Is local truck driving the right fit for you? There are plenty of options as a trucker and local driving is just one of many diverse job options you can choose from.
For many drivers, local driving is an attractive option because it gets them home daily, which allows them to see their families and sleep in their own beds. Other drivers appreciate the over-the-road (OTR) lifestyle that allows them to travel across the country, relish in their independence and enjoy the open road.
How do you know which option is right for you? And what about regional and dedicated options? Should you try those instead?
Local driving is an attractive option for truck drivers — especially when the market slows — but you should know what to expect before you jump in. It might seem like the best option for you, but unless you know exactly what’s expected of you, you could be led astray.
Before you make your decision, it’s always best to learn more about the pros and cons of the position.
While Anderson Trucking Service (ATS) is an OTR trucking company, we recognize local driving is an appealing option for many drivers. Our goal is to help you make the best career decision for you, whether that means you choose to work at an OTR trucking company like ATS or otherwise.
In this article, you’ll learn about:
Let’s start with the basics: What is local truck driving? Local trucking is loosely defined and many drivers, in fact, define it differently. However, it’s generally agreed upon that local truck driving gets drivers home daily (as opposed to OTR drivers who might be home every two or three weeks). They might be away from home one night per week, but it isn’t common.
A local truck driver’s work day depends on the company they work for and what kind of product they’re hauling. While some drivers travel to one city and back every day, other drivers might have a different route every day.
For example, a local driver hauling food for a grocery store chain might go from the warehouse to one store and back every day. A local driver who delivers a specific product — like soda, beer or milk — might deliver their products to stores across the whole state. They might deliver to five stores one day, five new stores the next and so on until they repeat the cycle.
The biggest opportunities for local drivers are less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, store-to-door delivery and port or intermodal jobs. LTL shipping includes making numerous deliveries throughout the day, while store-to-door might consist of going from one warehouse and back to the store every day. You could also go from warehouse to warehouse. Port and intermodal jobs consist of picking up containers from railyards or a port and delivering them.
There’s often the misconception that local drivers only utilize day cabs. Due to the increased cost of day cabs, many trucking companies rely on sleeper cabs (larger cabs with additional compartments and a bunk). Day cabs don’t hold value as well as sleeper cabs, so trucking companies will choose the best truck for the freight and their financial needs.
Especially in the downturn market, many drivers are thinking about pursuing local driving. It seems like a better option: You’re home daily, you get to see your family regularly and it pays more. But does it really pay more than OTR trucking or is that just a myth? Do you really get to see your family more?
Local truck driving typically pays very well, but it doesn’t pay quite as much as OTR driving does. Traditionally, OTR driving has always paid more. The gap is closing, however, and local drivers are beginning to get paid more than they did before. This is due largely in part to LTL driving options.
Local truck drivers can be paid hourly, per mile or per delivery. It all depends on what type of route you’re on and what type of freight you’re hauling. For instance, if you’re doing linehaul deliveries going one direction there and back, you might get paid mileage. If you’re doing LTL, you might get paid per stop or per delivery.
On average, local truck drivers earn $30 per hour if they’re paid hourly. Local drivers on salary earn an average of somewhere between $60,000 and $70,000. Keep in mind, some companies (like Walmart) may pay drivers far more than that.
Now that you understand more about local driving, let’s learn about its pros.
The main draw to local driving is you’re home every night. You get to sleep in your own bed, be around your family and easily maintain relationships with your friends, neighbors and family.
Not only do you get to go home every night, but you also get two days off per week. Oftentimes drivers choose two consecutive days out of the week to take off. It isn’t always a weekend.
Being home daily is especially beneficial to drivers who are family-oriented or they have someone or something to take care of that requires them to be home daily. A lot of drivers with young families like to tuck their kids in at night, and a local route allows them to see them regularly and attend important events, like school plays and games, birthdays and holidays.
Spending long weeks out on the road can be extremely lonely and some drivers aren’t cut out for the OTR lifestyle. They’re more well-suited to local driving where they get to socialize more and they don’t feel like they’re missing things at home.
As a local driver, you don’t have to use electronic logging devices (ELD) to track your hours as long as you meet the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) short-haul exemption. As long as you begin and end your day in the same location and operate in a 150-air-mile radius from your starting location, you’re exempt from using an ELD.
Your company should maintain driving time records, however, and you still need to follow Hours of Service (HOS) rules. That includes only driving 11 of 14 working hours per day, taking a break of 10 consecutive hours and taking a 30-minute break after eight consecutive hours of driving.
