Is Trucking Right For You?

Suppose you've been following Relaymile for a while. In that case, you probably already know the answer, and that answer is most likely yes.

Try to think back to before you became a truck driver, though. How did you know? Did you really know, or did you have to take a bit of a leap of faith?

Trucking can be a gratifying job and can be a great way to get a more intimate and comprehensive look at our country—all the while doing the essential work of moving freight.

For those new here and considering trucking, welcome, and we hope this helps make your decision a little easier. For those of you who tune in from wherever your routes have taken you, welcome back, and we hope you're reminded of all the reasons you chose a life on the road.

It's not a get-rich-quick club.

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And really, what real job is?

Still, we feel the need to mention this. The romantic scene of one person, out on the open road, the sun in their rearview mirror with the whole country splayed out for them like an exciting, new book, is undoubtedly an alluring one. The person at the wheel is riding easy because he knows that at the end of his route, after seeing the things he gets to see and answering to no one, he's going to make a bucket of money. It makes for a really pretty picture, but that's not all the job is.

The reality of trucking is that to be successful, you have to put in many long hours—most of which are spent alone—and have a lot of self-discipline.

We don't want to completely poke a hole in the trucker fantasy, though. Challenges are rewarding, and you definitely wouldn't have a boss breathing down your neck from nine to five. Even if reality doesn't look exactly the same as the scene described above, the truth is, truckers do get to go more places and meet more people—far more than workers in more traditional office settings do.

Get paid to tour America.

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We'll hang on this point a little more since we're sure it's one of trucking's main draws.

Your routes will probably take you everywhere, and you get a front view of it while you're getting your freight where you need to go. You'll probably even get the opportunity to step out and poke around a bit and see the arid, hot deserts of the American southwest, the humid tropics of the Southeast, and the mountainous, alpine stretches of the west—all yours for the viewing.

Consider what types of trucking you'd like to do.

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While probably being what most have in mind when it comes to trucking, long-haul trucking may not be the best fit for everyone interested in becoming a trucker. Long-haul trucking includes routes that often take the driver from one part of the country to the other. Most long-haul truckers are compensated according to the distance they drive, which rewards speed, skill, and reliability.

Long-haul driving, while the most popular choice in the industry, is also where the most time spent away from home is. A long-haul driver has to be very comfortable in solitude.

If this doesn't appeal to you, there's also team driving and regional trucking.

Two drivers work on the routes to make deliveries with the first type, with the drivers driving in shifts. This combats the loneliness aspect of long-haul trucking, but it also means that whoever you choose to be your partner, better have been the right choice!

Regional trucking has to do with local freight deliveries. They're typically compensated on an hourly basis and work under lousy traffic conditions and tight deadlines. The flip side is that they tend to have more time at home.

Are you interested in an alternative to the conventional trucking business model? If so, take a look at how Relaymile is reimagining trucking to provide drivers with a healthier, more consistent standard of work.