Cargo Van vs tractor trailer

Hey guys, found a local sprinter/cargo van job, it pays $20/hour. My question is, is it worth it over my tractor trailer job that pays $23/hr? The tractor trailer job is food service, and the cargo van is delivering packages. The cargo van is much easier on the body. I’m just getting sick of ramping up and down stairs and basements. So is $3/hr downgrade worth it for an easier job? Thanks for any input!

 

Only you know the answer to that question

 

Driving the smaller vehicle is less stressful also. But, you’re not getting credit on your resume for driving a Class A rig. So, you’ve just got to look into the future a few years and ask yourself what you want to be doing. If you ever want to drive the big iron like this one, pay your dues driving that food service tractor and I’ll give you a chance to start pulling dump trailers and small equipment. Then work your way up. But not everyone wants to drive OTR or heavy haul, they just want to make a living and go home every night. Nothing wrong with that, either.

 

@ETMF 58 White Thank you sir. It’s true what you said, the level of stress will probably be cut in half driving a small sprinter van instead of a big rig. I do still need to work on my backing, it’s not the greatest, but it works for now. I guess that’s my dilemma, controlling my stress level is a priority, but I still need class-A experience.

 

This is what I have been interested in trying to get into. Just looking at different ways to get started hauling it is my hold up.

 

Are you kidding? Go get the van. Ditch the food service bone breaker.

 

That will come in time. But not at the expense of stress and physical degeneration.

 

Think towards the future. If you have a Class A and actively use it, you can find a good to great paying job almost anywhere. When you get tired of something or feel you aren't being compensated well enough, you have tons of choices available. If you take the sprinter job, where do you go from there? How stable is the company (FedEx Express, DHL, etc, or some random 3rd party Amazon contractor)?

I would have absolutely taken the job in the sprinter van before I got my CDL, but I won't even consider it now. When I get tired of foodservice, I'll head over to the LTL side of trucking.

 

i worked package van home/business deliveries, and it was ok. (the former RPS company, now fedex ground)

thing is, you will get x number of stops, and many of those places do not want you back, until you deliver each and every one of them.

you will be "timed" on how much time you take getting to each stop, and walking to the front, or side or rear door.

if you are way too slow, after you put in several days/weeks, of supposedly learning, you will be talked to.

look at the UPS brownies..i know for a fact (my bro-in-law works at the d/c center, as an unloader) that MANY brownie drivers get back as late as 10 PM, and this is when they had a 9 AM start!

and MUCH later when the weather is terrible

yes, it is "easier" in a sense, but YOU WILL BE TIMED...!!!!

 

Yeah, they usually don't get packages delivered to my house until around 7 or 8pm, on a regular time of the year. Holiday periods? Hah.