The fact is, it’s not easy to be owner operator. Additionally, you will find out that once you have to check on all the routes alone and pick the one that fits the best at the moment.
At the beginning of your career, you might find it difficult to get enough sleep and rest, but it all comes with the experience. Time management is very important when it comes to irregular working hours.
Just because you work irregular hours does not mean you should have irregular sleeping hours. With proper organization, you will become the best truck driver because good sleep means a lot when it comes to trucking.
If you are not getting enough sleep you might find it difficult to drive, and probably will need to make more stops than you would like and expect.
You will also have to learn how to manage the time according to your family back home. Thus, you can be up to date with their everyday situations.
Driving, sleep and communication with you family is what you will need to become a pro at. Finding the correct balance, in order to become the best driver, improve and even make a progress in the career.
Better organization leads to proper sleep. Accordingly, this leads to a more focused driver that delivers on time, which means he would get more routes and with that more money.
Trucking is a Very Lonely Job
Loneliness is the biggest problem all truckers deal with, especially at the beginning of their career.
It’s understandable when on the road, far from family and friends to feel lonely and even homesick. However, there are ways how you can overcome this and stay focused.
The best way is to have a positive attitude and stay positive. Many find playing music during driving a way to stay energetic and in a good mood. Talking with family and friends (always handsfree) over any app can be also beneficial.
Thus, you will be updated with anything that’s going on in their lives as well as stay entertained and positive.
Always try to be occupied by doing something, if reading books makes you take your thoughts off the loneliness then that’s the way to go. Nevertheless, it’s good to just acknowledge that loneliness will be part of the job and accept it as it is.
There are employers that offer team driving, which means that you will always have who to talk to and loneliness will be impossible. Your team partner can be of a great use in many occasions but most importantly the ‘falling asleep on the road’ will be almost impossible.
But today, thanks to technology, there is another side of the trucking world, a brighter one. Cell phones, tablets and wifi are important on the road in order to stay in contact with family and feel part of their everyday lives.
You Need To Be Time Sensitive and Excellent Drive
If you want to pursue a truck driver career you will be required to pass the CDL, which would take you roughly a month. After that, it all comes with experience, the more experience you gain the better job offer you can get, similar to any other job.
In order to become a good driver, it takes months of continuous hours of driving. Therefore, be patient and focused and you will get there in no time. Dedication is key when it comes to being a successful driver.
The loads need to be delivered at specific date and time. Therefore, time management is key when it comes to transportation since many industries rely on you in order to function. This is especially important for the owner-operating truck drivers.
It is understandable that sometimes outside factors will influence on you not being able to deliver on time or even not deliver at all. Nevertheless, conscious driving is important for you as well as for the other ones involved in the traffic.
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With more experience, you will be able to basically predict what could go wrong or take more time in a certain situation or specific route. In this way, you will take precautions and get to your destination on time.
Some of the things you will need to deal with working as a truck driver, that can also stop you from delivering on time are:
Finding a Suitable Truck Stop Can be a Challenge
There are several truck stops on every route where truckers gather and have a dinner or a coffee. Regardless, not everyone of them will be suitable for you. Hence, you can find those that you like and fits you the most and stop by them always.
There are few applications that will allow you to find a list of truck stops throughout the USA. This will be of a great use for you as a truck driver to optimize your routes and your days better.
You Have to Deal With the Freight Shippers and the Freight Receivers
Sometimes, when taking the cargo from the shippers, it can immediately be loaded to the truck but other times it might take hours for it to be done. Therefore, you as a truck driver will be basically stuck there waiting.
Sometimes, the freight shippers will have a bathroom that you can use or even a TV that you can watch. This will be a good way to relax a little bit for the time that they take to load the truck.
But this is not always the case, some shippers do not offer this and you will need to be inside your truck the whole time.
Continually, same goes with freight receivers. Any freight brokerage company would appreciate you coming on time more than anything in the world.
Sometimes it is Hard to Find a Truck Stop Where You Can Park the Truck
It is not easy to find a place to park the truck and get some rest. At the start of the truck driving career, most of the drivers park their trucks anywhere just to get some rest.
