Otr trucking is not for everyone. It has its advantages and disadvantages. I put together a list of pros and cons to help those considering entering the trucking industry as an OTR truck driver.
The Pros of OTR Truck Driving
1. You Can Get Started With No Money
Not everyone considering entering the trucking industry has the budget to spend thousands on trucking school. The good news is that many companies offer free CDL training if you commit to working for them for a period of time.
2. You Can Start Quickly
The demand for drivers is high, and trucking companies want you to work for them. If you’re ready, you can begin your training within a week or two in many cases. Once you start training, it usually takes around one month to complete your course and pass all of the necessary exams to get your CDL, and then you can begin your career as an OTR Driver.
3. You Can Earn a Good Income
In 2023 as a new OTR driver, you can expect to earn at least 50k and probably even more than that. Once you get that magical one year of experience, an income of 75k or more is easily achievable and in some niches making over 100k is not unusual.
4. OTR Trucking Is the Easiest Way To Gain Experience
Many of the best jobs in the industry require one or more years of experience. By far, the easiest way to get your foot in the door is to hire on with a carrier that will train new drivers. Once you get that first year of experience, you will be eligible for many more jobs that offer better pay or more home time.
5. It’s Easy to Find a Job
If your driving and criminal records are clear and you are in good health, a job is easy to find in this industry. And it gets even easier once you gain experience. If you meet the qualifications and you are not working in the trucking industry, it’s by choice.
6. You Get to Drive
If you are the type of person, who loves driving. OTR trucking might be a dream job. Many OTR drivers rack up more miles in a month than the average person drives in a year.
7. Most Companies Offer a Benefits Package
While the benefits can vary. Most companies offer a comprehensive benefits package that adds to your overall compensation. Some companies have even started offering free health insurance to entice more drivers to work for them.
8. You Can Work Independently
You are not stuck in a cubicle or on a factory floor with your boss a few steps away watching you work. OTR trucking can offer a degree of independence and autonomy that few other professions can match. As long as you can manage your time well and deliver on time, many companies leave you alone and let you do your work without interference.
I often went weeks without actually speaking to anyone from the company. They sent my loads to the Peoplenet tablet in my truck, and I completed the work and went on to the next load. It really can be that simple.
9. You Have Control Over Your Schedule
OTR trucking is not your standard punch-a-time clock type of job. Sometimes you will have to switch up your schedule due to appointment times or your available hours of service. However you can mostly run your truck how you want. Some drivers prefer to run at night because there is less traffic, and others choose to run during daytime hours. I liked to start early in the morning, so I could be parked by mid-afternoon before the truck stops began to fill up.
10. You Can Reduce Your Bills
If you’re a single driver, you can cut out most of your bills. When you are gone most of the time you really don’t need to keep a house or an apartment. That means no rent or mortgage, no utility bills, and a whole lot fewer expenses in general.
Many OTR drivers stay with family and friends or rent a hotel room when they are on hometime because it makes better sense financially versus maintaining a home they will not see often.
You really don’t even need a car when you are an OTR driver. Getting rid of your vehicle eliminates car payments, depreciation, insurance, and maintenance which can add up to thousands of dollars each year in savings.
11. You Can Save Money or Pay Down Debt Fast
Suppose you get rid of your bills and take a few other measures, like cooking most of your meals in the truck instead of eating out. You can save money or pay down debt very fast. Imagine making 75k or more a year, and your only monthly bill is your cellphone.
Trucking can easily be a path to financial freedom and early retirement if you are smart with your money and keep your bills low.
Many smart truckers have bought investment properties or invested in the markets to create passive income streams so they can retire early or enjoy greater financial freedom.
12. You Get to See the Country
Traveling around the country can be expensive and out of reach for many. For an OTR driver, it’s just another day in the office. If you have a case of wanderlust or want to get out of your hometown, OTR driving might be for you.
The US is a vast country with many different landscapes and things to see. The view out your window when traveling I64 through West Virginia is fit for a postcard any time of the year but is especially beautiful when the fall colors peak. If that’s not your style, the desert sunsets near Carlsbad, New Mexico, might take your breath away.
That’s just two of the many beautiful things you might encounter as an OTR driver.
13. You Can Bring Your Pet to Work
Many companies have pet policies. Which pets are allowed will vary from company to company, but if you want to bring a pet with you, it’s not that hard to find a job that will allow your pet.
I brought my German Shepard with me when I was driving OTR. Having him with me helped ease the loneliness that can come with OTR driving and forced me to get out of the truck and exercise when I took him for walks. Bringing him with me on the road was one of my favorite aspects of OTR Driving.
14. You Can Avoid Office Politics
Every workplace has its share of politics and drama. But you can easily avoid getting caught up in it as an OTR driver. Most of the time, you are doing your thing on your own. And when you do need to stop by the terminal or office, it’s easy to get done what you need to do and be on your way without getting tangled up in any drama.
15. You Can Take Mini Vacations
Many companies will let you take hometime anywhere in their regular running area. If your company runs through Las Vegas, you can book your hometime in Vegas and see a show or test your luck in the casino.
I took advantage of this when I was driving OTR. I went fishing in Montana, played beach bum in Florida, and visited friends all over the country that I had not seen in years.
16. You Can Get Away From the Snow and Cold
If you live in the northern US, you know that long winters can affect your mood tremendously. As an OTR driver, you get a chance to take a break from sub-zero temps and waist-deep snow every time you take a load headed south.
17. Not Much Manual Labor
Most OTR trucking jobs feature no-touch freight. That means that someone else loads and unloads your trailer. If you have physical limitations or don’t want to do physical work, OTR trucking can be an excellent job for you.
