Pretty much know the answer

[CrowntheKing]

But would like some feed back if at all possible, I drove an elite straight truck with a co- driver for 3 + years at panther, we had hazmat, and went into canada, was in process of getting government clearance, but decided to leave before that happen, I was tired of being OTR for 4 weeks at a time and missing my family, and looking back I could have done things so much differently.

my partner and I gained a total of 100 plus pounds together, during those 3 years, Life just plain sucked, not to be able to take a shower every day, and sleeping at walmarts or nasty truck stops, I felt inhuman, the worst part was sitting for 3 days in good areas and not getting out, and of course I know nothing about building a client basis of brokering my own loads, I relied totaly on panther to get us loads.

I Liked the freedom of being my own boss, but the cons outweighed the pros, and I take a job making $14 hr getting paid for 40 hrs a week ( actualy only work 35 hrs but still get paid for 40 ) Im home every night to sleep in my bed, take a crap on my toilet and a shower whenever I want too. and I've lost 56 lbs since being off the truck

Im making $14hr im enrolled in a 401k medical is cheap in october im expecting a 5% raise, but I don't see myself moving up in the company Im stuck in the job im in

I miss the open road and I know things would be alot different know, I would take more pride in myself and the way I would live on the road, a truck with a shower and toilet would be a great benefit.

I'm 28 years old, no wife, no kids, nothing to tide me down to home, so should I get back into expedite, I can only imagine what has changed in the past 3 years I've been out of business

Background. Class A license but no exp
Driven class b straight truck for 3 years with panther over 500k team miles I think, great references from former owner, oh ya I would want to drive for somebody, I'm a clean cut kid no drugs, alcohol, don't smoke. my only vice is that im still fat, but im dropping the weight,

Should I look into getting back on the road???
IF so I would want a nice truck with alot of toys, and I'd be willing to stay out 4 weeks an home for 1 week, can go into canada, would prefer not to be gov. cleared but would consider it, and I can go into cananda and I have HAZMAT

Sorry bout the long post, but I await the go getters and nay sayers
Thanks John

 

[ConfusedMuse]

I understand your enticment in this business. But, a job that pays 14.00@hour + bennies? Personally I dont hold much stock in 401's but each to his own. Wouldn't a periodic road trip relieve your itchy feet, and wanderlust be better than to re-enter the expedite business? I don't consider myself a naysayer, but i suppose i could be.
The enjoyment of showering at my convienance, not if I have time, and the knowledge that the last person in the shower was me, not a multitude of who knows what is a great persuader to stay at home. Not sure how many companies are hiring solos but Im sure they are out there. You just need to find your own niche. Best of luck.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Let me guess... the go getters will tell you yes, and the nay sayers... you get the idea.

I'm going to be a nay sayer. Stay happy in your $14/hr, 35hr/week job. They're pretty hard to find. If expediting has made you miserable enough to leave it, believe me... the nasty truckstops and Walmart parking lots are still there. And the biggest thing... I have this urge to denounce toy trucks, and their showers, as the Col would. But I'll refrain.

 

[nightcreacher]

IMO if your going to get into a straight truck,with the level of competition between the straight trucks in the company you were with,and the rest of the straights between the other companies,things haven't changed that much.If you decided to get into a tractor,you'd find your self running more than sitting,but that would be if your with the right company
good luck

 

[pjjjjj]

Sorry bout the long post, but I await the go getters and nay sayers
Thanks John

Hey CrowntheKing, interesting 'nick', how did you end up choosing that one?

