The Wife Of A New Trucker

Hi everyone.

I want to start off by saying that I’m not a truck driver, nor do I plan of becoming one. My husband who many of you may know as Jason t from LI is trying to break into the world of trucking.

Tomorrow, August 28,2023 he start orientation for Western Express. In my heart of heart I wish him the very best. I know it’s not easy getting into the trucking business. I have an uncle who’s a tractor trailer driver for the past 35yrs, 20 of those years he was OTR. I already know it’s a very tough life and can be very lonely.

I think there’s a misconception about the trucking business that really ad truly needs to be clarified. I think one of the big reasons why people such as my husband are so attracted of the idea of being a trucker is the misleading advertisements. “Become a truck driver and make $170k a year”. What they don’t say is in order to make that $170k a year, you have to LIVE in your truck for a year straight, drive for thousands of miles without a day off.

Which leads my to this post. So as I said my husband starts orientation tomorrow with Western Express. Of course the recruiter Sarah promised him the world. Two days orientation and two weeks with a trainer. Somehow I find all of this to good to be true. There’s a catch here somewhere.

Right now they have Jason staying at The Red Roof Inn. He sent me pictures of his room. I have to say it’s DISGUSTING!! GOD know when the bathtub was cleaned. Gross!!!! This leaves a bad taste in both of our mouths. I told him to leave the roaches in Pennsylvania please.

I want to know the REAL story behind this orientation. I want to know exactly how long will he be gone for? Will he be gone a week, two weeks, six months, a year? As his wife of a truck driver what exactly can I expect?

I read all about Western Express, they talk a good game but what EXACTLY is the reality they’re not advertising? I do know this, at the present time he’s not a flatbed driver. So since this is Trucking Truth, lay it on me. Please give me the reality thank you.

(Please note when I say, "you", I'm referring to drivers in general)

I understand it is difficult to avoid preconceived notions about what the OTR life entails. However, everyone's journey is unique. One thing you can expect is the unexpected, both positive and negative to be honest.

On the negative side of the ledger there are times when a new driver may feel like there is a lack of support. Or maybe problems will arise for which solutions can not be found in a manual, nor for which training can properly prepare you. Problem solving is a big part of driving.

Solving problems most efficiently comes with experience. Communicating problems quickly to your fleet manager is a good idea until you learn how to solve them on your own.

Most companies have a policy of earning one day off for every week spent over the road. I personally took home time every month to 6 weeks.

For most, learning how to be efficient and how best to achieve bonuses that raise your income is a slow process. There is a lot to learn. Some adapt quickly and make a good amount of money their first year. Others start off slowly (I'm pointing at me) then begin to make good money after a year or more of experience.

"Slow and steady" at first is a good, safe way to start a career. Avoiding accidents, communicating any delays quickly, and delivering on time are most important to concentrate on at the start of your career. Optimizing driving time and good clock management skills will naturally become second nature over time.

Hopefully one of our drivers who have experience with Western Express can offer you some more specific answers to how long orientation and training will be. Most companies send a driver home upon completing their training in order to buy and stock their trucks with any necessities they require to live in the truck for a month or more at a time.

Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

Sorry, Sabrina, I forgot to mention that you can type "Western Express" in the search bar to sort through past posts concerning the company. You might glean some useful information in some of those posts.

Hi

Thank you for writing back. Can you fix the title of this post? Auto correct stinks. It’s supposed to say “The Wife Of A New Trucker”. The hank you.

So basically you’re saying he can be on the road for months at a time? Ok well this brings up a good question, how do your spouses deal with the trucker being away from home for so long?

This website is great for the truckers point of view, what about the families point of view? Where is our support?

Hi Sabrina. Thank you for posting, you bring up a very important issue. And don’t worry about the typos, we know what you are saying.

We don’t hear enough feedback from the wives/significant others of drivers. Just speaking for me, I would be very interested in knowing more from the “wife” perspective.

But I do know enough to say that it is a very unique and challenging lifestyle for couples. Like any successful relationship, it needs to be a two way street. We concentrate on the driver, but the other person at home is no less important and cannot be ignored. It has to be a team effort.

With certain jobs, like OTR , the driver will be on the road for extended periods of time. Maybe several months before getting home time. One way the industry has dealt with this is by allowing drivers to take a passenger. This arrangement varies by company. I don’t know what the policy is at Western Express. But if a family has children at home, ride-a-longs may not be possible.

So yes, the truck driving demands do not work for every couple. And the $170,000 per year is pure BS. I’ve never even seen such an advertisement like that, unless it’s for an owner/operator. Beginning company drivers will make about 40 to 50 the first year and there will be a lot of sacrifice along the way.

I hope your post opens the floodgates for other wives:significant others to post about their experiences and perspectives.

Hi BK

Thank you for responding. I would love to be a ride-along, unfortunately that would not be possible. I work for the government (not the post office) and we have kittens.

