Burned Out Local LTL Driver - Need Advice

Why don't you tell them you can only work part time like three days a week. That should give you a nice balance of work and relaxation.

 

Excellent topic and explanation of what a lot of local work is like..

I can understand the op not wanting to name his company. Easy for companies to figure out who is who here with a few clues. I don't feel as free to discuss the realities in various topics here without maintaining my anonymity.

 

Nope ... not talking about propane or natural gas ... talking about liquid gasoline like you put in your car. Most gas tankers today have 5 compartments carrying approx. 9000 gallons. Inside the larger compartments there are baffles which restrict the forward and rear movements of the liquid. The combination of baffles and bulkheads reduces surge to almost nothing ... now you CAN pick up side to side surge trying to take a turn too sharply, but you'll get used to that and learn how to safely make those turns fairly quickly.

Not to worry about learning how to bottom load ... there is not a carrier out there who wont train you before letting you loose on the gas terminals

 

Can you transfer to a linehaul position?

 

Sometimes, life hands you tough choices. You have to make the sacrifice, one way or the other.

This is just like anything else. If you wait until the "opportunity" falls into your lap, you're gonna be an old man with a long beard, and still doing your LTL gig.

So you can have it etched on your tombstone, "HE COULDN'T AFFORD TO DO ANYTHING ELSE."

The reason they work you like that is two fold. First and foremost, you are not that busy 52 weeks a year. So they don't want to hire people and then not get "full use" out of them during their "slow times." I know. BTDT.
Second reason, is because you let them work you like that. I know, you can't AFFORD to quit. And I'm telling you that either you are exaggerating your working conditions, or you cannot afford NOT to quit.

Look, I'm not busting your balls here. I'm just pointing out some facts of life. You don't say how old you are, but the kind of schedule you are working is a young man's job. (And most young men today would tell the employer to put those hours were the sun don't shine.)

But it isn't just the hours that are doing you in. We all work long ours, some more than others. But it is the type of work. I understand completely where you are coming from. Trying to get a 2500+ # pallet off the nose of a trailer with a pallet jack, is not easy. But the way you are talking about doing it, you are going to bust yourself up, and very quickly. You are going to have knee and back problems, and possible hernia problems. Trying to "jerk" a load like that is eventual suicide for your body.

You need to figure out how to get around this, so you don't kill yourself. There are usually ways around moving this stuff other than doing it by yourself. If there is a fork lift on hand, get them to pull the pallet back with a chain and a pallet puller. If that isn't possible, get somebody at the receiver to give you a hand with it. One pulls, one pushes. Don't take no for an answer, they want their freight.

Are you going to be stuck doing this by yourself sometimes? Sure, but the only way you are stuck with it all the time, is if you let yourself be.

You do have alternatives. You just have to step back and look at what they are. Are any of those alternatives ideal? Hell no, but life is what it is.

 

Sometimes we need to really ask ourselves how important is the money vs our sanity or physical health?? I've quit two jobs in the last two years that had me running against my 70 and then some in 5-6 days. Yes, the money was decent but at this point in my life I have no desire to work that hard anymore, not to mention worrying about my CSA score over violations that will eventually get caught, I've been there and done that for many years. Right now I'm with a Fed Ex Ground contractor running line haul. I'm not making killer money but I'm paying my bills and I'm also only working 8-9 hours per night some nights less. The job is pretty much as stress free as a trucking job can be. I go to work, get my hook slips, build my set, go to my destination, tear apart that set, build a new set of usually empties and head back to my yard, get another hook slip and repeat the process and go home. Now our P&D side does have a little more stress because they are under little tighter time constraints but they do not mess with sets, they're only dragging singles, but they only work 8-10 hours a day too. Again, not great money, but what's really important, money or quality time at home, your health or sanity?

 

I know a guy that wouldn't quit the big paychecks P&D and linehaul. Said he wanted to retire on a paid off farm and enjoy the open fields and wooded areas. He reached his goal; problem is he can't leave his living room and can only enjoy the view looking out the window. Cigarettes to help him stay awake and poor diet led to strokes and emphysema. So, it was all for nothing in the end.

 

That's so sad. Cigarettes are a trap that leads only to disease and early death.

 

BurnedOut I feel your pain believe me.I have zero motivation for trucking like I use to once I started local driving.Your hrs are a lot more demanding then OTR.You get weekends off and all you can think about when Sunday gets here is how much you dread going to work tomorrow.You drive your full hrs and sometimes you're too tired to shower and eat.You hit the sack and have to be back at the trk and ready to roll right when your 10 is up.I wish I could find part time driving job which to me is 50 or less hrs a week.I hated driving all my hrs .Maybe you can find parttime driving where you're at.You'll still be able to keep on top of the bills.It may or may not do any good but you can ask your boss if you could cut back on the stops per day and tell him why.

 

I am a firm believer that life is just too dog gone short to go through it doing a job you hate. It is bad enough, to have a job that you are ambivalent about. I have never spent more than four years doing a job I did not want to do. And those four years taught me a lot. To this day, I regret wasting those 4 years. I made good money and had excellent benefits, but it just wasn't worth it.