Looking to go local, need advice...

I agree 100%. I switched from OTR to local and a short day for me now is 12 hours, with 13-14 the norm, and I'm right back in my truck 10 hours from the minute I punch out. Some days I start around 0100 and others 0900, and get home anywhere from 1300 to 2200 hours. Saturdays or Sundays? You bet. Holidays? Those too. I've been with this company for about a year doing those hours and if it wasn't for my family I'd be back to OTR in less time than it takes to type this response.

 

I work for Jb hunt and work 11-14 hour days mon-Friday weekends off making 50+.....the jobs are out there you just gotta look but there are plenty of terrible $12/hr jobs too lol ,but for me going home and sleeping in my bed beats everything....depends what you really want out of truck driving.


Also we end our day around 5pm and when we fuel the truck stop is full of other day cabs so I wouldn't just look in the morning

 

The schedule you are requesting is going to be the most difficult thing. You can haul fuel, they probably work you about 10 hours a day because the shifts run on a 12-hour basis. If you have HAZMAT and Tanker, that's the way to go.

 

I just took a home heating oil delivery job. $25 hr with OT and benefits.
6-6 m-f and some Saturdays.
Those are winter hrs. Summer hrs right around 40 a week. Plus in summer doing some boiler / AC installs as needed.
Small 48 employee company.
Full defined benefits.
10 wheel tanks with mostly autos.
I served my 16 months of mega hell. Made the best out of being at Werner. They did very good by me. If my life were different, I would have stayed with Werner for a very long time because I felt valued.
New company takes care of their equipment. I asked to inspect the equipment during the interview.
They obliged. Right there I knew it was gonna be a company I was interested in.
Older well kept IH and KW trucks.
New tires on all units, new paint, no leaks, clean interiors.
That's the kind of owner I want to work for.
So I took it.
I held out and almost lost my fiancé for it.
But I was gonna be ###### if I was gonna operate junk equipment ( see yrc and abf )
Or have the likes of fed ex or ups micro manage every second of my day...
Give me a truck, tell me where it needs to be, and let me SAFELY do my job.
One thing I loved about Werner. They may not have liked every decision I made, but they let me make it within their guidelines.
This new place is the same way.

 

Thanks.
Too many people settle. Including myself. I am on the wrong side of 30. Time for me to grow up lol

 

Just to add @rabbiporkchop, Bimbo Bakeries is the largest Bakery in the US after the collapse of IBC. Stroehman bread is a regional thing. Stroehman use to be the number one bread in the North East, don't know if they still are now. They even outsold Wonder Bread, whereas Wonder Bread was bigger towards the west. Grocery Haulers MAY be a regional thing as well.

I did notice that Bimbo does have a couple facilities in Tennessee, but the one in Chattanooga seems to be a depot, and not a distribution center. I also noticed that Bimbo still seems to have a private fleet in other states, whereas up in the NE, Grocery Haulers does the delivery for them.

If Bimbo Bakeries has a distribution center in TN close to your area, I'd definitely check them. Excellent income, completely paid benefits, severance pay package, and a pension or 401k. And some only work 8-10 hours a day, but usually in the Bakery industry you have off on Saturday and Tuesday.