What does it mean OTR Trucking? Over the road (OTR) trucking means that the truck driver most of his time is spending on the open road. The truck drivers who are part of the OTR trucking are special kind of drivers with specific lifestyle, own developed language and own dress code. The profession of truck driver can’t be compared with any other profession because it requires a lot of dedication and developed driving skills.
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Being a part of the OTR trucking requires big commitments and knowledge of the safety regulations and to be honest there is a lot of requirements restricted by lot of departments and all those regulations have to be covered:
- Federal Motor Safety Carrier Administration (FMCSA)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA
- The Department of Labor (DOL)
- The Department of Transportation (DOT)
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA …
What do You Need to Get Involved in OTR Trucking
As I mentioned before the OTR trucking is hard and need a lot of knowledge of federal regulations, but however to get into this career you need have a strong will and be ready to be away from home for a long time.
Source: www.thetruckersreport.com
If you are ready to do this you need to:
- Have CDL Training
- Earn your Class A Commercial driver license
- To get proper endorsements for the vehicle and load you will haul
- Have a clean driving record
- Learn basic mechanics knowledge ( to perform truck checks and small repairs)
- Good communication skills
- Good driving performance
- Need to have at least 21 years to drive interstate
Daily Routines of OTR Drivers
One typical day in OTR trucking is starting with an inspection of the truck, updating your logbook, having a quick bite before you get on the road. After you start your engine you have max. 11 hours of driving in 14 hour period. Hours of service need to be obeyed.
- 14-hour “driving window” limit with required 10 hours min. rest
- 11-hour driving limit
- 60-hour/7-day
- and 70-hour/8-day duty limits
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In this required driving period you can stop to have a lunch break, stretch your legs or have a quick exercise. I know that every truck driver wants to go to the limits but after you fulfill these hours you need to rest, watch TV in your truck cabin listen to your favorite radio station or talk with your family.
Anything that makes you relaxed you should do practice in these free hours. It is important to find a relaxation time for you even if it is a chat with other truck drivers in some truck stop.
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OTR Trucking
Every career has its own difficulties but OTR Trucking as a career is facing not only the job difficulties it also facing the loneliness in the truck cabin and in most of the time the loneliness can be unbearable.
Signature of OTR trucking is driving for a several weeks or months, transporting goods from point A to point B without going home. Being away from home can break the spirit of every human being.
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Before you get involved in OTR trucking you need to be prepared that you’ll be away from your family for weeks or months. If you are ready for that you may have a bright OTR trucking career.
Pros
The highway is your working place and the truck is your home, so how great is to have the entire world as your home? It is awesome I must say! OTR trucking is a big commitment because we are covering less or more than 120,000 miles per year. It is 10,000 miles per month or around 500 miles per day.
Source: www.roedercartage.com
The time on the road is not the only thing that you need to respect when you are part of the OTR trucking. With respecting the Hours of Service you contribute to the safety on the highway andkeeping your safety report on good position.
OTR trucking is more an adventure than a job. I am saying this because you have the entire world as a working place so in the other words THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER.
The advantages of OTR Trucking are:
- You are making good money
- You have health or dental insurance for you and your family
- You are making friends from everywhere
- You are seeing new places every day
- You are learning new skills
- You are becoming more responsible
- You can find OTR job at any time even if you take some time away from the road
Cons
Thousand of truck drivers are taking the OTR trucking as a career choice but more than half of them don’t last in the first year. If you are person that is very attached to your home OTR trucking may turn you in one of those truck stop haunted faces.
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For most of the truck drivers, the pros of OTR trucking are more than enough reason to quit OTR driving job and consider the local trucking job. The cons of OTR trucking are:
- Being away from home – Long hours that are required for OTR trucking job will take your private life. OTR trucking will take you away from your family, from your friends because you need to be behind the steering wheel driving from a state to state to transport the loads.
- Inability to participate in everyday family life – If you become a part of the OTR trucking you will be forced to keep up with the road even in the cases where you are mostly needed at home.
- Loneliness can be killer – Especially if you driving alone without team driver or a pet companion, loneliness can awake your dark demons which can lead to increased nostalgia and depression.
- OTR trucking can be a reason for unhealthy eating habits which can cause health issues
- Your CB radio will be the closest link to your family
If you want to be in a truck but not for long period of time, closest to the OTR trucking is a local trucking job such as driving a dump truck.
OTR Trucking Services
Class 8 trucks are those who perform OTR trucking. Because the OTR trucking requires transportation of bigger loads for a longer period of time the transportation industry split in few OTR services.
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