Do Local Drivers Of Trailer Trucks Make The Most Money?

As Clint Eastwood once said, a man (or woman) has to know his/her limitations. More than how much money you can make, you have to know what your physical, mental and spiritial limits are. A good thing to know is the exact lifting requirements of the job. How many pounds is a local shipping container driver, for example, supposed to lift (using body mechanics) on a regular basis besides his own body weight up into the cab seat? This question is dead serious. A driver on some other web source claimed that delivering fuel to a gas station was "not that labor-intensive". The hose supposedly weighed 15 pounds. Gravity does most of the work.

Fwiw one local straight truck job that isn’t particularly labor intensive (from what I’ve seen anyways) is hauling roll off containers. I imagine it doesn’t pay particularly well but I don’t know

Where I live it pays 25.00 an hour. We just had a guy quit to go do it. He liked that there was no physical labor and that they got to work 12 hours a day. We get paid more but generally only work 8 hours a day.

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search to study the PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS of truck drivers and found out this according to the DOT:

Physical Requirements of the Job.​ As regulated by the Department of Transportation and other government agencies, truck drivers must be able to perform the following to prove adequate health and fitness: Pass a Department of Transportation physical and drug test. Be able to walk 20 minutes a day without exertion. Enter and exit equipment by stepping and kneeling. Lift 40 lbs. from your waist to your shoulders. Lift 30 lbs. from the floor to your head. Crouch and squat for pre- and post-trip inspections. Push 80 lbs. and pull 100 lbs. horizontally. Repeat the actions shown in the exercise videos below.

Squatting and crouching might prove troublesome for me knowing my own body. Often being in a prolonged squat or a crouch, I will feel light-headed, dizzy, short of breath and/or heart feel heart palpitations esepcially when recovering from this position. When doing work down low, I have an easier time on my hands and knees, or sitting in a chair, sitting on the edge of the bathtub to clean the toilet, lying on a mechanic's creeper, laying on my side on the floor or laying on my stomach. When I put air in the tires of my car, I need to use a folding chair.

I’ve been through many DOT physicals and never once was I required to lift, push or pull any weight or walk for any distance.

The summary extent of exertion for the basic, no-touch freight OTR driver is climbing into/out of the trailer, applying load locks/straps for load securement, pulling the pin to move the tandems , raising and lowering the landing gear, climbing into and out of the truck, attaching/detaching trailer service lines, and “duck walking” under the trailer to ensure a positive coupling occurred with the kingpin.

They are concerned about weight, blood pressure, vision, prescription Med use, and any chronic physical or/or mental conditions that compromise safety and performance.

I know this is all a ruse for you “Mr. Ambrose”, but valuable information for serious inquiries made by other forum members.

Duck walking under a rig might be a deal-breaker for some considering this gig. It's certainly something an Uber driver doesn't have to do. Only you know your own body better than any company doctor giving you a physical. Before considering driving a truck, do some work bending, squatting, stooping and crouching to see how your own body fares as a personal home test. Rotate your own automobile tires at home using a car jack, wheel chocks and jack stands to see what your level of endurance is. Torquing down the lug nuts by hand can be strenuous enough to make you short-winded or have a racing heart. The exertion situation is much worse during extreme hot or cold weather. Squat down, don't kneel, to weed your yard by hand. Squat down to clean your home's toilet and baseboards around your walls. See how your joints and bones and muscles feel. Do you get short-winded after standing up from a prolonged squatting position? Does your heart beat fast or do you feel dizzy upon standing back up? Try duck walking as an exercise to see if your heart palpitates, you feel dizzy or short winded. Truck driving might not be ideal for chronic arthritis sufferers or those with certain orthopedic, cardiovascular or respiratory issues.

Clint Eastwood is Mayor Eastwood now…

…we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

If you are having all those health problems you may want to see if you can get yourself in better shape. I ended up losing a lot of weight to get my A1C under control. In the process my bad back got much better from strengthening it.

Good advice.

However “Mr. Ambrose” is one of many alias names for the infamous TT troll Todd. He has no intention of ever driving a truck. We tolerate his existence because on occasion he does ask good questions…

If you are having all those health problems you may want to see if you can get yourself in better shape. I ended up losing a lot of weight to get my A1C under control. In the process my bad back got much better from strengthening it.

We tolerate his existence because on occasion he does ask good questions

It's like we keep him around as an unofficial mascot🤣

Great point though. If people here can benefit from the information given in response to his questions, why not tolerate him?