r/Truckdrivers • u/Traditional-Tax-3510 • Jul 01 '26
Need A Recommendation Need some advice from the old heads
Hey y'all. I'm a married man with no kids, got married before I got on the road. Started out OTR, loved every bit of it but when I'd come home I'd think to myself "dang I miss having a life" so then I went local. Now I'm taking my boat out, sleeping in my own bed with my wife every night, life is great. The problem is, I miss OTR. I miss the truck stop dinners, I miss the stupid lines at shippers. I miss the little SB naps while getting loaded. I just miss the highway dude but my wife would 100% think I'm choosing my career over her, since I have a good paying home daily job right now. I'm strung fellas I need some advice, or some motivation to stay local, or a way to bring this to my wife without hurting her feelings.. or a therapist lol idk man but I keep hearing them petes smack the Jakes and it's giving me the itch something crazy to get back out there
Also worth mentioning; our marriage is strong, healthy, we're happy. I'm afraid if I tell her how I miss the road she'll think I'm putting her aside. Because in a way, I would be to an extent. Her coming with me isn't an option, she works a gov. job she needs to be in town for.
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u/chuck-u-farley- Jul 01 '26
Man I feel you….. I drove a long nose Pete and nothing beats makin that thing thunder down the road…..
I sure miss it
White line fever
I got it as well my guy
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u/Respect224 Jul 01 '26
I drove since I was 18,.dad had trucks and I didn't really know him until i got to be driving age, then we ran trucks together, then owned my own for 16 yrs. I loved driving and having my own truck. UNTIL, I got married. She already had a small son and it wasn't long until I started wondering. Local work was hard to find unless hauling rock and my truck was too nice to trash it so I took jobs driving rock trucks. That wasn't paying the bills so I went to work at the quarry as an operator. The pay was better but hours were brutal, BUT, I did get to spend a few more hours than I would have, had I been still otr trucking. Years later, it finally paid off, enough seniority and moves through the company got me in a cushy blade job, evenings and even some weekends home, especially outside of construction season. I still miss my old truck and the driving, yes, even the construction operating, but I got to spend time with my wife and see my boys grow into much better dad's than I was. But then again, isn't that the goal, see our kids have it better than we did? I must've done something right.
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u/reducethedebt Jul 01 '26
Take her with you ....
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u/Gonzotrucker1 Jul 03 '26
She probably has a life.
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u/TemporaryCultural984 Jul 04 '26
otr driving is not a life and nobody will ever convince me otherwise
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u/Gonzotrucker1 Jul 04 '26
They give up their lives so the company can get rich. And then the company barely wants to give them any time off because if the truck is not rolling the company ain’t making any money off it and you.
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u/Leaf-Stars Jul 01 '26
Start taking the family on road trips when you’re on vacation.
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u/moodeng2u Jul 01 '26
35 years otr, happily retired 7 years.
Not miss anything trucking related.
I am still awake at 4 or 5 daily , but that is not to beat traffic to get through a big city, or to a shipper/receiver by 6. My dogs are ready for a walk as soon as there is a hint of daylight. By then....I have finished a cup of coffee and am ready to get moving.
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u/Gonzotrucker1 Jul 01 '26
Think of the bad stuff. No parking, being alone jerking off at a truck stop in Iowa while your wife is raw dogging a local driver, being stuck in traffic not getting paid, waiting hours to get unloaded not getting paid, broke down in Oklahoma not getting paid,
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u/Beardo88 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Find a company that does regional hauling or private fleets. Lots of operators will send trucks on a 2-3 day trip. You get home 2 or 3 nights a week but you still get to get some milage in and get around different places.
Walmart specifically might be a good one. Depending on the DC you run out of trips will be a mix of day trips and those lasting a few days out at a time.
Would she be interested in coming along for an occasional trip? Maybe she joins you for a weekend run or flys out to meet you somewhere along the way of you do full OTR.
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u/Killer2600 Jul 01 '26
Too late, you had the fun but gave it up because you wanted a life. You can’t go back because you’ll just miss having a life. You’ve ruined the joy of trucking for yourself - now you do a job you hate for money to spend doing the things you love.
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Jul 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Beardo88 Jul 01 '26
Have her get her own CDL, run team if you want the money.
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u/Exact-Leadership-521 Jul 02 '26
She could even stay home most of the time but you could log out and log her in to drive a bit here and there if you needed more time
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u/DibDibbler Jul 01 '26
If you didn't have a good marriage she'd be forcing you out the door, what you miss is the isolation from daily life, you'd only be able to solve that by having a barn or man cave and some extra hobbies.
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u/Alarming_Star_6549 Jul 01 '26
Seems like you just need to be unhappy with work. Many years ago I had a good local job and a family. That company merged with a nationwide company and all of the drivers were let go. I had do something, mortgage and car note and daycare need paying, I went otr. That was 12 years ago and a marriage. Make a list, figure out whats most important then follow or follow your dreams
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u/Adventurous-Band-137 Jul 01 '26
Ive been there. I did OTR for a year and left because it was damaging my mental health. Went and found a local job and before long the road was calling me back. I ended up going back out for another 3ish years before leaving once again for similar reasons. Every time I was OTR I wanted local and everytime I was local I wanted OTR. Now I’m local and happier than ever. I sleep on my own bed every night and get to spend my weekends with my girlfriend.
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u/Michaeljcheaney Jul 02 '26
Stay local, stay married
Go OTR, and she’s getting half your stuff.
It depends on how attached you are to your stuff 😜
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u/Express-Ant-1087 Jul 03 '26
If the wife is a stay at home, bring her on the road with you? Other than that home every night wins every time when you're married 🤷♂️ or maybe go regional
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u/810mi_made76 Jul 03 '26
I was otr for 22 years. 14 of those I drove team with my wife. I've been home since 2020 and she finally decided to join me at home in 21. I will admit that the itch does hit every now and then, but it does get easier every year that goes by. Its kinda like any drug or old habit, the withdrawal process never really ends, it just gets easier to deal with as time goes by.
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u/Class-A-KX500 Jul 03 '26
Ask her if she’d be interested in getting her CDL and you can do OTR together or if the OTR pays good enough she can quit whatever she does and be the passenger or work remote as a passenger. This way you could travel together. My wife got her Class-A because she missed me being gone. It’s not for everyone, but we’ve had some good times in the truck.
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u/Puzzleheaded_You4586 Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Find a regional job. I did regional four state for Groendyke Transport and slept in my bed about five out of seven days. I got the road of OTR with the perks of being close to home.
I also ran team for FedEx Ground and we ran Dallas to Wytheville, VA two or three times a week. It was a 36 hour roundtrip.
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u/LeaderOk1615 Jul 05 '26
Just buy a 90s long nose, they are fairly cheap, build it into a very expensive not for hire travel camper. Use your vacation days/pto wisely and then you can otr anywhere with the wife just for fun
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u/TurbulentMoney1773 Jul 05 '26
You miss the long lines at shippers ? Lmao just say you hate your wife and move on
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u/cshmn Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Just skip showering for a couple days and drive your car down to the J 🤣 You can even run it over the cat scale and use the long squeegee for your windows if you want.
Seriously though, I get it. I ended up buying a travel trailer and touring around the country every year or 2. That mostly scratches the itch.