Read The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream

Trucking isn't a job. It's a lifestyle. Your home away from home because you're never home. Unless you part time only.

At the same time it's a job with a lot of BS that comes with. Govt AND company.

 

Eh. It's what you choose to make of it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Those that say it's just a job and those that say it's a lifestyle are both correct in their own way. I've met guys with beautiful trucks and trailers that have nothing but that truck and trailer - and they seem quite happy with that arraignment. Myself, I couldn't do that. I've met guys driving what I'd call complete garbage that live in some really nice homes in nice areas and they seem content with their situations as well.

You can spend your time looking at all that's wrong with the industry (and there's a lot) and become depressed and miserable, or you can wake up in the morning and focus on the good things. It's totally up to you.

For the OTR crowd, my hats off to y'all. I did it for two years, loved it. But I love my wife and kids much more than the paycheck.

As it stands now I am fortunate that I make as much, or more than most OTR guys and gals, and I'm home daily, and usually only working about 10-11 hours a day, five days a week. So my thoughts are jaded a bit.

I was in a funk a while back, I was pretty miserable, and looking to hang up the keys. Then I started looking at other options and opportunities. I realized that nothing really suited me as well as what I do now. I've been able to afford a life that suits me and my family, and been able to lend a hand to people in need a time or two. We don't live like kings and queens but we aren't struggling either. So for now, this is where I will be

 

Having done both local and OTR, trucking is just a job if you're local or regional and home on the weekends. Trucking is a lifestyle if you're OTR.

The Uber driver making $1,000 in 3 days is doing that on the weekends and in a mid sized to large sized city working 10-12 hours per day and during the midnight hours, so let's get that out of the way first of all and get rid of the notion that this Uber driver is working a normal M-F 9-5 job. That's not the case.

The Uber driver also has to pay his own health insurance, his own car insurance (which will be more if you're doing Uber), not have the tax advantaged 401k's and employer matches for retirement, and is at the mercy of customers in terms of getting tips and for safety related issues. You also have to be around people 90% of the day - How many OTR truckers like being around people for 90% of a 10-12 hour work day? See how many tips you get as an Uber driver if you can't carry a conversation. They also have wear and tear on their car. They are also 1099 workers so that $1,000 is not going to go as far as $1,000 will go on a W-2 salary because they are paying their own social security taxes and medicare taxes, which the EMPLOYERS pay for the employees when the employee is a W2 worker.

$1500 X 52 = $78,000

I would wager Uber drivers can gross $1500 per week working about 60 hours per week (when you include waiting time and down time in between rides as well as commuting to and from your house) and that's working every weekend including the graveyard shifts on the weekends, as well as being on a 1099 salary and if they never took a vacation. Since these Uber drivers are home daily, that also means they are paying rent/mortgage, utilities, upkeep and taxes if they are on a mortgage. Oh yeah, and Uber drivers don't get per diem tax breaks either like OTR truckers do.

I could go on.

Let's not act like unskilled jobs like Uber are paying better than OTR. They're not. I don't care what your Uber drivers are telling you, they're not.

 

That’s not what these guys do, they hustle. The good ones….They have Uber, they have lyft, they do DoorDash, they do Instacart, they do Amazon deliveries, they do medical deliveries, medical supply deliveries, and all sorts of other things and they have them all on their phone and they know what hours and what areas to work which ones. Coordinating and putting together a $2000 a week net average. In a midsize market area. How do I know this? Because I’ve done it. The company I work for had a slow period….A couple months ago and I had a week off a couple times. I fired up my apps. I went out from 7 AM to about 11pm I did this Friday and Saturday and half of Sunday. I took breaks, I went to the gym, I stopped and went and ate at a restaurant I wanted, I went for a walk in the park. I made $300-$400 each of those days. I also did $140, $170 on two weekdays working just 4-6 hours.

here’s the other thing, I got to thinking. In the middle of the town where I live I have a 20 x 30‘ storage unit that I pay $400 a month for… Prior to going into trucking I was flipping stuff out of there. Refinishing furniture, fixing washers and dryers, selling anything and everything. I was averaging $1500 a week doing that. if I were to coordinate those two things, ridesharing deliveries etc. etc. and stop to meet people when they wanted to buy stuff because I’d be able to anytime I wanted, I probably could make $2500 a week. Yes I’d be hustling from morning till night, but I’d be home, on my own turf, sleeping in my own bed, cuddling with my girlfriend, eating at the restaurant I want, taking a break and seeing family whenever I want, the list goes on and on. Lol

Versus OTR? You read all the above now read this. OTR? That’s your life end of story. Lol you ain’t doing anything else if you do OTR. Nothing.

i’m going to say it again, I do OTR because I enjoy doing it for the time being. When I quit enjoying it, I won’t do it anymore. Life is too short. The point of this thread is that the industry as a whole is not doing enough to attract quality drivers into the system. There’s just too many other ways to make this same amount of money. I just gave you an example. I can give you a lot more. A lot of truck drivers get stuck in the mentality that it’s the only option for them. And for some that may be true. For most it’s just the fact that they don’t realize That in the current work environment you can make $20 an hour flipping burgers. Lol

 

It’s never changes. I think it’s a natural progression for most. Once it’s time to quit. It’s always the same story. “ It ain’t like it used to be, and I wound’t want to be starting out now.” Holds true for many Occupations. It’s a way of letting go and accepting change. I’ve always suspected this, and find it true for myself now. Still adjusting to getting older. I honestly want no part of it. Lol.

 

The pay should be about 30% more.

 

Yeah but you'll never get 40 hours in a week flipping burgers. Fast food joints send workers home when business is slow. You're probably a rarity making that kind of money doing Uber and Lyft. Yet you still had to grind from sun-up to sundown, just like truckers do. You might can sleep in your own bed every night, but you still gotta work ultra long hours to make decent coin. It's tough at that point to enjoy life the way you'd like. When I worked a local driving job, it was a worse trade off than OTR to me. I had to commute to Nashville, and then do at least 12 hrs each day. Some days would be 16 hr days. I'd have weekends off but I'd be too tired to do anything. If I got off the road now, I'd need to work a whole lot to meet all of my obligations because my dumb behind couldn't stop making babies. Trucking OTR doesn't guarantee a long day everyday for me, but life off the road in a "normal setting," would guarantee long days every day because most jobs don't pay what trucking pays. Trucking pays good money considering what we do.

 

You're right. Even if you are with one of the really good companies who treat drivers right. The company needs to make a profit. If profit turns into loss, you're expendable. It's just a job.

 

See the thing about me is I often play devils advocate. Lol. But here’s the thing like I said in that very extremely long winded post above. I actually enjoy OTR work. Call me crazy if you like but I actually enjoy it. If the day comes when I don’t enjoy it? Then I won’t do it anymore. And I’ll probably go do the above that I just described. Definitely got some gypsy blood in me and I like being out on the open road. In fact when I go home and I have more than three days off I almost don’t know what to do with myself. And you’re correct, if you wanna make equal money doing rideshare and deliveries and such, you’re going to put in long days. I think the main advantage is, you just have that freedom. Another aspect I left out, is you don’t get any benefits like health insurance etc. with the above that I described. You’re pretty much on your own. You get some ailment pop up and you’re doing rideshare and flipping and stuff, you’re gonna be paying for that out of pocket too.

 

I can do it cheaper...