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Linehaul vs OTR for rookie trucker and young family

mud said:
"by the way, you do know you still have to have a DOT physical, every due date, otherwise, it'll be "automatically" downgraded if you don't"..???

Not a problem, the DMV will remind you.
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actually, our DMV reminds you of nothing.

it's when you get stopped by law enforcement, that your license was suspended, or revoked, or your car registration was suspended or revoked, and the cop starts writing you a ticket and then proceeds to take out those nice shiny bracelets....

only then, do you know you got problems.

in fact, under state law (here) my state does not have to send out renewal notices for our licenses (CDL or other wise) nor do they have to send out registration renewals. they figure, it's yours, YOU remember.......

but yet, my state REMEMBERS to jack up all the fee's.............
 
wawtrucker said:
Well, I start at OD, Monday 28th. Very excited! Should be on my solo linehaul run by September starting at .55 cpm!

You guys have any suggestions for working 12-14 hour nights? I know I'll build my stamina up eventually, didn't know if there's any tricks of the trade. I'll do my best to get my rest during the day and won't drink coffee all night - I got the basics down.
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Well, whats going on? You havn't given us an update. Are you ready to Solo?:shift:
 
Lazer said:
Yes, 3rd shift is tough. The hardest part of working nights for me was the sleeping during the day. After 13 years I made a carreer change out of LTL into the west TX oil patch. I now sleep at night, drive during the day. I feel 100% better. I've lost over 30lbs, my stamina has increased, better moods, I'm tanned. Don't get me wrong LTL l/h is a darn good paying job, but it is tough on the body and mind. Humans are not designed to stay awake all night and sleep during the day.Just be prepared to miss alot of your kid's growing up even being home every 'day'. You will miss ball games, school play's, family functions if not actually at your house. After my first few years I gave up trying to sleep on Monday before my work week started Monday night, so my Monday's were alway's a 24 hr plus day for me. After I got home Sat morning about 10am, I stayed up all day, did yard work, errands,chores etc., went to bed by 9-10 pm, wake up 8am Sun morn, enjoy the day as normal as possible, go to bed Sun nite, wake up Mon morn 6-7am, do my around town errands, the bank,hardware store, doctor etc., leave for work after monday evening dinner, get home Tues morn about 7-8 am go to bed.
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Don't think this is all necessarily true. Depends on your run. I start at 9 pm and am back in the yard by 7 am usually. You could be in bed by 8 and sleep until 3pm. 7 hrs a day and plenty of time to catch after school activities of the kids. You don't have to keep a night schedule on days off. I can assure you almost no 3rd shifters do. Don't stay up Saturday when you get home....by late afternoon you are going to feel like ****. I take 3-3.5 hr nap Saturday morning. I can then generally sleep a normal night Saturday. Normal day schedule on Sunday. On Monday I get up early...5-6 am. I then crash Monday afternoon about 3-7 before work. This works well for me. It takes getting used to and the key to sleeping during the day is blacking out the room. I put cardboard in the windows and black out curtains over that. The darker the better. I found I eventually was sleeping better during the day then I think I ever did at night. Third shift does suck anyway you slice it. You are working six days a week anyway you cut it. It is far better than the OTR option. Especially as a rookie you would be lucky to see the house one weekend a month. Running for about half the pay on top of that. Remember the often not getting paid while sitting at shippers and recievers. If you do get paid it usually requires you donating at least 2-3 free hours and then the hourly compensation is waaaaay less than you will get in the LTL industry. Like anything. ...pros and cons and it is what u make of it.
 
Also, trying to transition to 3rd shift you can take melatonin. It is over the counter and will help you sleep. I also was taking over the counter sleep aid as well when I first started. Those contain benadryl which I have since been informed is on the DOT ban list. I have never heard of this before but it was told to me by a doctor during a DOT physical so I would be careful of those.
 
