FFE linehaul

From what I hear, FFE is not bad today. Drivers seem to make money there for a mega.

 

I remember AE being out there.

 

in your opinion what are the positives and minuses of the job. Being out 16 to 18 days is not ideal for me but not that bad. My kids are gone. It just seems like a job that’s right up my alley especially the part of going from terminal to terminal. Just curious and trying to find out as much as possible before committing

 

If you don’t have littles or grandkids at home, or don’t mind being gone that amount of time, I think it’s not a bad job at all. You could even take several longer vacations and not burn your vacation time since you’re home 5-6 days after that on linehaul. That was what I liked about it. You do have some downtime during that 16-18 day stretch also. You can PC to restaurants, gyms, grocery stores, movies, etc. They also prefer you to use the gps on the tablet (it’s pretty decent) and run their routes but I didn’t have too many issues not doing so at times. I would just explain my reasoning and was able to go how I wanted. I don’t like fuel solutions, though. Most of the time they weren’t too hard ##### about those either.
I do miss fueling at Loves. Their points are the best and you can use them for unlimited refills, the fast food places attached, etc. We fuel mainly at PFJ and you can’t really use points for much of anything - that I want anyway.
I will say it’s cut down on me grabbing fast food or sodas when I have food in my truck. That alone has helped my health tremendously.
All in all, it’s not a bad company, IMO. After leaving the company I was with for 9 years, I worked at 2 different companies. One I really liked, but after an on the job injury, I was told bye and the second one had AI inward facing cameras installed so I said bye. And if you knew me, you’d know I’m pretty witchy (with a b) and speak my mind (even when I shouldn’t), and stand up for myself. That tends to get me in trouble. Have I done the same here? You bet. But, if I had my pick of companies and had to stay out 3 weeks, I’d work here on linehaul or FCC because I know a lot of drivers there who think they’re a good company. I like working regional/local because I have small grand babies (5 years & 18 months) and they are my world. I see them every weekend and if my schedule allows, sometimes a night during the week.
If you want, there is a team that has YouTube channel. It’s called TyxTee TV. They run linehaul for FFE. That was the most recent information I found on the company when I was looking. I think they both went through the school in TX and have been driving about a year.

 

No they don't. Management is horrible and you can wait for weeks to get a truck if yours was assigned to another driver. They don't even pay layover if you are waiting on a truck sometimes. Eight out of 10 trailers have problems. You loose a lot of money sitting around and waiting for repairs.

 

Management is iffy at 99% of carriers. You just have to know how to manage them and make them think it’s their idea. I have had the same truck since I started here, even when it was in the shop, I got paid. I have heard firsthand from drivers losing their trucks while in the shop and I have heard firsthand from drivers who got paid the pitiful $75/day while their truck was in the shop. Haven’t had very many trailers that have issues, other than the standard hard to close doors, a tire issue every now and again, or the occasional reefer issue. Don’t know where you’re out of or even if you work for FFE currently, but even if it’s a little more slow than usual, I’m making money. Is it always the best paycheck every week? No. But that’s how this industry works.

 

are all the terminals set up the same (parking layouts, check in process, etc) ? if not, which one was your favorite

 

LOL. No. Well, in one aspect they’re all kind of the same. There’s not really anyone to tell you where to drop your trailer, get your paperwork etc. You just find a yard jockey or ask another driver. Some terminals have gates with codes you enter to get in. Linehaul has those codes if the ones on the sheet from orientation are wrong. Some are 24/7 and some are barely 9-5. (like Rocky Mount). I’d say of the few terminals I’ve been to, my favorite is in Dundee FL. Lots of places to go down there and they have laundry, showers and a decent drivers lounge. Next would be the “mothership” in Lancaster TX. After you are officially hired, there is a van for drivers to use to go grab stuff. You just can’t keep it all day. It’s a piece of crap, but if you need to go to Walmart or grab a bite to go, it’s good. Laundry, showers and drivers lounge there too. Plus the main shop. If you google Frozen Food Express terminals, it should bring you to a page that has all of them listed with addresses and you can look at them on maps.

 

And the terminal manager, Tom Brown, in Dundee, Fl. is the best! I worked for him at Conway Southern Express in Orlando, Fl. for over 13 years before I retired. If you ever make it to Dundee terminal tell him that 2H sends his best. He'll know who your talking about.