The Cons of OTR Truck Driving
1. You Are Gone a Lot
Most OTR drivers spend weeks or even months on the road before coming home. Once they get home, they may only be there for a few days, and it’s back on the road again.
You’ll miss holidays, birthdays, funerals, and anniversaries while you are out on the road.
You can also forget about having a social life. When your friends are out having fun, you’re going to be driving across Nebraska in a snowstorm or sitting in a dock somewhere in Ohio.
2. It Gets Lonely Out There
Loneliness will affect every OTR driver at some point. Even introverts who value their solitude will feel the pangs of loneliness from time to time. Some drivers handle it well. Others struggle with it. Many drivers quit OTR driving or leave the industry entirely for this reason.
3. You Work a Lot
You will hate OTR trucking if you think 40 hours a week is a lot. OTR Truckers can work up to 70 hours every eight days and up to 14 hours each day. If they reach 70 hours before that eighth day, they take a 34-hour reset and return to work. It’s not uncommon if you’re running hard to blow through your 70-hour clock in five or six days. Take a 34 and get back on the road.
And that 70 hours don’t include all of the off-duty time waiting for someone else to do their job so you can do yours. Sitting around waiting on dispatch or waiting for the lumpers to get you unloaded also reduces your free time
4. It’s Hard on Relationships
When you are gone all the time, it strains your relationships. It takes a special person to be in a relationship with an OTR trucker. If your relationship is already on the rocks, becoming an OTR trucker will destroy any chance of repairing it.
It’s not just romantic relationships, either. Trucking is hard on every kind of relationship. If you have kids, you will miss most of the small moments. You’re going to grow apart from friends because you’re not around, and even your dog might forget who you are if it doesn’t see you for a few months.
5. Bad Traffic is Part of Life
You will deal with heavy traffic daily when passing through large cities as an OTR trucker. And traffic jams are going to happen. I guarantee you that if you stay an OTR trucker, you will be late for at least one delivery in your career because you sat on the interstate without moving for hours.
6. You Don’t Have a Bathroom
You will never understand how wonderful it is to have a bathroom in your home until you don’t have one. Duck walking across a truck stop parking lot at 3 am in a snowstorm is not a fun experience.
There are also times when no bathroom is available. Some shippers and receivers do not allow truckers to use the facilities. Imagine having to go but being stuck in a dock for hours, unable to do anything about it.
7. You Might Not Get a Shower
Generally, if you make it a priority, you can get a shower most days. While on the road, I tried to shower at least once daily and was generally successful. There will be times that you can’t, though.
Sometimes you have a tight schedule, and you won’t have a chance to pull into a truck stop and take the time to shower. The longest I went was three days, and I was getting pretty darn funky by the time it was over, despite using wipes to clean up.
8. You Will Have Many More Laws to Follow
Trucking is a very heavily regulated industry. There are many laws and rules that you will have to follow that only apply to commercial drivers. There are even dedicated officers that do nothing but enforce commercial motor vehicle laws. You will have to learn these laws and follow them, or your career as a long-haul trucker won’t last very long.
9. Long Wait Times at Customers
It’s going to happen at some point. And if you decide to pull a reefer trailer, it will probably happen often. You’re going to spend three or more hours getting loaded or unloaded. While the standard window for loading or unloading is two hours, some customers take much longer.
This is far more common if you’re pulling a reefer trailer. Long unloads are common in the reefer game. I even had several times I sat for over twenty-four hours. My record was waiting thirty-three hours for what was supposed to be a preloaded trailer.
10. Bad Weather
You will encounter bad weather. Sometimes you’re going to keep trucking through it. Others you will have to pull off or risk wrecking your truck.
I’ve seen countless trucks that were blown over due to high winds. And more than a few that slid off the road due to snow or ice. Even heavy rain can be challenging to drive in.
11. Lack of Parking
In some areas of the country, there is a shortage of truck parking. For example, finding a space after 5 pm in New Jersey can be challenging. I shut down much earlier than I would have preferred on many occasions because I would have otherwise ended up in an area with limited parking options late at night.
This can become an issue if you have a late-night appointment and need to find parking after you are done or if you’re on a tight schedule and have to drive late into the night to be in a position to make your next appointment.
12. Poor Food Choices
Truck stops are not the healthiest places to get a meal at. Often your choices are limited to fast-food burger chains or Subway. And trust me. You are going to get sick of Subway. It is by far the most common restaurant available at truck stops, and you will eat it so often that you will begin to loathe it.
13. Other Drivers are Dangerous
It seems many people lose 20 IQ points as soon as they get behind the wheel. You’ll get cut off, tailgated, and generally mistreated by the general driving public.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates nearly that in nearly 90% of crashes involving a passenger vehicle and a semi-truck, it is the passenger vehicle that caused the wreck. And it’s not just cars you need to watch out for. Plenty of truck drivers have no business being behind the wheel, either.
14. Truck Stops Have High Prices
Everything in a truck stop is more expensive. From the burritos to the GPS units, they charge a premium because they can. When driving a 70-foot-long vehicle, you’re limited on where you can shop, so they have a captive audience. They know it, and they take advantage of that fact.
15. Fatigue
You’re going to be working a lot of hours. Those hours can wear you out. Sometimes you will have to power through and keep driving. It could be tight appointment times or being forced to so you can make your appointment and still comply with the hours of service. It’s going to suck, but it will happen.
16. Weight Gain
OTR Trucking is a sedentary occupation, and when coupled with unhealthy food choices at many truck stops, weight gain can be a real issue. Many drivers gain so much weight that they begin to suffer health issues. For some, it can get so bad that they are forced to leave the industry.
Conclusion
OTR trucking can provide a good income and for the right person, it can be an enjoyable career. For others, it might be a stepping stone for going into local truck driving. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. Is it the right opportunity for you? That’s up to you.
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