Ok, I'll be a naysayer too. Keep the day job! Your post contains quite a few red flags for making it as an expediter!
Namely:

- I was tired of being OTR for 4 weeks at a time and missing my family
-my partner and I gained a total of 100 plus pounds together, during those 3 years
-Life just plain sucked
-not to be able to take a shower every day
-sleeping at walmarts or nasty truck stops
-I felt inhuman
-worst part was sitting for 3 days in good areas and not getting out
-I know nothing about building a client basis of brokering my own loads
-the cons outweighed the pros
-a truck with a shower and toilet would be a great benefit
-Class A license but no exp
-I would want a nice truck with alot of toys
-I'd be willing to stay out 4 weeks an home for 1 week

Nothing has changed out there, in fact, the money part may be less satisfactory now than before. You may be sitting even more. You may need to stay out longer than you're willing to. It sounds like you don't know how to keep yourself occupied while waiting. You're calling some shots even tho you're not in the driver's seat, so to speak. Have you learned in the meantime, how to develop a client base and broker your own loads?
It's difficult to get rid of the roadbug once bitten, but sounds like even though you may have a dead-end job, at least it's a job with benefits and vacations and weekends and paid holiday days.. sounds like you need a hobby to keep yourself content in life, outside of the job.

 

[greg334]

Sorry Dude, stay where you are at, life is a lot better there.

If you think 4 weeks out is bad, think again. If your expectations are living a motel life, it has gotten worst.

Things have change, not for the better and at your age, you have plenty of time to get in travel and see the sights.

Although many may have caught this, how can you complain about 4 weeks and not seeing your family when you claim you have no family in another paragraph?

 

[ATeam]

Whether it is better to keep the day job or return to the road depends not so much on the job but on what you like. The dislikes you listed have not changed.

Like a broken leg, the pain of the road fades as healing completes and time passes. You remember that it hurt but only the memory remains. It is not until you break your leg again that the reality of the first break returns with full force.

The experience of expediting varies with the person. Some people love the road too much to let missed showers interfere. Others love their showers too much to enjoy the road that takes daily showers away.

Diane and I have a nice truck with the creature comforts you mention but we still sleep at truck stops, Walmarts and on the street; and we try to stay out for far more than four weeks at a time.

I'm not picking up from you the love of the road that it takes to truly enjoy the life and work of expediting.

 

[Turtle]

Although many may have caught this, how can you complain about 4 weeks and not seeing your family when you claim you have no family in another paragraph?

No wife or kids, but he misses his mommy.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

No wife or kids, but he misses his mommy.

Was NOT going to go there myself!

 

[Lawrence]

I drove an elite straight truck with a co- driver for 3 + years at panther, we had hazmat, and went into canada, was in process of getting government clearance, but decided to leave before that happen, I was tired of being OTR for 4 weeks

Did you abandon the truck? If you did, that may disqualify you for rehire with most carriers.

 

[cheri1122]

CTK: as a solo who wants to spend a week at home after being out 4 wks, I seriously doubt you could earn enough to justify a truck with 'lots of toys'. That you expect it, says a lot about your priorities, IMO, and it's not the best way to persuade potential owners of your worth to them.

 

[CrowntheKing]

Although many may have caught this, how can you complain about 4 weeks and not seeing your family when you claim you have no family in another paragraph?[/QUOTE]

Ya mommy and daddy, but I have a nephew I adore and like to spend time with him, that's another thing it's hard to meet a woman on the road unless your looking in all the wrong places

 

[CrowntheKing]

Did you abandon the truck? If you did, that may disqualify you for rehire with most carriers.

No I'm not that kind of person we actualy gave a 2 week notice and more if the owner could not find a replacement, The owner of the truck was like family to us

 

[CrowntheKing]

CTK: as a solo who wants to spend a week at home after being out 4 wks, I seriously doubt you could earn enough to justify a truck with 'lots of toys'. That you expect it, says a lot about your priorities, IMO, and it's not the best way to persuade potential owners of your worth to them.

Jeez what's with the backlash, we were very good drivers for our owner, He actualy bought us a brand new truck after 9 months of driving for him, we were that good, and dispatch adored us, if they needed help we were the first ones they would call.

But after reading all of your replies it just reinforces my thoughts of not going back on the road, as for toys, just the simple necessites as I receive at home, shower,toilet,automatic,fridge, if that's alot of toys then I'm sorry.

