Just wanted to say how happy I am with my new driving job...I ran OTR for 14 mos. with a decent company from my area, but for me it was a tough life...I have a wife and 3 young kids and I couldn't stand being away from home weeks at a time missing them.
I recently was hired on with a well known "MEGA" LTL carrier in my hometown. Better than average hourly wages, respectful management and piers, and best of all, home everyday with weekends off!!! I live in a smaller community and only a few miles from the freight terminal.
The hours are long, but not necessarily longer than OTR driving, and OT after 8. I have done some dock work, linehaul, and P&D work servicing areas within about 100 mi.
It is a physical job most of the time, jumping in and out of the tractor/trailers several times daily and sometimes unloading freight by hand, but I like the exercise...
In summary I think I have found a great fit for me. I love driving, dealing with customers(most who are friendly), and moving around a lot.
To any drivers who may have considered this type of work, I would HIGHLY recommend it...especially if you find the hardest thing about OTR is missing out on family life.
To conclude, much respect to those OTR drivers who love their line of work, but if you feel like you don't fit in, and need to be home more, but still love the driving aspect try an LTL job. You may find it as enjoyable as I have thus far...
Thanks for reading 😉
Very happy with LTL work!
Discussion in 'LTL and Local Delivery Trucking Forum' started by snowlauncher, Apr 25, 2015.
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superflow, RookieJ1987, XFM2013 and 7 others Thank this.
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Currently, LTL is what we probably have to rely on trucking. The company my dad leased to, have contracts with fedex freight.
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delivering 6,000 pounds of PittMoss to a 9th generation farmer receiving his first product of questionable "moss" seeing his face light up with joy. Unlike OTR, Build up a alliance of friends and get to know your community a bit better and the negative side of customers, Who to stay the F away from never conduct personal business with or shop at their stores
Only thing sucks about being LTL P&D. Get to know operations of these multi-Million / Billion $ companies and is disgusted the way employees is treated or how screwed up the company is with zero communications in house about appointments.
Good for you happy @ your job.Last edited: Apr 25, 2015
snowlauncher, bottomdumpin, Bob Dobalina and 1 other person Thank this. -
I have many fond memories of my P&D days, and yes as far as trucking jobs go it's the easiest way to have a "normal" M-F work life and make a decent paycheck. Pay is a little low starting out but once you reach top hourly it's not bad.
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RookieJ1987, Shaggy and Mike2633 Thank this.
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Couldn't agree more. Did OTR for two years. Was planning on sticking it out for a long time and eventually getting my own truck but things happened at home that i needed to be there for. Been P&D for almost a year now and i wouldn't take OTR back any day. Though i do miss not having to deal with people all of the time. Not even so sure that i would really want to do line haul. Still, negatives of P&D seem to far outweigh OTR, for me anyways. To each his/her own. -
I've been debating on doing p/d for awhile now. I really like the idea of the job. Multi stops. Dealing with customers. Every day being mostly different. Really interests me. My only issue is getting my hours in every week. Where I'm currently at, I only make about 2 less per hour than what most ltls start out at. But I know I'm getting 65 hours a week(no OT). So it's guaranteed money. I worry with LTL this may not be possible. Especially with slow times.
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You will dislike dealing with customers very quickly.
RookieJ1987 Thanks this. -
Now that I've taken over a real route, with more dock and forklift off the back stops, I've begun to like my job again.
My last run was miserable. Not leaving the yard until close to 10, with 18 stops, 14 of which being residentials, finishing up 2 hours away.snowlauncher Thanks this. -
Yea, the most experienced p&d guys at my company usually depart around 0900 with 20 stops or so...some drive 50-70 miles to a nearby community for their route, but generally they return by 1830...so a little OT but not excessive...of course they know most of the customers and how to get in and out quickly on most occasions..
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