Why Do OTR Companies Think They Are Such Hot Stuff?

I've been driving Class A trucks for over 9 years. I have doubles/triples, hazmat , and tanker endorsements. I've driven tankers loaded with HCl acid, liquified nitrogen, overweight, oversize, drop axles, flatbeds, lowboys, specialized, whatever.... I have experience with overwidth equipment with escorts, special permits, etc. I've worked in places where most drivers would soil themselves to even think a truck could get into. I've had to have two D9 dozers pull me out of some of the mud holes I've been in in the oilfield, but one way or another, I've always gotten the job done. I have no felonies, no tickets, and no accidents in the last 9 years as a commercial driver.

My failing, apparently, is that I have mostly driven day cabs, and haven't had a sleeper, since there's something special about "OTR" expereience. I don't understand why all of you are so much better drivers than I am, but I am humbly asking your help now. What should I do, and where should I go to get a decent job in the long-haul trucking industry with 9 years experience but by being a dumbass who has no applicable OTR experience, only useless "local" experience? I don't expect the top pay in the industry or anything like that, but I will not spend thousands of dollars to go back to a driving school where I'm more qualified to be an instructor than a student. I just see over and over again"OTR", "OTR", "OTR"...but there is a MUCH bigger world out there than just OTR. I'm by no means the best driver in the world, but I have the experience to drive circles around most OTR drivers out there.

I'm tired of being dirty and covered in grease and oil and mud all the time, and being expected to push the limits of human endurance using the oilfield exemptions to the FMCSR to drive at any time of the day or night. I want something a little calmer and more regulated, even if it means less pay. What should I do? Where should I go to get into the world of OTR?

And, for anyone iterested....you can double your pay by going into oilfield trucking as opposed to OTR. You need to be willing to get your hands dirty and step out of the cab of your truck on occasion, or often, but they WILL pay you well for it. You will be pushed to the limits of what is legally allowed, and beyond, you'll be dirty, tired, and probably yelled at by some high-school drop-out idiot, but you'll have opportunities to make craploads of money. The drop in oil prices recently has slowed the demand for oilfield positions, but don't be fooled: The price of oil WILL go up again, and the demand for oilfield drivers will also go up.

Hello Joe, and welcome to the forum!

Wow, you just jumped in here with both barrels loaded! Let me tell you that all of us are as frustrated as you about what qualifies as experience, but it is not the OTR companies thinking they are "hot stuff". It is the insurance requirements that are what causes such grief. You want to know something? Even if you had ten years over the road experience and had stopped driving for a year or two and then wanted to get back in - you would be considered as not having experience. It is the new reality - get used to it. There are plenty of ways to go through a refresher program that is free at many companies. The biggest problem you are going to have is swallowing down your pride with out choking on it so that you can get a job.

Well if you go to school that don't help to get a job only a couple of company will hire . All want 2 years otr what I have found out .

Hey Joe......I'm in the same boat as you except I have 1.5 million miles OTR but haven't driven OTR in a few years. If I wanted to get back into it I would have to do a refresher of some sort also. So it's not just about having OTR experience or recent class A experience with the major companies....it's about having "recent OTR experience"........

I know exactly how you feel and so do thousands of other drivers who were away from OTR for a short while but want to get back on with a major company.

Now the smaller companies are where you need to go if you want to avoid any sort of refresher. They aren't going to worry about that the way the majors will. Here's two places to look:

We have our own Truck Driving Job Listings and you can even Apply For Truck Driving Jobs With One Application.

The other place to look is Craigslist. A lot of smaller companies advertise there and you'll find some opportunities that way.

Listen, you know how it is with large corporations. They make one set of rules and apply it across the board to everyone without considering individual merits. They simply don't have the time to consider each and every human being's specific circumstances. They make a rule that's safe and apply it everywhere. It's annoying, often counter-productive.....but that's how it is.

So you can jump through a few hoops with the majors or shoot for a smaller company. Even 3 months of OTR with pretty much anyone will land you job opportunities all over the place. They just want to know you've been out there recently doing it.

. . . and bring your Tux so you blend in with the rest of us uppity OTR drivers . . .

Jopa

Joe you are probably a better driver than me. What I have noticed is some companies are all about the process as well as getting the load delivered and that plays into their decisions. I.e. You gotta process the info thru Qualcomm in specific order before moving on. My company has you tell them what time will be left on your 11,14&70 clocks after the delivery. All I'm saying is it is no longer just about getting the load delivered on time. Good luck & thanks again TT for getting me rolling.

From a recruiters perspective I can tell you one of the issues is simply a very pragmatic one. People who claim they want to be OTR , but haven't done it before don't really know what they are getting into. So if I put them in a truck doing OTR, I often get the call, "this isn't for me". Neither the carrier nor I find that to be very successful.

On the other hand if you tell me you did OTR team work for 4 years taking mushrooms from Philly to Saint Louis, I can trust your knowledge of the life style is sufficient to believe you really will run Carlisle to LAX over and over again.

As for insurance restrictions, those are real too, but there are plenty of carriers who would make you OTR based on your experience.