Is LTL the best area of trucking? What's the catch?

I hate phone games too.

 

Let me rephrase my po

I already addressed this in post #74 on this thread, but I ought to elaborate.

I'd say about 90% of LTL driving is at night. Someone would do OTR for a mega carrier and sleep at truck stops for less money because at the OTR company for a mega carrier, only about 40% of their driving would have to be at night. Furthermore, when people drive OTR for a mega carrier at nighttime, if they get tired, they can stop for two hours and take a 2-hour nap laying down on a bed in the sleeper berth. In LTL linehaul trucking, most LTL linehaul drivers have to drive a daycab, SO THERE IS NOWHERE TO GO TO TAKE A 2-HOUR NAP IF YOU GET TIRED! You would have to sleep sitting straight up in a seat that barely even reclines. You're going to get far higher quality sleep laying down in a bed than trying to sleep in a seat that barely even reclines. These are HUGE disadvantages for many people.

Furthermore, the dollies used in LTL work are too heavy for most women to handle. The dollies weigh approximately 3,500 pounds. Sometimes they get stuck in potholes, and most women don't have the physical strength to move them out of a pothole. Yes, I know that there are a few women in LTL. That's why I said MOST women. Most women are excluded from LTL trucking due to the weight of the dollies. The word most means a majority, but not necessarily all.

You have to get out in the cold, hard rain in the wintertime and assemble and disassemble sets of trailers. Ugh! This is far more time-consuming than just hooking to an individual trailer or dropping an individual trailer in OTR.

Furthermore, as I said in post #74, you have to have doubles & triples endorsement and frequently tanker endorsement in LTL. There are truckers who read at the 3rd grade reading level. These written tests are a major barrier for some drivers.

P.S. Another reason that a driver might do OTR for a mega carrier and sleep at truck stops for less money is that they don't know that they could make more money driving at an LTL company and sleep at motels. Most truck drivers in America do not visit this message board. This is not a disadvantage of LTL driving. It's not a catch. But it is a reason that some OTR drivers don't do LTL: They are unaware of the benefits of LTL.

 

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This guy is right but I do see guys on off-ramps taking naps all the time. It is extremely uncomfortable but some guys manage do it. Also, forget about going to truck stop or rest are at night because you will be barely able to pull through ( at most truck stops). OTR drivers are parked all over the place and most of the time I don’t feel like trying to squeeze through.

Most important thing as a linehaul driver is good quality sleep. I watched one guy doze off on I-65 last week and and witnessed him going into ditch. This was around 3am in Indiana.

 

Nobody can get good quality sleep in a daycab with bucket seats.

 

some ltl's run with 48' and 53' vans. no dollies involved.

 

I’m guessing that’s Florida?

 

Maybe turnpike?