Truck Driving the best job for ERE

[teentoere]

I have considered getting into trucking after I graduate from college for a number of reasons that help save for ere as fast as possible:

1) Long haul drivers can live in their sleeper year round if they desire to do so, which means that while you save for ere you will have no housing cost.
2) Instead of spending your off time in the town that you would be living in, most trucking companies in the US will allow you to spend it just about anywhere you can get a load sent to. This will allow you to see new places in the cheapest way possible.
3) The cost of living in the truck is very minimal. Most trucks nowadays have a microwave and a refrigerator in them, so you do not have to pay outrageous prices for food at truck stops.

Overall, I think at a minimum trucking is the perfect ere job for single people, and the salary of the job is definitely enough to save for ERE in a timely fashion. Any thoughts?

[theanimal]

You'll find some insights and perspectives from some on this forum on this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=109&hilit=truck+driver

It has some benefits but life on the road is quite rough (IMO).

[dot_com_vet]

Or, work a niche job that requires 90% travel, and live in hotels. It's common in tech jobs, and they pay quite a bit more than driving.

Oil field jobs also come to mind, along with wind energy jobs. I see some gnarly, muddy HD pickups around here at apartment complexes with energy logos on the door.

[jacob]

@teentoere - Some downsides that you will have to work around, but which many truckers don't.

- lack of exercise. You somehow have to figure out a way to compensate for a very sedentary lifestyle while working out at a truck stop. Bring a kettlebell.
- bad food. Ditto! As you mentioned, you have to cook out of the back of your truck. Most likely, you'll have to bring the food too.

Modern LHTs are routed along by computer systems and have to adhere to scheduled driving times for "safety" meaning they have to go when the rules tell them rather than when it's optimal to do so. This is/was a source of frustration among the veterans---loss of the freedom of the road when you have to call in and get instructions from a computerized voice... Also, as things are optimized by the routing system, which does not really care about individual drivers, you might end up being stuck in BFE for 5-7 days doing nothing because it's cheaper for the company to make you wait (on your dime!) than sending you somewhere else.

[retired@48hahaha]

I have considered getting into trucking after I graduate from college for a number of reasons that help save for ere as fast as possible:

1) Long haul drivers can live in their sleeper year round if they desire to do so, which means that while you save for ere you will have no housing cost.
2) Instead of spending your off time in the town that you would be living in, most trucking companies in the US will allow you to spend it just about anywhere you can get a load sent to. This will allow you to see new places in the cheapest way possible.
3) The cost of living in the truck is very minimal. Most trucks nowadays have a microwave and a refrigerator in them, so you do not have to pay outrageous prices for food at truck stops.

Overall, I think at a minimum trucking is the perfect ere job for single people, and the salary of the job is definitely enough to save for ERE in a timely fashion. Any thoughts?

I did this exact thing up until my current early retirement. I'd recommend it highly!

You can get an Over The Road job that'll put you in the truck for 300 days a year, or you can go Regional and run 1-2 specific freight lanes and be home weekly.

I had a 1000 watt invertor on the truck to run my microwave and small 'fridge, and I eventually put a bicycle on the truck to get around on between loads. I went to L.A. frequently, and would bike down into Hollywood, or downtown San Francisco, wherever!! I also had an electric guitar set-up on the truck, and really got to enjoy the whole routine.

I'd stop at Walmart for groceries, my personal favorite microwave grub was Campbell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder - could find it for $2.50 a can.

It is very easy to save money when you're a road warrior, as long as you don't develop an expensive junk food habit. This happened to me - I got hooked on Hostess Cupcakes, had to have a package every morning when I woke up, and some days I'd have 3-5. God only knows how much dough that burned up @ $1.89 per stop.

In ten years of driving, my net worth went from apprx 40K to almost 400K. Of course, staying in the stock market AND regularly contributing to the 401K was key, as was buying a rental property when the banks were almost giving money away @ sub 4% in a discounted housing market.

Driving OTR was essential to my early retirement. I'd encourage anyone to do it.