[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by DRIVERMAN77077

work for 28 cents a mile

While that may be true for "newbies"....its no longer true where more experienced drivers are concerned. The pay is much higher nowadays, and many companies are shifting to practical miles as well.

I get 40cpm on practical miles, and I get paid for most everything I do. My pay is rather comparable to a Teamsters....so there are many opportunities out there that pay far better than 28 cpm. Unfortunately the jobs like this are generally out of reach of newbies....but then again most LTL jobs are as well.

[ben45750]

Originally Posted by Deus

Would take even less time to just use the existing antennas that are on the mirrors, and the existing power line that runs to the CB box. I don't own a CB :-) All our trucks are wired for them, but I just never have really seen the point in owning a CB. I may get one though, just cause I get bored out there sometimes and I've also had a couple situations where it could come in handy. The other day I was driving down the other side of the interstate and I saw another truck whose wheel was about to catch fire, I don't think he had noticed so a CB would have come in handy to let him know before he had an even bigger problem.

I think a CB is a must have in the winter time (changing road conditions and brake checks) Last thing I want to do is slide into stopped traffic because I can't get stopped in time. We can't all ways just pull over and take a nap while the road conditions to get better so we have to keep moving. It has also saved me a couple times in the last month from speeding tickets, I run a lot in Ohio so it's nice to have a radio, so it's worth to take a couple minutes to hook everything up. I just have a cheapo Cobra 29 but it does the job.

[One]

I make about 15 cpm more than I would OTR driving line-haul, drop and hook, ca. 2500 miles/wk and im home weekends. I LOOOOVE my company

[poserpunk765]

so can someone tell me city driving with an LTL company is comparable to food service delivery...someplace like Sysco or US Foods?

[fasttruck]

Originally Posted by Uturn2001

Well for starters not everyone likes doing local type work. Many would like to spend more time running the open roads than constantly fighting city traffic.

Next those type of jobs are not available everywhere, and in some places where they do have them the competition is fierce.

Next there are many companies that are now paying around 40 cpm for 1 or 2 years experience so the gap is less than it was a few years ago.

Finally, if it was not for OTR drivers the local guys would have a lot less freight to haul. :P :P :P

Dont forget some guys dont like to be far away from the buffet lines at the hook. :arrow:

[Bumper]

I have zero desire to drive around Los Angeles all day unloading a trailer at 20 different places.

I have seen L.A. I am doing this to get the hell out of L.A. and see the rest of the country.

This job is something I want to do, not have to do. Therefore, I will do it the way I want to.

[Kintama]

Originally Posted by poserpunk765

so can someone tell me city driving with an LTL company is comparable to food service delivery...someplace like Sysco or US Foods?

No. You don't have all the labor involved with the foodservice routes. Most LTL involes bumping a dock and running off a board. The call board is the biggest downfall of staying in town in my opinion.

[poserpunk765]

Originally Posted by Kintama

No. You don't have all the labor involved with the foodservice routes. Most LTL involes bumping a dock and running off a board. The call board is the biggest downfall of staying in town in my opinion.

My father in law drove linhaul for 10 years. Seems like something i would love, but i did a VERY short stint at a food service company, and was possibly the worse experience of my life. Now i am kind of hesitent to hand deliver freight.

Not that i am against hard work, but my last day was 18 hours on duty DRIVING and expected to turn around and do it again with 4 hours sleep.

[fasttruck]

Originally Posted by poserpunk765

My father in law drove linhaul for 10 years. Seems like something i would love, but i did a VERY short stint at a food service company, and was possibly the worse experience of my life. Now i am kind of hesitent to hand deliver freight.

Not that i am against hard work, but my last day was 18 hours on duty DRIVING and expected to turn around and do it again with 4 hours sleep.

Foodservice like USFS and Sysco are very different than city pd drivers. You probably unloaded with a ramp curbside of had a liftgate to move every carton on the trailer into stores. Like someone else said this gig you bump docks or D&H. The worst case scenario may be having to use a handtruck but it wont be to load or unload your entire truck, just to load a few cases and go.

[poserpunk765]

i think i can deal with that. Where i was we had to break down the pallets and deliver all pieces down the ramp. Scared poopless every time i ran down that ramp with 200lbs of canned ketchup.