Curious about LTL Truck driving.

I hate pizza joints 50 lbs of flour and 50 lbs boxs of cheese no bueno I always say let pfg have all of them I dont want any part of it

 

ABF and UPS Freight are union and pay pretty decent with benefits and pension. Fedex freight is non-union with a top rate around $30, and most hours you'll work there is about 45-50 a week. I believe most ltl outfits are the same, save for a couple dollar difference in wages, but some outifts will only pay straight time even if you do 70 a week, whiles others will pay OT after 8 in a day.

You'll be expected to run your truck efficiently and safely, run a forklift on the dock when needed (to either load your truck, or help loading/unloading others) and be able to physically offload/load freight as needed throughout the day.

Work conditions vary. I work at ups freight. Our standard work week in spring/summer is 12-14 hours a day, 5 days a week. Fall/winter slows down a bit to about 50 hours a week. As others have said, ltl is all about seniority, so as a new guy you'll have the worst start time which could be anywhere from 10am all the way up to 12pm or later. It can be heavy physical labor at times, and the tractor you might be running can be a real piece of junk with no a/c in the middle of summer, or no heat in the winter. But that all depends on the outfit you work for. Some companies take pride in their equipment, others just care if the truck runs so they can make their deliveries and pick-ups. Overall, you wont have the best work conditions until you get 10 years of seniority under your belt and have the nice 6am start time with the perfect running equipment.

I was able to get hired with zero trucking experience. I chalk this up to a tight labor market and companies hurting for drivers that actually want to work. You might be able to luck out like that as well.

Steps you can take is to get all of your endorsements. Also, make sure your mentally and physically ready for the grind. Ltl as a new guy is definitely a grind and even though youre in your bed everyday, your social and/or family life during the week can take a hit with the hours you'll be working.

 

What's the difference between ups freight and ups parcel?

 

Parcel guys are the wimps, and the freight guys are the dirty rough necks. Freight and parcel are both owned by ups, and freight and parcel guys are ups employees, but we opearte as two separate companies.

 

If youre union that dont fly.

 

That might be true at other barns. Where I'm at it's usually 55 to 60 hours per week. They are usually looking for linehaul drivers to volunteer on weekends. Ot after 8 hours time and a half

 

Not a whole lot I can add. I wrote this up after my first year of linehaul with Reddaway. Kinda has some info in there you are looking for .

One year of LTL in review...