Hence, today she’s planning her routes very carefully and she is using navigation. She is no longer an OTR driver but she enjoys the regional routes. Andrea and her husband are owner-operators today and they both enjoy their jobs.
Types Of Truck Driving Jobs
Are you considering a trucking career? Are you hesitating if as a female you would be able to manage your private life with this demanding career?
Let me tell you there are several different types of truck driving jobs. You can choose the one that suits your current lifestyle the best.
There are roughly nine different truck driving job types.
- Dry van drivers – This type of driving is most common for beginners. The dry van drivers have their truck loaded with dry goods and most of the time they are not required to even unload it.
- Flatbed drivers – When driving a flatbed truck you will need to know the goods you are transporting very well. Therefore, you will know how exactly to position them on the truck and how to secure them. Flatbed trucks transport oversized and odd-shaped freight. Some of the items might include military or transportation vehicles.
- Tanker drivers – This type is in the highest demand so far. Because it can be a hazardous liquid that you will transport, you have to be extra careful. Whether or not you transport hazardous liquid, as a tanker driver you must know how to act in a case of emergency.
- Refrigerated freight drivers – If you decide to work as a reefer driver, you will be transporting any kind of goods or items that need to be stored in a certain temperature. This can include food, meat, medicine etc. You will also need to know how to maintain the temperature in the truck and be checking on it regularly. This type of driving comes with more responsibility, therefore, bigger payments.
- Freight haulers – Anything that can’t be covered by the dry van drivers is covered by freight haulers. This means you can be transporting goods that can vary from hazardous liquid to oversized freight.
- LTL freight drivers – LTL or less than truckload drivers transport small freight. Mostly, they unload the trucks themselves. Also, the distance they drive is shorter and they can make several stops throughout the day.
- Local drivers – Being a local driver means you will be transporting goods in and around your city.
- Regional drivers – These drivers will be required to make shipments throughout the state.
- OTR drivers – OTR or Over the Road drivers are driving anywhere in the country. These drivers make long hour drives with less stops, therefore this is one of the hardest types of truck driving job.
Owner Operator Truck Driver
Owner operator truck driver is a person that both owns and drives a vehicle which he or she uses to earn for a living. Therefore, they would use their own truck to transport freight to companies.