Fuel vs LTL - Opinions?

[ajritter04]

I currently have 2 offers and working on a third and I am looking for some opinions on pros or cons to each of them.

#1 is with a local LTL outfit..pay is $14 / hour, M - F, 7am to whenever I get done. Benefits after 6 months. Older equipment...like late 90's Internationals and what looks like old Overnite trailers that UPS didn't want. Most of the equipment looks pretty shoddy.

#2 is a fuel hauling place out of Bloomfield, NM that has a terminal here. Pay is $16 / hour, M - F, 7am - 5pm, newer Kenworth T300's. They deliver fuel to smaller independent gas stations, local cal dealers, and ranches / farms. They also deliver bulk oil to car dealers and places like Jiffy Lube. Immediate insurance.

#3 is one I'm working on with another fuel company...they haul the 53' transports and server most of the Albuquerque Sunport (airport), Diamond Shamrock, and Phillips 66 stations. Not sure on the schedule, pay is $175 per load, in-state routes only, mostly within about 200 miles of Albuquerque. Equipment varies, I've seen Kenworth W900's, Freightliner Columbia's, International Eagles...just a bunch of random trucks..they're all fairly new.

I tried OTR with Swift, but I have 2 kids, one of whom is autistic, and a wife at home. OTR was definitely not for me. Worked for Pepsi for 8 months but was having back and leg problems and had to leave due to that.
So far, I'm leaning towards #2 because of the set schedule and hourly rate. Although, LTL is probably safer than fuel......

Choices.

[Orange Andy]

So far #2 looks best, but what about #3?

If those runs can be made in 10 hours or less, and the company offers benefits, this one may be worth looking at. That would be equivalent to 17.50/hr.

Good luck in your search.

[ajritter04]

Companies #2 and #3 both off comparable benefits. Both of which are available upon date of hire.
And from what I've been told by #3, most of their runs can be done well within the HOS regs.

[Mackman]

go with #2 you can never beat an hourly paying job. CFM will be by shortly to back me up on this. You get paid for everything fueling the truck pre-post trips. and time and 1/2 over 40. I would go with #2. I try that getting paid by the load stuff with Venezia and it was a joke. There is a reason why they are paying you by the load and not by the hr.

[Mackman]

so which one you takin???

[Templedawg]

you are still going to be hauling alot of hazmat in LTL, so neither is probably safer than the other. I would think #2 sounds the best to me. I used to be hourly in LTL P&D before going to linehaul, you can't beat getting paid by the hour to drive a truck. You look for traffic to sit in, instead of pulling your hair out over backups.

[bigrigdriver]

I currently have 2 offers and working on a third and I am looking for some opinions on pros or cons to each of them.

#1 is with a local LTL outfit..pay is $14 / hour, M - F, 7am to whenever I get done. Benefits after 6 months. Older equipment...like late 90's Internationals and what looks like old Overnite trailers that UPS didn't want. Most of the equipment looks pretty shoddy.

#2 is a fuel hauling place out of Bloomfield, NM that has a terminal here. Pay is $16 / hour, M - F, 7am - 5pm, newer Kenworth T300's. They deliver fuel to smaller independent gas stations, local cal dealers, and ranches / farms. They also deliver bulk oil to car dealers and places like Jiffy Lube. Immediate insurance.

#3 is one I'm working on with another fuel company...they haul the 53' transports and server most of the Albuquerque Sunport (airport), Diamond Shamrock, and Phillips 66 stations. Not sure on the schedule, pay is $175 per load, in-state routes only, mostly within about 200 miles of Albuquerque. Equipment varies, I've seen Kenworth W900's, Freightliner Columbia's, International Eagles...just a bunch of random trucks..they're all fairly new.

I tried OTR with Swift, but I have 2 kids, one of whom is autistic, and a wife at home. OTR was definitely not for me. Worked for Pepsi for 8 months but was having back and leg problems and had to leave due to that.
So far, I'm leaning towards #2 because of the set schedule and hourly rate. Although, LTL is probably safer than fuel......

Choices.

Easy choice...NUMBR ONE!!! Old Equip+Low pay=DREAM JOB.

[fuelman]

The fuel job is great, been doing it a year now.

One thing to ask yourself before taking the fuel job, are you the type of person that pays attention to detail and maybe even a little bit anal about your work?? Lot of guys get let go from the fuel gig do to costly errors to the carrier. The LTL job might not be there afterwards!!

Best of luck, let us know which one you took.

[ben45750]

I haul fuel too and love it. There is a lot more to hauling fuel than just driving a truck and it will be difficult at first. There is always a demand for fuel, LTL freight is seasonal and can slow down. I worked for 2 different LTL company's before hauling fuel and the fuel job is always consistent. I went through several layoffs with the LTL so it can be tough during the hard times.

BOL

[teamster]

I haul fuel too and love it. There is a lot more to hauling fuel than just driving a truck and it will be difficult at first. There is always a demand for fuel, LTL freight is seasonal and can slow down. I worked for 2 different LTL company's before hauling fuel and the fuel job is always consistent. I went through several layoffs with the LTL so it can be tough during the hard times.

BOL

You will have slow times with fuel also. I did it for 2 years and it always died after Christmas until March or April- unless your company is short on drivers.