I've always slept very little regardless if I ran days or nights. I came off a gravy daytime run a couple of years ago. I couldn't schedule dentist (dr) visits without a day off. I couldn't take care of any issues with my drivers license without taking a day off. I was always getting overweight tickets and inspections during the day. Working nights I deal with 0 traffic and have all day to get stuff done. I have 3 day weekends. Life is much better working nights for me.
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Well guys (and gals?), going solo this week. Excited and nervous at the same time, just looking forward to getting rid of these butterflies and getting on with it. Adjusting to the night life hasn't been as hard as I thought. I've found that the key is to make sure I can get my 6-7 hours of rest and wake up close to the time I have to leave for work. That way I'm not getting up too early and making for a longer day. My driving stamina definitely has increased. There were only a few times that I noticed myself getting pretty tired - that's when I kept my eyes moving around instead of staring at the lines in the road, and started taking some extra sips of coffee. It's been moderation with the caffeine, plenty of water, and only snacking on light meals w/o any kind of sugar or that's heavily processed. I've pretty much stuck to my night shift schedule during my days off - for the most part. I've made some exceptions and then compensated by taking 1-3 hour naps when I needed to. Somebody mentioned melatonin, and yes, that's a great help to take during the day before I go to bed.

I've learned a little bit of everything from each trainer and have tried to tuck away all those nuggets of knowledge. I've got some phone numbers from other drivers to call on if I need any help. I'm just looking forward to getting into my own routine and enjoying my job. My family is thankful for the opportunity that we have and I'm looking forward to being a smart and dependable driver.
 
mildew said:
I've always slept very little regardless if I ran days or nights. I came off a gravy daytime run a couple of years ago. I couldn't schedule dentist (dr) visits without a day off. I couldn't take care of any issues with my drivers license without taking a day off. I was always getting overweight tickets and inspections during the day. Working nights I deal with 0 traffic and have all day to get stuff done. I have 3 day weekends. Life is much better working nights for me.
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i like working nights to, for the reason's you mention.

i only got one over-weight ticket in my life, i was a rookie driver, and i had too much to eat at an all you can eat buffet.....damn trainer told me to do it....

wawtrucker said:
Well guys (and gals?), going solo this week. Excited and nervous at the same time, just looking forward to getting rid of these butterflies and getting on with it.
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when you have to pull over and puke your brains out, cuz this is your first "solo mission", you will be fine there after.....

good luck.
 
wawtrucker said:
Well guys (and gals?), going solo this week. Excited and nervous at the same time, just looking forward to getting rid of these butterflies and getting on with it. Adjusting to the night life hasn't been as hard as I thought. I've found that the key is to make sure I can get my 6-7 hours of rest and wake up close to the time I have to leave for work. That way I'm not getting up too early and making for a longer day. My driving stamina definitely has increased. There were only a few times that I noticed myself getting pretty tired - that's when I kept my eyes moving around instead of staring at the lines in the road, and started taking some extra sips of coffee. It's been moderation with the caffeine, plenty of water, and only snacking on light meals w/o any kind of sugar or that's heavily processed. I've pretty much stuck to my night shift schedule during my days off - for the most part. I've made some exceptions and then compensated by taking 1-3 hour naps when I needed to. Somebody mentioned melatonin, and yes, that's a great help to take during the day before I go to bed.

I've learned a little bit of everything from each trainer and have tried to tuck away all those nuggets of knowledge. I've got some phone numbers from other drivers to call on if I need any help. I'm just looking forward to getting into my own routine and enjoying my job. My family is thankful for the opportunity that we have and I'm looking forward to being a smart and dependable driver.
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Just thinking about you. What's going on with you and OD? Hope all is well and you're just to busy to post. Maybe your posting on the OD Forum?
:shift:
 
Hey buddy, appreciate you thinking about me. I'm loving OD. And yes, they do keep me busy ;) Linehaul has me very spoiled, but I think a lot of that is also because OD is a great company to work for. We're coming up on a bid soon and I actually already have some seniority!
 
wawtrucker said:
Hey buddy, appreciate you thinking about me. I'm loving OD. And yes, they do keep me busy ;) Linehaul has me very spoiled, but I think a lot of that is also because OD is a great company to work for. We're coming up on a bid soon and I actually already have some seniority!
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Great, glad to hear it's going well for you and the Family. Have a Great Thanksgiving, and stay safe.

 
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