Just make sure you point that ramp straight for the back door.

and make sure the door was open.

Every now and then a passerby will comment on how dangerous it looks when I come down the ramp with 400 lbs of windshield wash or water softener salt or something.

Truth be told it was scary as hell when I first started but after awhile you learn how to handle it. You do need a "runway" though.

I can't tell you how many times at a gas station I'll have someone park their car giving me only about 2 feet of room. Morons....

I have had a couple of times when they've parked there just as I start coming down the ramp (You can't hold back 400 lbs) and I just barely stop it before it hits their car. You ask them to move and they always say "I'll just be a couple minutes." I always respond "Okay, you better hope you're not parked there for my next load or I'll use your car to stop me".

My very first driving job was with an LTL company, I had a very easy run, every night I would drive 180 miles out, switch with another driver and drive 180 miles back, never had to deliver a thing, never had to drive in the city, home everyday and every weekend, made almost 20 dollars an hour and had good benefits too.

Why I ever quit that job to buy a truck and start driving OTR I will never know, young and stupid I guess.

I'm looking at a run very similar to that where I can put my truck on and be home everyday and make just as much as I would driving OTR.

Re: WHY WORK FOR A OTR COMPANY GO LTL
 

In a word, unions. Who wants to work for a union? Not me, that's for sure.

Re: WHY WORK FOR A OTR COMPANY GO LTL
 

You don't have to work for the union in LTL. In fact, none of the companies he mentioned (Saia, AAA Cooper, FedEx Freight) are union. Neither are Conway, Old Dominion, Estes, Central R&L, FedEx National LTL, Vitran, UPS Freight (for now), etc.

But the fact is, the Teamsters help keep all our wages and benefits up in LTL. It's why I get overtime after 40 hours and you don't. Without unions, we would get crap money like in OTR.

Re: WHY WORK FOR A OTR COMPANY GO LTL
 

The IBT is only part of the reason our wages & working conditions in LTL are better.

Its also economies of scope and barriers to entry.

Once you are a in an area to make 1 drop its easier to make others. If you are dropping a package every 300 yards (think UPS) its much more efficient. Most LTL companies run "team" tractors as they are used for P&D during the day and line at night.

It takes a lot of land, labor and capital to offer nationwide LTL service. This is different to truckload where any yahoo who can scrape together $25k for equipment can undercut you.

There are also limits to where the McMegaCarrier business model works. It seems to work well for Reefer & Dry van. When you get into more specialized & skilled stuff the insurance & damage claims mount. I know a few years ago when Swift tried to expand into Car Hauling and took a bath.

Re: WHY WORK FOR A OTR COMPANY GO LTL
 

Yes, that's well-stated and very true. When you think about it, we have more in common with the parcel carriers than we do with Werner, Swift, Schneider, etc.

Some have tried to bypass the traditional hub/terminal system by using "breakbulk-free" LTL ala Jevic/New Century. Didn't work out too well. Trains? Nope. O/O's & fleece-purchase scams? Nada. Central broke the Teamsters by going all O/O's and then went back to company drivers. Ditto for FedEx when they bought Watkins.

From the driver's seat, LTL is kinda like OTR before the market was deregulated: wages that keep up with inflation/cost-of-living. Top-notch bennies. People who speak English. Much better working conditions.

The numbers tell the tale - our turnover rates are nowhere near the astronomical churn-rates of the OTR carriers. That's why I always tell people to go LTL. But does anyone listen? Noooo. They're all in a big hurry to bankruptcy court and going through the Big "D" don't mean Dallas via Lease-Purchase scams. :D

But not all of us want to drive around town all day and get up at 3 am to be at work when I am already at work and sleeping at 3am in my truck.

I want to be out there driving the highways and seeing the USA because I havent been doing that for the past 30 years, I have been driving around town doing something else.

I dont need your big pay and bennies...I have my retirement and bennies.

So dont paint us all as dummies just because we dont want to make ur preceived bigger bucks and be home every night.

Im making larger bucks and enjoying my time on the road.

To each his own. :)

You don't have to be home every night and you definately aren't making the larger bucks on the road . Many Linehaul drivers choose to stay out for 3 or more days at a time seeing the country while staying at hotels nightly paid for by the company . If you want to run hard and stay out in the LTL business , that option always open for you , and you will doing so making way more money and not having to deal with rude shippers and receivers while waiting for free .