I would love for the spouses of the drivers to come forward. As much of support system the drivers have, we on the other end need that same support system.

There’s an old saying “Teamwork makes the dream work”. We all must work together. So if anyone has any advise, we’re all here to listen. Thank you.

Hi Sabrina. Thank you for posting, you bring up a very important issue. And don’t worry about the typos, we know what you are saying.

We don’t hear enough feedback from the wives/significant others of drivers. Just speaking for me, I would be very interested in knowing more from the “wife” perspective.

But I do know enough to say that it is a very unique and challenging lifestyle for couples. Like any successful relationship, it needs to be a two way street. We concentrate on the driver, but the other person at home is no less important and cannot be ignored. It has to be a team effort.

With certain jobs, like OTR , the driver will be on the road for extended periods of time. Maybe several months before getting home time. One way the industry has dealt with this is by allowing drivers to take a passenger. This arrangement varies by company. I don’t know what the policy is at Western Express. But if a family has children at home, ride-a-longs may not be possible.

So yes, the truck driving demands do not work for every couple. And the $170,000 per year is pure BS. I’ve never even seen such an advertisement like that, unless it’s for an owner/operator. Beginning company drivers will make about 40 to 50 the first year and there will be a lot of sacrifice along the way.

I hope your post opens the floodgates for other wives:significant others to post about their experiences and perspectives.

So basically you’re saying he can be on the road for months at a time

...the driver will be on the road for extended periods of time. Maybe several months before getting home time.

I'm not sure if BK misspoke here. It is true that you can be on the road for months at a time. That's the driver's choice though. In my experience and from what I've learned about other companies, a driver decides how long they want to stay out before taking some time at home.

For example, you can stay out for 3 weeks then take 3 days off. You can stay out for a month then take 4 days off. Unless I'm mistaken, no company forces a driver to stay out several months at a time. If they did I'd most certainly not want to drive for that company.

Can you fix the title of this post? Auto correct stinks.

Unfortunately I can't. But like BK said, we know what the title was supposed to say. Typos occur so often (since it's not possible to edit a post after submitting it) that nobody bats an eye at them. Hitting the preview button and reading your post prior to sending it has saved my from making many a typo😁.

Where is our support?

Another one of our active members, Harvey C. is not a driver himself, but his son is. He frequently participates in discussions and occasionally asks questions on his son's behalf. So don't worry if you're not a driver. You can still participate and ask questions. Hopefully it will act as a form of support to stay involved and understand more about the business of driving. Another member, Anne, has a husband who drives and she is (or was) very active on the forum as well.

Hi Sabrina. I started driving in 2016. The first company I drove for was strictly OTR in the refrigerated division, which is what I chose.

It required drivers to be out a minimum of 2 weeks and you got 1 day off for every week you were out.

The driver could decide if they wanted to be out beyond 2 weeks or not. I did not.

I got along very well with my dispatcher and she would work hard to get me home a couple of days early and let me stay home for a few days instead of the 2 days I should've had.

The relationship between the driver and dispatch can make your life on the road easy or rough.

There were times (very few) when she couldn't get me home in exactly two weeks also. But it was never more than a day or two late and she'd make sure I got an extra day or two at home for the inconvenience.

I hope it works out for you.

So basically you’re saying he can be on the road for months at a time

...the driver will be on the road for extended periods of time. Maybe several months before getting home time.

I'm not sure if BK misspoke here. It is true that you can be on the road for months at a time. That's the driver's choice though. In my experience and from what I've learned about other companies, a driver decides how long they want to stay out before taking some time at home.

For example, you can stay out for 3 weeks then take 3 days off. You can stay out for a month then take 4 days off. Unless I'm mistaken, no company forces a driver to stay out several months at a time. If they did I'd most certainly not want to drive for that company.

Can you fix the title of this post? Auto correct stinks.

Unfortunately I can't. But like BK said, we know what the title was supposed to say. Typos occur so often (since it's not possible to edit a post after submitting it) that nobody bats an eye at them. Hitting the preview button and reading your post prior to sending it has saved my from making many a typo😁.

Where is our support?

Another one of our active members, Harvey C. is not a driver himself, but his son is. He frequently participates in discussions and occasionally asks questions on his son's behalf. So don't worry if you're not a driver. You can still participate and ask questions. Hopefully it will act as a form of support to stay involved and understand more about the business of driving. Another member, Anne, has a husband who drives and she is (or was) very active on the forum as well.

RD, thanks for pointing out my mistake. My comment should have made it clear that being out several months or more is usually at the driver’s discretion. It’s more normal to be out 3 weeks or less before taking home time.

I’m my situation I like to be out for extended periods of time, but it’s not for everyone.

RD, thanks for pointing out my mistake. My comment should have made it clear that being out several months or more is usually at the driver’s discretion

No worries, Bruce. I figured that's what you meant.😉