Wanting to make the swap from food delivery to LTL

Discussion in 'LTL and Local Delivery Trucking Forum' started by nickel871, Jan 12, 2021.

  1. nickel871

    nickel871 Bobtail Member

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    I know my 8 hour days are probably going to be long and gone, but i'm ready to make the swap out of food delivery. After only 6 years of doing it, my body is telling me to stop and i'm wondering what companies I should be looking at? I live in the Indianapolis, Indiana area and i've applied to Saia, and FedEx. Any others worth mention that will pay around what i made doing food service? (80k+)
    Thank you for your answers!
     
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  3. McUzi

    McUzi Road Train Member

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    You’re not going to make $80+k out of the gate in your location right out of the gate, you’re looking at a couple years on a seniority board in ltl in Indy for that to comfortably happen. Aim for FedEx Freight, I think they’re the best LTL outfit in the country.
     
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  4. nickel871

    nickel871 Bobtail Member

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    I applied to them about an hour or so ago. I have a buddy who works for Saia down in louisville, ky. He said he made 88K last year but he's been there 4 years(we used to work at the same company, he went ltl, i went food service lol)
     
  5. HiramKingWilliams

    HiramKingWilliams Heavy Load Member

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    If you go P&D, not only will you bust your ### humping 2k-4K skids, but you’ll go places no tractor-trailer should even be considered to go.
     
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  6. McUzi

    McUzi Road Train Member

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    Granted that he's got experience in food service, I'll bet he's used to squeezing a trailer where it shouldn't be. Biggest difference is that he'll have a pallet jack to help unload instead of his vertebrae and a 2 wheeler.
     
  7. HiramKingWilliams

    HiramKingWilliams Heavy Load Member

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    Touche.
     
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  8. MACK E-6

    MACK E-6 Moderator Staff Member

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    The food service guys do that too. They have to squeeze 48’ trailers into some of the same stupid locations.
     
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  9. nickel871

    nickel871 Bobtail Member

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    you already know... I guarantee I’ve delivered to places that’d make a lot of drivers cringe. I always get asked “how’d you get that thing in there?!” Makes the job exciting and like a giant puzzle!
     
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  10. McUzi

    McUzi Road Train Member

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    I've always had to be humble when comparing truck sectors against food service. I used to have a sales route in (beverage) South Boston many years ago, had about 180 accounts that I would visit between multiple times a week, bi-weekly, etc. Before I bumped up from South Boston I was south of the city. When I'd go downstairs into customer basements, I'd be amazed at not only where these drivers would put a trailer where it wasn't supposed to be, but the sheer danger of constantly going down into basements with spiral staircases, greasy stairs, broken stairs, gravel basements etc. Most if not all of these customers demanded that the product be delivered into these excrement holes. Before I even got into trucking, food service ranked at the top of my "f--- that" list.

    At times I wished I was hourly instead of commission because I hammered the hell out of the 3 drivers that were always in my area.
     
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