If you count in the 41cpm I make as a company driver and the money I get from my retirement, Im doing pretty good. :wink:

41 cpm is solid , but's it not 54 cpm......

GL with the open road , Crete is a good company overall .

You know, I'm looking forward to retiring 15 years from now... the kids will be on their own...maybe me and the old lady can put a few miles seeing the country side...

Sounds like your happy. And if your happy where ya at, why go anywhere else?

Happy trails. :D :D

Re: WHY WORK FOR A OTR COMPANY GO LTL
 

I should also add the most LTL companies run their equipment into the Ground. Some of this cost savings finds it way to the employees.

When you only spend 6-10 hrs M-F with the thing rather than living on it most folk would rather have older equipment and better pay.

By LTL standards Con-Way has a new fleet and our equipment turns over on about a 10-12 year cycle. UPS gets 20 years out of package cars, Yellow has city tractors that I suspect are older than me. You can run equipment thats older than dirt when its never more than 100mi from a shop.

I spent a the better part of a year lurking on here and talking to drivers before getting into trucking.

IMHO you can't turn back the clock to before deregulation. While it offered better pay and working conditions for us it was costly and inefficient for society as a whole.

We should just apply the FLSA to trucking. If long haul companies had to pay for ALL of the drivers time they would find ways to become a lot more efficient.

I did P$D work for 2 years and i went crazy .If you like pushing and pulling, counting frieght endind up at lake homes, Trailer parks, any place theirs life, You will deliver stuff like T.Vs beds anything you my order on e-bay let's say you will deliver it. That's P$D work.Oh ya you my goto some warehouse and get to watch someone load some frieght.

https://www.myyellow.com/dynamic/ser...ings/wiify.jsp

https://www.myyellow.com/dynamic/ser...ngs/uwages.jsp

:cool:

https://www.myyellow.com/dynamic/ser.../roadriver.jsp

:cool:

I like my union. I wouldn't work here without one. And we do set the standard for pay and health and welfare. And while my Sterling isn't the fanciest thing on the road, it is assigned and well maintained. We don't operate junk at UPS. No offense, but it seems like there is an anti union bias here by people who have never had to struggle on a picket line before..At Brown, we all hang together for the good of all UPS employees. It's why in this day and age of "give backs", poor health-care and non-existent pensions and driver exploitation, that doesn't happen where I work. Nobody in the trucking industry "gives" you anything, you have to be willing to fight for it. The "Swifts" of the world only exist, because no one will stand up to them and demand better treatment. They count on a willing stream of warm bodies who won't look too close at the fine print on the raw deal they're getting. And as long as those warm bodies keep coming and your not willing to stand up and say you are worth better, the economic "race to the bottom" will continue. I'm proud to call myself a Teamster.

I agree 100% , very well put .

Who did you pull for? Rent-A-Center? I don't mess with anything if it ain't on a pallet. And you spent 2 years dealing with that crap? I wouldn't put up with that BS for 2 days.

Some of you people work for some really dog-crap companies. I have a set peddle-run which is 90% bumping docks at customers I deal with on a day-to-day basis. It's like a dedicated city run.

Just yesterday, I showed up to one of my regular stops and there were sleeper trucks everywhere. No problem, talked to my man inside and he bumped me to the front of the line. In and outta there in 15 minutes flat. Those other guys were sitting there for hours on end waiting to get loaded. Probably still sitting there for all I know. Exactly why I'll never go back to runnin' the road: too many freebies.

Can some one give me some websites please for these LTL compays looking for drivers. Thanks

Yellow

https://www.myyellow.com/dynamic/ser...ion/index.html

ABF

http://www.abfs.com/about/jobs/?NLO=s8em&WT.svl=T

Estes

http://www.estes-express.com/about/drivers.htm

I must say I have never given much thought about going LTL, but everything I have read in this thread is quite tempting!

Considering I do not hold a CDL or any verifiable experience for that matter, what would be the best way for me to get into one of these carriers?

