Conway LTL

When I was at CWF at XEM(BTW jakebrake Harry got fired) we had 4 line-haul runs. One to Newark, Nj and one to Carlstadt, NJ( BOTH a huge waist, only 40 and 44 miles away... stupid they go to both) those were majority dock work, then we had a good run to Milton(lil over 400 miles) then there was Hagerstown (about 500+ miles). you had to work the dock at all, where as hagerstown all you did was load your trailer to go, Milton was easy as well, but Newark and carlstadt you were there 8+ hours.

**If your at a small terminal like Cenutry and I was at once, you might only get 2-4 hours a night on dock, NO DRIVING**

Honestly I dont really agree with the drivers being dock workers and drivers, but thats just me. I know FXF is like that too, and now R&L is doing that too. They usually always get you home the same day, no stay out overnight. YRC (current employer) Old Dominion, Estes, ABF, etc you just drive or do dock, whatever you bid or if the bottom guy whatever they have for you. You also might have to stay out but they put you in a hotel or if you run a team well then your sleeping in the truck. YEs at times I get spoiled with a pre-hooked set, or truck at a bulk-break but it doesnt bother me hooking sets... At times I prefer it as I feel I can trust myself more doing it

Some companies do have Utility drivers, which go to a close bulk break to load/unload your own trailers, but also shuttle trailers back and forth to your terminal.

@Cenutry, yes you are a 100% RIGHT, but they can call you on your 8 and give you 2 hours to get there, and thats 10 off. We can tae up to a 4 hour extention on our breaks, normally i dont but in nights im shot I take some extra time.

To be honest I always liked P/D better but ever since i transffered and been doing line-haul I like it better.

And I saw Jakebrakes comment about the equipment. Yes I will say it is in a lot better condition then ours, The newest truck I drover was a 06 refurb with 90,500 miles on it, but the real un-refurbed truck had 525,000 on it. Majority of the trucks I have gotten have 850,000-1,000,000+ on it. My old peddle unit said it had 189,000 on it BUT the truck was once a road unit and it was a 02 so it was well over a million on it. We dont buy peddle trucks, we just downgrade our road units into them.

CWF I know was one of the few that bought peddle units, with smaller engines. According to my freind who still works there they arent buying peddle trucks anymore and just downgrading old road units. I heard they are also looking to get rid of all sterlings ever since they went out of business so nice cascadis for you guys

Anyway this is just my opinion on things, others may agree/disagree

 

My bad. I agree that those high mileage bid meet and turns are the holy grail of ltl. I should get one in another 20 years lol.

 

ACH, I have to say I really miss having my sets hooked for me. They do it for me when I leave on a night run but a lot of the time it doesn't matter cause they send me 50 miles to Fontana and I have to break and set anyway. Then I drive 500 miles up to northern Cali. I miss those days when Yellow would call me in and my sets were hooked and ready to go. Just pre trip and go and no vias!

 

Yeah ach I heard about Harry. And I really don't disagree with a word you said. And like you said a lot of it is personal opinion. I don't mind working the dock but it has been ridiculous lately. I run a 500 miler and it has been normal to be on the pad for over 4 hours the last couple weeks. The money is nice but that's way too long for that far of a run.

 

@cool35 a lot of terminals I have been to lately all have yard guys on sitting around, but I still have to do the drop/hook. I know in Worchester, MA i had to back the van into the bay, open the barn doors, but they had the yard guy building my set for me to take home and all I had to do was hook, the PTI, so to me that wasnt bad. My old terminal 150 and another terminal 136 ALWAYS do it no matter what. 150 doesnt have a switcher on all day but 136 does. I have been using up a 14 hur quite a bit, with all the vias they keep having me do, especially when I have no idea where im going still. Plus with all the road work EVERYWHERE in the northeast, (i95, i84, i81, i476, i76) it REALLY slows things down

@jakebrake i dont mind working the dock but id rather just do that for the shift. I used to have to go in at 5pm, work the outbound, then hook a set, go to XCV or XNJ, then work the dock for another 6-8 hours, then go back using up ALL my hours. I could never do a via because of shortened hours. I wouldnt care if I went and worked the dock AFTER driving for a few hours but at times I was just exhausted, then 90% of the time it was a warzone to leave. I have worked the dock a few times last year when I started at YRC, but that as the only thing I did for the day.

 

In 2004 conway changed their tractor strategy from city kittys and line haul tractors to just just running all class 8 linehaul trucks. The city kittys had a tiny 3124? cat engine in it. 8L 170hp 6 or 7 speed truck that barely does 55. From 04-08 they had class 8 sterlings then after 08 they got cascadias and a few cornbinder transtars.

 

ACH, not much road construction out here on the I-5 but the roads sure are bad in some areas. Will shake you up quite a bit. Going north out of Los Angeles I sometimes think the truck might fall apart lol! Reminds me of the days going across I-40 through Arkansas before they repaved the road. Also there are the complete idiots to deal with on the road out here. I-81 was always a nice highway when I was on it but it did get crowded especially once I got to the top of Virginia. I used to run to Carlstadt, NJ every week for 4 years. I used to fly across the 78 to the 287, never any cops around there back then. sometimes I'd take the toll road and other times I'd take the I-80 in the back way. Used to deliver close to the Meadowlands. I miss those days. Hope they're keeping you busy. They burn up most of my 14 every day too. I sometimes need to get creative.

 

@Elvenhome21 thanks for clearing that. I remember some of those 478 units were dogs and gutless. They had hard times pulling 8,000 pounds. The newer 06 ones were decent though the one time i got to drive one. I have also heard you guys want to rid the sterlings and replace them with the new freightshakers. Guess it makes sense as parts for the sterlings will be hard to get

@Cool35 I5 sounds JUST like i84 in NY. Going westbound the road is uneven and makes the truck drift off. Really scarey at night, especially with no guard rack, just barbed wire. 287 hasnt changed much, dont like theres onl 1 rest stop on it towards the beginning. Hmm the meadowlands, thats about a hour where im from

 

as far as parts for sterling, I believe freightliner stocks a lot of sterling parts. At first sterling was a ford but I thought in mid 2000's freightliner was a joint partner. But there is so many sterlings out there, I highly doubt parts will ever be an issue for many years.

 

I worked for them for 4.5 miserable months, hated every second of it, just wasn't for me, but if you're young, in great shape, want Rolls Royce health insurance and BIG pay checks, it is a great job. My take home was over a grand per week. I just couldn't handle the physical aspect of the touch-freight deal. Drive 5 hours, work the freight on the dock for another 4 hours, drive 5 hours back, all at night. Very very tiring.