting my CDL and driving OTR to see our wonderful country that I have officially become a citizen of after 20 years.

I am single so can come & go as I please and don't mind my own company so that checks a couple of OTR boxes I reckon.

However, I own as opposed to rent my home so one of my biggest concerns with embarking on this career is leaving it unattended for long periods. Not interested in selling it.

What advice would other truckers in my situation have concerning handling: emergency repairs, mail/packages & general security?

My family & close friends are also some distance away (FL, TN, Ontario, WA) and maybe OTR would allow me to see them more if routes & resets aligned?

Thanks, Brad

Hello, forgive me is this has been covered already although I cannot find anything in the topic list.

After 25 years+ in the auto parts business, I have become disillusioned and for over two years now have been considering getting my CDL and driving OTR to see our wonderful country that I have officially become a citizen of after 20 years.

I am single so can come & go as I please and don't mind my own company so that checks a couple of OTR boxes I reckon.

However, I own as opposed to rent my home so one of my biggest concerns with embarking on this career is leaving it unattended for long periods. Not interested in selling it.

What advice would other truckers in my situation have concerning handling: emergency repairs, mail/packages & general security?

My family & close friends are also some distance away (FL, TN, Ontario, WA) and maybe OTR would allow me to see them more if routes & resets aligned?

Thanks, Brad

Not in your boat but hire a rental company and rent it out?

Hello, forgive me is this has been covered already although I cannot find anything in the topic list.

After 25 years+ in the auto parts business, I have become disillusioned and for over two years now have been considering getting my CDL and driving OTR to see our wonderful country that I have officially become a citizen of after 20 years.

I am single so can come & go as I please and don't mind my own company so that checks a couple of OTR boxes I reckon.

However, I own as opposed to rent my home so one of my biggest concerns with embarking on this career is leaving it unattended for long periods. Not interested in selling it.

What advice would other truckers in my situation have concerning handling: emergency repairs, mail/packages & general security?

My family & close friends are also some distance away (FL, TN, Ontario, WA) and maybe OTR would allow me to see them more if routes & resets aligned?

Thanks, Brad

Not in your boat but hire a rental company and rent it out?

Howdy, Brad! Welcome to Trucking Truth ~ !!!

Exactly as Auggie said, for sure!!!!. Air BnB is always an option, but some of my guy's OTR pals use this:

"Trusted House" ... sitters, of course!

There are a few companies, and comparisons..with links! Hope this helps a bit. In the meantime:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

^^^^ Good reading; the Admin's book is free, also .. above. ^^^^

Best wishes; glad you joined us!

~ Anne & Tom ~

Hello Brad. When you get a driving job, you should get some regular home time. Home time schedules vary widely, but if you get home on a regular basis, you should be able to manage your house yourself. For the times you are away you might want to get a security system installed and keep your homeowners insurance in place. And make sure that insurance covers hurricanes because I know Kalamazoo has a lot of them. If you don’t want your mail to pile up at your house, get a PO Box.

Howdy Brad!

I have been driving since Sept 2014 when my husband died. I have been running long haul or dedicated since that time. Being out of Idaho, most of my runs have been a minimum of 10 days out up to 4 to 6 weeks out. Recently I changed jobs from being out 10 to 12 days to now being out 3 to 5 weeks.

My helper that mows my yard and did my irrigation water stopped doing the irrigation a couple years ago and I have another guy doing it. The lawn guy drives by my house everyday on the way to his house and he has a key to go in and check things out. The irrigation guy has had calves out in the pasture, so was at the house every day in the evening and he keeps an eye on the place also. He doesn't charge me anything cause he's getting free pasture rent, although the price of calves are high and he doesn't have any on there yet this year. Then another friend who doesn't have a vehicle, uses mine and is in and out of the place sporadically, so it keeps people wondering....if they're eyeing my place. I found out that my neighbor across the street has been keeping an eye on my place also.

I talked with my mail lady and rather than rent a box and have to change all my junk mail, I just send her a text message when I'm going to be home and she delivers it. Then I let her know again when I'm leaving and she holds it at the post office. Being out 4 to 6 weeks, I can accumulate a lot of mail. She has to put it in a bag anyway because they don't have big enough P.O. boxes to hold all of it sometimes, especially with my medicines from the VA. That saves me the cost of a box.

As for having problems, my lawn guy has let me know when the well went out and when my freezer had problems with a whole half side of beef in it! In the fall I plug in the heat tape for my water lines and I usually don't have issues but this past year the water froze up on frost free outdoor hydrant. The guy with the calves had to get them water so he worked on it. The guys call me when there's an issue or something seems different and then let me know. Usually it's nothing but it makes me glad to have neighbors that keep an eye on my place.

Not sure how much longer I will be driving as I will be 71 next month and I would like to enjoy some retirement. I see things from the road that I would like to explore but with the runs I do, there's no time to take off on the road.

Laura

Thanks for all your suggestions.

The house sitting & Air B&B are probably not for me. A security system is a must and todays systems being more than just burglar alarms should be able to alert to something like a furnace outage. Perhaps it's more of a property management company question although one small house might not be worth their while. BK is correct in that I should be able to get back periodically. It's really just a question of peace of mind knowing that if something happens when I am hundreds of miles away, I have someone to call upon to get it taken care of. The local security system company might know of someone. My lawn guy is not close by and our local post office likely does not have the personal level of service that Laura's does!

Brad

Thanks for all your suggestions.

The house sitting & Air B&B are probably not for me. A security system is a must and todays systems being more than just burglar alarms should be able to alert to something like a furnace outage. Perhaps it's more of a property management company question although one small house might not be worth their while. BK is correct in that I should be able to get back periodically. It's really just a question of peace of mind knowing that if something happens when I am hundreds of miles away, I have someone to call upon to get it taken care of. The local security system company might know of someone. My lawn guy is not close by and our local post office likely does not have the personal level of service that Laura's does!

Brad

We 'country folk' (Laura & I) wouldn't need an external service, either. Post office is small and awesome here, too. City folk, it's different; I know. As far as property management, going through your security company for referrals is a great idea.

My niece in Florida is a Realtor, and her sister/my other niece, runs the property management side; they have MANY accounts similar to what you seek. I know, can't give you a Sarasota/Bradenton referral, but the concept exists. So many folks have winter homes in Florida, it's actually a lucrative business.

Let us know; this is a great topic to have handy, for future driver prospects coming into this industry.

Best always,

~ Anne ~

ps: With the way AirB&B is all over the media lately, I wouldn't dare, either! 16 people is 'NOT' a party!!

DO NOT RENT is my recommendation. I have had three of the past five renters at the same property end up in courts over money. A giant hassle, even after findings in my behalf with all three. Hold onto the property with the current economy. It's only going to get worse.

Property management companies would love to take on your house. It's minimal work on their end. Having worked in this field single family homes are easy especially if its owner occupied and just needs periodic check ups.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

The house sitting & Air B&B are probably not for me. A security system is a must and todays systems being more than just burglar alarms should be able to alert to something like a furnace outage. Perhaps it's more of a property management company question although one small house might not be worth their while. BK is correct in that I should be able to get back periodically. It's really just a question of peace of mind knowing that if something happens when I am hundreds of miles away, I have someone to call upon to get it taken care of. The local security system company might know of someone. My lawn guy is not close by and our local post office likely does not have the personal level of service that Laura's does!

Brad