Planning to go OTR with boyfriend

Don't do it. You'll end up hating each other

 

Boyfriend...sounds like you couple possibly be left at any corner across the US if these went south

 

have you ever gone camping with your BF for a weekend? in a two man tent?

magnify that by a thousand.

as for jobs while he drives.

look into a newspaper as a proofreader,. you can do it digital. and anywhere with a laptop.

 

I do, but you won't want me to post the answer to this question.

And I would give up the idea entirely, to ride with him... Unless you can drive the truck also, you will go nuts, and you will drive each other nuts.

Trust me!

 

Every time you tell your boyfriend that he needs to stop so you can use a restroom you'll be cutting into his ability to earn a living and he's going to resent you for that. His paychecks are going to be small enough without having money deducted from his check every time he has to stop so you can use the restroom. When you complain about how small his checks are he's going to turn it around on you and blame you for how small the checks are and it's going to be a big argument.

 

I think this will be trouble.

I have had my wife who was a full CDL driver with me in our rig which is about ya smaller than your bathroom constantly in motion in all weather, all parts of the USA. Despite our best efforts we have had several bad days where we crossed swords for one reason or another related to the problems inherent in trucking from time to time.

You will probably be all happy to be traveling with him on day one. By day three you wonder what now? And still 2 more to Boston Market or something. Then you will see things that are not so nice out there. You might even think your BF driver is treated badly sometimes. He gets to be told what to do, when to do it, where to go and how to run it.

I think to get even deeper by saying retail eating each week is expensive. If you are out long enough to drain your money and then have to feed two people on his little paycheck that is either feast or famine each week? Ha....

If you really want a eyeful, come to Memphis or Chicago southside or some of the other areas such as East St Louis...

I dont think this will work out between you two. You would have left your employment without another (Which is really kind of stupid to be honest...) and you have not been exposed to the physical and mental demands of actual trucking I don't think. And winter is already here with a storm ongoing in the Casper WY Area. You might live far away like 2000 miles from Wyoming and tell to me why am I reading about winter because you might be up there on chains three nights from now.

Finally sleeping in a truck in motion? Ha... do you really trust your BF with your life? Your first night will be sleepless. Then you will spend the second day massaging the owies out of your muscles until you gain a set of tolerance for the constant motion.

I did not take my wife with me anywhere until I have spent weeks and months verbally answering her questions and teaching her everything possible. So she knew what she was getting into. And when we actually have situations come up like a pretty prositute ask me for a date in a bullpen somewhere and she overheard it through the cab window? It could end very badly if she did not already know what to expect there. It worked out well.

Why did she stop? Well she started gaining weight partly through destruction of her life long sleep cycle and the constant stressors related to the running. That was a red flag to us and we agreed it was best to have her stop that year, she has already managed to do pretty much the entire USA some mexico and canada with a emphasis on the rockies on ice. Which most trainees do not get to do sometimes. She got her fill. After a few years the weight issue was resolved as well.

A very long time ago, a wise Marine told me this tidbit. If you like someone very much, see if you still like each other when it's raining and you two are in a difficult situation. It's not the most beautiful picture but you will learn very fast about each other and it might not work out.

Whatever you do, have enough money to get home yourself from any point in the entire United States. If he goes into Canada, make sure you have a passport on you. There are other considerations as well, such as signing a passenger waiver etc.

 

To me, it depends on you. He can have you working for him. There is plenty to do in that truck. The wife when she was with me for 30 days had lots to do. The reason for only 30 days was because I never got paid. Hard to work for some one when you have bills and the company you drive for stiffs you. Yet they still want you to pull more loads.

Yet my wife was the secretary of sorts. The spare set of eyes to help find a address. She was the one replying to the Qualcomm when it kept yelping for no reason. Granted she would read it out and I would offer what to say for a reply. There were other things that helped alot. I would need to slide the tandem. So I would mark with a tire crayon the end of the pin and what hole it should go to. Then she would make a fist when I was at the correct spot and pop the pin. She was my spotter that I could rely on. She did quite a bit of work. We both lost 20 pounds, granted some of that was the lack of pay.

The job is what you make of it. Sit around and do nothing it is a boring ride. Be useful to the driver and it will be quite the adventure in your life.

 

During our training period, I carried the whole rig and her papers too. Double checked everything into the third week. Nothing moved without me checking 24/7.

One day she asked is there anything I can do to help you get through this paperwork? At that time it was consuming about two hours of my time per day to send off a proper trip pack into courior services. I finally said here. You can have at this, it's time you learned.....

What I had forgotten was she used to be in Admin HQ at Cherry Point in the Marines and paperwork was no problem to her.... Then working the QC, then the cell, then bosses, then then then.

What's left for me to worry about? Not much, only the big stuff like sliding tandems etc...

 

Let me put it this way:

My girlfriend, who is my heart AND a driver in her own right,and I would probably slaughter each other by the end of week two of riding in the same truck. There are just little things that we do different that can become really BIG things in that small a space.

Plus, I don't care how strong the relationship is, you should ALWAYS have money of your own!! This is something I stressed as important to me when my girlfriend and I started dating. She has her income and job, I have mine. As we are not currently living together, we also have our separate bills and households to maintain.

One more thing. Everybody has their own private "thing" they do that doesn't necessarily involve their partner. My girlfriend has various online communities she moderates for plus hobbies, and I have my gaming and hobbies. It becomes hard to keep your "thing" yours when you are stuck in a small room 24/7 with your partner. Just sayin'.