I know the diehard expediter just needs a truck and a map, and that's probably why I wont get back into this, I've become accustom to a privileged life. Honest to god 2 1/2 years on the truck i felt out of place and INHUMAN, doing things I can't believe I did, peeing in bottles, a " S " bucket, if no rest areas deserted areas and you have to use the restroom it's terrible, I felt like a bum walking into a walmart in the morning just to use there facilities.

It's made me feel good to write this out and get it off my chest and now to know I don't want to do it, but I also appreciate things alot more and don't take them for granted, and I have a lot of respect for the rest of you Expediters that are dealing with being a trucker. It's not an easy life atleast not for me, I wish it was I loved traveling the country, I've been to every lower 48th state and 5 prov. in canada I had a blast bonding with my dad for 3 years, but it began to be a burden, sorry for the long post, but all you take care and GOD BLESS

 

[letzrockexpress]

The owner of the truck was like family to us

Uh huh...and 70% of murders are a result of domestic violence....

 

[Lawrence]

No I'm not that kind of person we actualy gave a 2 week notice and more if the owner could not find a replacement, The owner of the truck was like family to us

Okay good deal, I wasn't sure I read it correctly thanks for the clarification.

 

[cheri1122]

Sorry, didn't mean to rag on you, was just looking at it from the [potential] owner's perspective, ok?
I drive a truck like you want [but no shower], only I didn't start in it - I worked my way up. I proved that I would earn it, [running hard], and take very good care of it, first. If I were putting a driver into a truck, that's what I'd want to see, as I imaging any good owner would.
We'd ALL like to have 'all the toys', naturally - but they don't just grow on trees, sadly.
It sounds to me as if the negatives outweigh the positives for you, and you'd be unhappy after six months on the road.

 

[CrowntheKing]

Sorry, didn't mean to rag on you, was just looking at it from the [potential] owner's perspective, ok?
I drive a truck like you want [but no shower], only I didn't start in it - I worked my way up. I proved that I would earn it, [running hard], and take very good care of it, first. If I were putting a driver into a truck, that's what I'd want to see, as I imaging any good owner would.
We'd ALL like to have 'all the toys', naturally - but they don't just grow on trees, sadly.
It sounds to me as if the negatives outweigh the positives for you, and you'd be unhappy after six months on the road.

We worked our way from a 98 fl 70 to a 06 sterling after 9 months of busting our butts and showing our owner our worth, but your probably right, it would be fun to get back on the road for awhile, but I'm sure all the negative stuff would hit me again.
Trust me sitting in laredo in 120 deg weather sitting in a fl 70 no ac ringing out socks and rags in a cooler of cold water trying to stay cool was hell, now just try sleeping in that weather, WE DID, we put in our dues for that new truck

 

[cheri1122]

Or a delivery like mine last night: 450 miles of backroads, arrive at WalMart just before 11pm, ring the bell, am told to back into dock 2. Once the truck is situated, I ring the bell again, and although I can see 5 teenage guys in the dock area, [which is why I want inside, before they go on the truck], no one answers. After 10 minutes of being eaten alive by mosquitos, I'm getting steamed, so I ring the bell again, this time holding it, until finally, one guy [a bit older], says they can't open it - the only person with the key has gone off to a meeting!
Sometimes, we get treated with sublime rudeness, and sometimes, it really, really, ticks me off!
But the fact remains, I love what I do, and the positives outweigh the negatives, for me.

 

[Turtle]

"just the simple necessites as I receive at home, shower,toilet,automatic,fridge, if that's alot of toys then I'm sorry."

That's a lot of toys. Being out on the road is not the same as being at home. That's why it's called being out on the road. There are some people out here who carry all the conveniences of home, like a fridge, shower, toilet, satellite TV, you name it, much like a full-blown RV, but very few of those are driving someone else's truck.

I don't feel particularly inhuman doing this any more than I did when I was a Boy Scout on camping trips, where we didn't stay in RVs the size of a tour bus, believe it or not. No, it's true, we slept in sleeping bags inside of tents and everything. It was downright savage.