How Long Do Truck Drivers Stay Away From Home?


The regular lifestyle of a truck driver is the road life. Where you get your daily needs met is the exact place you spend all your time, effort and life majorly. This is the reason why truck drivers stay longer on the road. It can be hard on the family, relatives and friends but the drivers find it pleasurable to travel and make their money.

Truck drivers usually stay away from home for about six to seven weeks at a stretch. Some even go for months without seeing their family. Truck drivers probably enjoy the beauty of nature they come across on the road, making them stay more outside than in their home.

Staying away from home might not be completely the wish of a truck driver, but his job does not let him out on that. Drivers can stay away from home for different durations, depending on several factors. While these drivers are far away from home, they need some necessary accessories to keep them well. Let’s check these things out.

Things That Truck Drivers Need When Away from Home

Truck drivers sometimes need to travel far away from home, requiring certain equipment and accessories. These things will help them have a comfortable journey as well as enhancing their operations. Here are some of the things truck drivers need when away from home;

Why Do Long Truck Drivers Stay Away from Home?

There are several reasons why truck drivers may stay away from home for a long time. These may include:

Job Description

Just imagine a very big company which deals in product delivery to several sides of a country. This can only be achieved by the use of long trucks for more delivery at the same time. The job description of a long truck driver is to transport a particular company’s products to the client in any area of the state.

The job description for truck drivers requires them to stay away from home until they return from the journey. They drive to several places to deliver the products and then travel back to the headquarters before they even think of home.

The Nature of the Truck

Semi trucks are designed to carry a lot of cargo at once. This special attribute makes the truck slow down in pace compared to smaller cars. The speed of the truck is, therefore, very slow, especially when covering a longer distance.

Most drivers will have to sleep on the road for days before they reach their destination. Truck drivers do not choose but to stay away from home until they conclude the journey and deliver their responsibility. 

The Distance to Cover

large companies with high product demand have a chance of covering a larger area in a specific time. The demand for the product from far away clients requires the truck driver to go over there. This means that the truck driver on duty must travel down to any location of the request. At any given delivery moment, the distance covered by the driver gives a clue to how long they will spend on the road and the possible time they will get back home.

Weather Conditions

The weather conditions can be one factor that affects the smooth ride of a long truck driver to delivery spots. An unfavorable condition will slow down the journey’s speed and increase the length of time to complete the journey.

For example, during winter, there is a restriction to movements until the weather clears off. For adventure, the driver is already on the road, which means the truck driver has to find a place to stay until the weather clears.

Faulty Machines

trucks are machines, and they are prone to develop a fault at any time and any day. It’s mostly not planned for, but it does happen along the road. Long trucks can develop a mechanical fault and delay the journey for as long as it’s still in bad shape. Long truck drivers will have to stay around the truck until it is fixed and ready to complete the trip.

What Truck Drivers Should Do When Away from Home

For the best truck driving experience, truck drivers should take note of certain factors. You should know what to do as a truck driver when away from home to ensure good driving operations and experience. Here are things truck drivers should do;

  • Plan ahead.
  • Check your equipment.
  • Focus on safety.
  • Maintain your health.
  • Get appropriate insurance.

Conclusion

Long truck drivers stand to have no other choice than to stay away from home to bring the fortune of the land back home. Irrespective of the time, weeks, days and years they spend away from home, they surely have a place in their heart to remember their family.

Dane Eyerly

Dane is a lifelong lover of semi-trucks and the trucking industry. He loves learning about semi-trucks, careers in the trucking industry, and the lifestyle of truckers. Dane also enjoys attending the Mid-America Trucking Show and Great American Trucking Show in Louisville, KY and his home town Dallas, TX. Click here to learn more about Dane.

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