[roehl16]

i have 8 yrs exp pulling a box. company named florida rock tank lines out of jacksonville fl hiring in atl area. home every night. they pay %!!! not to sure about that but my ol lady just lost twins and my aunt who had a big hand in making me the man i am has been sick. time to be home!! any advice from yall fellow truckers out there??

[all18wheels]

#1 sounds like a cheap company by the way you described it.

#2. instant benefits and paid by the hour. m-f day shift. sounds like a dream trucker job to me. hows the overtime option?

on # 3 how many loads can you do per day? can you pull as many loads as you can handle.

[ajritter04]

Since I originally posted this, I decided to abandon trucking entirely.
I've since enrolled myself into a local college and am trying to decide on a major.

I figured if I were going to "invest" 2 years of my life into something, it would make more sense to get a degree in something rather than spend that 2 years working for a megacarrier just so i could earn 10 cents more a mile.

Since I originally posted this, I decided to abandon trucking entirely.
I've since enrolled myself into a local college and am trying to decide on a major.

I figured if I were going to "invest" 2 years of my life into something, it would make more sense to get a degree in something rather than spend that 2 years working for a megacarrier just so i could earn 10 cents more a mile.

Smart move! Trucking is a dead-end job unless you se habla espanol!!!!!

[mike3fan]

Trucking is a dead-end job unless you se habla espanol!!!!!

says you :?

[ajritter04]

Since I originally posted this, I decided to abandon trucking entirely.
I've since enrolled myself into a local college and am trying to decide on a major.

I figured if I were going to "invest" 2 years of my life into something, it would make more sense to get a degree in something rather than spend that 2 years working for a megacarrier just so i could earn 10 cents more a mile.

Smart move! Trucking is a dead-end job unless you se habla espanol!!!!!

Well, living in New Mexico, you'd think I'd be fluent in Spanish. In reality, I can't speak a word.

Honestly, I tried trucking and it just flat out did not work for me and I hated everything about it. So rather than be miserable and be one of those guys stuck in a truck stop bitching about how bad it is - I left.
Originally, I was planning on either something in Biotech. or Mechanical Engineering, but I talked with an adviser and decided on entering the Computer Information / Science program at a local college focusing on Network Administration. In about 2 years time, I'll have an Associates degree in Computer Science and a CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator) certification.

Average gross pay for an entry level Network Admin. is around $45k per year while topping out at around $80k per year with 5+ years experience.
Personally, I couldn't justify spending 2 years of my life in a rolling box & never seeing my family just so I can apply somewhere besides Swift or Werner.

Some people love trucking and make it work for them and their family. I, however, was not one of them.

[fuelman]

If you can handle the blood and gore a buddy of mine at the age of 40 when to 2 years of college to be a registered nurse. He is making big bucks now working in the ER of a large hospital.

peace out,
feulman

[ajritter04]

I'll readily admit I'm pretty squeamish around stuff like that. I just about passed out watching my 4 year old son having blood drawn.

[Orangetxguy]

Since I originally posted this, I decided to abandon trucking entirely.
I've since enrolled myself into a local college and am trying to decide on a major.

I figured if I were going to "invest" 2 years of my life into something, it would make more sense to get a degree in something rather than spend that 2 years working for a megacarrier just so i could earn 10 cents more a mile.

Smart move! Trucking is a dead-end job unless you se habla espanol!!!!!

Well, living in New Mexico, you'd think I'd be fluent in Spanish. In reality, I can't speak a word.

Honestly, I tried trucking and it just flat out did not work for me and I hated everything about it. So rather than be miserable and be one of those guys stuck in a truck stop bitching about how bad it is - I left.
Originally, I was planning on either something in Biotech. or Mechanical Engineering, but I talked with an adviser and decided on entering the Computer Information / Science program at a local college focusing on Network Administration. In about 2 years time, I'll have an Associates degree in Computer Science and a CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator) certification.

Average gross pay for an entry level Network Admin. is around $45k per year while topping out at around $80k per year with 5+ years experience.
Personally, I couldn't justify spending 2 years of my life in a rolling box & never seeing my family just so I can apply somewhere besides Swift or Werner.

Some people love trucking and make it work for them and their family. I, however, was not one of them.

Just wondering..how are you supporting the family while doing the school deal? I realize that living in Bloomfield is not expensive..but you still have to buy food and clothes for the kids right?

Other thought I'm having is...what other school do they have in the area, besides San Juan Community? I'm pretty familiar with the area there...I lived in Farmington for a few years.

[ajritter04]

I'm in Albuquerque, not the Farmington / Bloomfield / Aztec area.

CNM (Central New Mexico Community College, formerly TVI) has a workstudy program that allows 20 hours per week for a job, they also offer job placement assistance while you're in school. Essentially, they have a list of employers that will work around your school schedule. For instance, I have a Computer Science class from 11:30am - 1:15pm Tuesday & Thursday.
Know any "regular" employers who would let you take off for 3 hours right in the middle of the day twice a week?

Aside from that, under the SSI program for our Autistic son, we get SSI income (since my wife can't work) as well as state assistance while I go to school. I guess you could consider it "welfare", but the state only helps out while I'm in school, so I'm not sitting on my ass watching Maury or anything.