Experience with your LTL company

Road Runner,
Are they keeping you busy up there? I haven't worked all week.

 

With a year OTR now, I'm seriously looking at different options...

Is there a LTL for newbies somewhere? I'll do my best to read up in the mean time, lol...

 

Hey road_runner,
After reading another thread making it clear you don't necessarily have to start
with otr, I'am making every effort to find an ltl with a line haul position avaliable.
I recieved my CDL last month, do you have any pointers or advice that may be useful
when applying? Thanks
HmrTime2

 

Yeah. Been kinda random. I was called off once last week. For the most part, I run about 340 miles a night. Now that winter is hitting Montana, we can't pull triples anymore... so hopefully things will pick up more.

 

My LTL company is headquartered in Portland. I would bang on some doors and ask around. We've had a few drivers retire. Guess a lot of guys don't wanna deal with the snow. When you submit your application, be sure you attach a copy of your CDL school diploma.

 

Yeah, I agree with the road test for sure. Mine was administered by my veteran coworker. He also gave me a crash course on hooking sets. He never did fill out my actual score sheet aside from both our signatures and a check mark on the pass box.

He did threaten me at the start that if I were to put the truck sideways at any point of the drive, he would put a big red x on the fail box. LOL.

We pretty much ran a linehaul route and he showed me a bit on where they want their trailers parked. It was a paid training session. I did wish that they teamed me up with him for at least a week. He is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. I could have learned a lot from him.

 

Just be thankful you got one who would show you anything at all. These companies are not gonna spend a penny they don't have to.

 

I see guys with the newspaper over their heads all the time (figuratively speaking). They send you out into the north 40 to do pickups and often times there will be a lull in the action if its a slow day. But running back and forth from the terminal would be a waste of time and fuel, so it turns into power nap or web browsing time until they send you a dispatch.

 

Yeah, the little training I got was way to little to put me on good ground. On my second day at work I pulled my first rocky set. I missed a turn on a brand new route and tried to turn around at one of those scenic pull-offs. I ended up turning too sharp, and my long box in the front crushed the front corner of my rear box in the back. I was issued a letter of reprimand two weeks later for it. I was stunned that they didn't can me...

My personal opinion, they should invest the extra money, and pair up a rookie LTL driver with a trainer for at least one week to figure out the routes, terminal locations/combos, and give guidance on hooking sets. Doesn't matter how much experience you got pulling single trailers, pulling sets and the extra attention to detail is a whole different ball game. Just my two cents.