Also, as many have mentioned most of these companies require you to run on an as needed extra board. Are there any exceptions to this? Do some companies allow you to come in running P&D and bid on linehaul routes or offer you more stable hours? As of right now the only major drawback I see is having to run off the extra board.

What about the companies themselves? Are there any advantages to working for one over another? This is a great thread and I have definately appreciated everyones info here!

There is no set answer to your question as it can vary from terminal to terminal even within the same company. Generally speaking the better the job, the harder it is to get in and get hours right away because nobody leaves. Alot has to do with the local economy of the terminal. They may sign a big customer and everyone's working or lose a big customer and the bottom is sitting at home. As a rule you need at least a year of experience, hazmat, and doubles but there are always exceptions. Put in 2-5 years at any LTL company and you will be sitting pretty well. Or, continue doing OTR and 5 years from now you'll still be in the same boat. I got into UPS Freight linehaul a couple months ago and I'm working pretty steady even though this is our slow period. Grossing 700-1100 per week at the bottom of the pay scale and bottom of the board, plus home every day. I never turn down work and I even go in when I dont have a run just because someone will see me there and give up his run cause he dont feel like working. :wink:

thanks smooth

hamboner,

If you have a Conway in your city, they do have a training program if you don't have a cdl. You'll have to work on the dock for awhile, while getting
your Class A license.

.54 cpm for LTL. WOW! My LTL company sucks then. I started with DATS in SLC in november, and when I breakdown my pay, it comes out to .40 cpm. This is line-haul. Their p&d guys start at $16 an hour with no ot. Hmm, Maybe time to broaden my horizon eh?

Thanks Hwyfly! Do they start you out training for a CDL or do you have to wait on something to open up and bid on it before you can train? There is a Conway not too far from here, but I checked the website and do not see any positions open in this area. Guess I will have to keep my eyes peeled!

Your best bet is to just call or visit and talk to the terminal manager or HR person. LTL does not need recruiters; to quote Sgt. Drucker from the movie Heat "But I don't have to sell this and you know it, 'cause this kind of s&*% here sells itself."



Dock to driver is about a 4 month process. You start as a dockworker. Its only offered at the larger terminals that need drivers.

For the 1st month you just work the dock on the inbound (03:00-08:00) or outbound (16:00-21:00). Once it starts training runs from 8-15:30 M-F and 9-5 Sat. There will be 5-10 people in you class. About 60% of those who start the class will earn their CDL.

Once you have your CDL in hand you are on the extra board. Being on the extra board sucks..as you are on call 24/7 M-F. Once you get a start time (bid) its one of the best gigs in trucking.

You will make more per mile you 1st day at Con-Way than someone who has been at a McMegaCarrier for a DECADE makes.

FedEx Freight has a similar deal.

BOL and Happy Hunting.

How about someone who already has a CDL with a year or 2 of experience ? Would such a person need to work in the docks too ?

Depends, im a city driver for yellow and I work the dock if there is no driving available that day.

Lets all type in capitals and bash otr drivers :roll:

I love OTR, and I make way more than LTL any day of the week. I do respect LTL guys, because its a lot of traffic and (sometimes) difficult manuevers.

LTL has benefits and perks (mostly) compared to OTR, I will give it that :wink:

You make way more then LTL ? Do you net way way then LTL to ? Somehow I don't see many OTR drivers making 90k+ , plenty of LTL guys do .

It's called bedbugging.....and yes, a net of $90k is very doable

Once you factor in all the hours and time away from home in OTR, then it isn't the big-money occupation that most claim it to be.

This is true, the majority do not make 90K+ But some must work harder than others.

I wonder what the guys that pull horse trailers make? The ones with 18 wheels. If people spend what they do for a car, imagine their living freight (that they want to make to the other end, NOT the slaughterhouse) :lol: Thats a different niche I been pondering.

I"v been in the LTL world and your not making 90k plus mybe 65-75k MYBe,, At UPS line-haul after 10years .I was a O/O in LTL and did'n gross 90k !!!

You don't know what I make, and I'll leave it at that. Its more than you think.

You're still not making anywhere near 90k in LTL. I would believe 65k to 75k, and this amount would be more likely a seasoned driver, but your insulting our intelligence with the 90k figure!

Show us the proof that a lot of LTL drivers are making 90k+ these days, or you are just blowing HOT air!!