If you like to converse or you want to talk about the game on television last night, this is the driving position for you. Because you’ll be getting in and out of the truck (and potentially unloading freight), it gives you the chance to be social. You’ll have the opportunity to meet and interact with a lot of customers. Over time, you’ll get to build relationships with them.
This isn’t something you’ll experience as an OTR driver. OTR drivers deal with far fewer customers because they aren’t unloading several times per day.
On the flip side, there are some cons of local truck driving.
When you’re driving a local route, you may end up working weird hours. You probably won’t be driving a 9-5 shift and then getting home just in time to join your family for dinner.
Local drivers often have to work long hours. When they’re waking up to start work, their family isn’t awake yet. When they get home, their family is already in bed. They’re primarily at home to sleep, and they still may be missing out on a lot of family events. And that’s if you get first-shift hours. You may have to work second-shift or third-shift hours.
While this isn’t always the case, some drivers work a full 14-hour day (with 11 of those hours spent driving) and they only get a 10-hour break. That means they have to get their truck parked, head to their personal vehicle and drive home within that 10-hour window. If you have to commute to work, you might only get nine hours at home — most of which will be spent sleeping.
That 10 hours isn’t always the relaxing break it seems to be. In fact, some local drivers will even sleep in their trucks a night or two each week just so they get some extra time to relax.
Again, this isn’t always the case. Some local jobs might be 9-5 jobs.
Plenty of OTR drivers switch to local because they think they’ll be working less and home more frequently; don’t be disillusioned. Talk to carriers before you sign on to determine what kind of hours you’ll be expected to run.
It can also be intense running so many hours each day and then coming home and taking care of the house too. Some drivers desire that separation and time away from home — and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Many times, local driving consists of hauling high-touch freight. It can be very hard on your body and you can really see the wear and tear after drivers have been in the industry for a few years.
We’ve seen plenty of young, spry drivers leave local driving after a few years; they began having problems with their back, knees, shoulder or something else.
You might have a load of 10 pallets with each pallet going to a different location. You could very well be unloading all of it yourself. Some food and beverage drivers even merchandise the product themselves.
Maintaining a local route for your entire career is a feat and requires a tough driver.
A lot of OTR drivers have no-go zones. They don’t want to go to New York City, they don’t want to go to Atlanta, they don’t want to go to Chicago. Essentially, they don’t want to drive through any of those major cities with tons of traffic and cramped roadways.
When you’re a local driver, that might be all you’re doing. You won’t be on the open road all day when you’re a local driver. You’ll primarily be driving in busy cities and you’ll have to deal with rush hour morning and night (and during the lunch rush too).
If you’re not a fan of backing up and backing into tight spots with a truck and trailer, local driving might not be the right choice for you. Whereas with OTR driving you might never have to back in or might back in somewhere once every few days, you could be doing it several times per day as a local driver. This can be a stressful, tricky part of the job.
When you’re a local driver, you tend to have more interaction with people. Because you’re in and out of the truck loading and unloading, you’ll see a lot more people than you would if you were OTR.
Local driving is more for extroverted drivers and OTR driving is more for introverted drivers. If you want to get on the road, listen to the radio and have your peace, you won’t get that with local driving.
If you’re thinking of pursuing a career as a local truck driver (rather than an OTR position), ask yourself these three questions:
Carefully consider your answers and talk about them with your loved ones.
Every driver has different needs and a different working style. Some drivers need to be home daily to help take care of their families or they just prefer that time at home and social interaction. They don’t want long hours on the highway in locations they're unfamiliar with. Maybe they aren’t sure they like the idea of the solitude OTR driving brings.
Being home daily might be great, but that shouldn’t be the only reason you pursue local driving. You also need to make sure you can handle stressful driving conditions and the physical demands of the job.
Deciding whether you should pursue local vs. OTR driving — or if you should switch to local driving — is a tough decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Not only should you consider the pros and cons of local driving above, but you should also consider if you’re a good fit for OTR driving.
Don’t forget that there’s also the potential for regional and dedicated jobs, which may provide you with a better balance between pay and home time. A regional route will get you home weekly. A dedicated route means you could get home nightly, weekly or every couple of weeks.
You shouldn’t jump into any decision. Make sure you know what will be expected of you with each position.
Too many drivers switch to local driving because they think they’ll get to be with their families constantly — and they don’t understand they might have to work long, physically-demanding hours. Local drivers also spend most of their time driving through busy cities. Unless you’re prepared for long hours and intense physical labor consisting of loading and unloading freight, reconsider your decision.
Ask your recruiter what will be required of you at each job — local and OTR driving — before you pursue either option.