Do 40-50 hour weeks, hourly pay, and home nightly jobs exist?

Unless I missed it, I don't see you saying where you live. Never know, someone on here might know of a job in your area that ticks all your boxes yet isn't advertised. Also, location can have a massive impact or hourly pay and availability of local jobs. Where I live, getting on with an LTL is not easy unless it's that casual dockwork/PD position ABF has been advertising for the past 4+ years. I guess the terminal manager hasn't yet come to grips with the reality that no-one with a CDL is going to accept a position where they have no idea whether they will make any money that week or not.

 

Depending on your location it’s more than that.

 

In a lot of respects (and maybe they're right?), ABF relies on the fact that they're the last major LTL paying the full pension as the means to treat their employees however they want. And at some terminals, the disdain for their workers is quite obvious.

 

18 year olds can already drive, just can’t cross state lines.

LTL or dirt, dirt usually doesn’t pay as much though, I don’t mind taking a ride on the road once in a while if the money is there, but there’s not enough money in the world for me to live in a 60” box for years on end

also just because you have years in OTR, doesn’t mean dick the second you get in a dump truck, if someone tries to show you something while, try to pay attention

also TTR doesn’t allow you to directly pimp your company out here. General names get thrown around but no advertising

 

Since all my 41 plus years of trucking, all the major trucking companies(Teamsters Union) have gone out of business, who’s left, Yellow/Roadway,merge together), ABF, Overnight is now UPS Freight, division of UPS, and FedEx freight(not the ground division). I don’t think FedEx should be on the list. And there where many that tried to start a division and all eventually closed there doors. All the greats that once where are all gone. Consolidated Freight (CF)was the biggest

 

If you’re OTR, you have to find a way to like it, or you won’t last and even at that, it eventually gets to the very best. Whoever deemed that it truly is a lifestyle hit the nail on the head. If you can’t accept that it is in fact a literal lifestyle, you’ll drive yourself crazy.

For me the “acceptance” comes in various forms. At least once a week I try to get out of the truck when I have a gap between loads or when I need to start or a slow load. I’ll get out, try out a new place, take an Uber, do some exploring, whatever I can find. The other aspect is that I’m trying to be one of the few truckers that actually physically get in better shape while out on the road rather than Lose It!. so far all I seem to be doing is maintaining but I haven’t went extreme yet with the diet.

If you don’t have any life, don’t set goals, you’re just spinning your wheels. It will get you eventually. This is why I posted the thread as an option a while back about working six months on in six months off. That’s where I think it’s leading for me. I’ve got a few more things to catch up on and then I think I’m going to go that route. Drive during the spring and summer and take the winters off. Maybe sit my butt on a tropical island somewhere overseas during the winter. Save all my money during the spring and summer. Drive as many miles as I can.

you have to find a way to make this work for you or it’s a losing proposition.

 

I work those kinds of hours, but i dont have a lot of money

 

We've all been there. Just use this experience as motivation to find something better.

I gave away the price of a mid-level car in free labor each YEAR I was at Schneider, going by my current pay level.

That stuff has to stop. And those companies need to go under. They're predatory ticks on the industry's underbelly.

 

Addendum: the ones that don't adopt a model where they pay their drivers for all their time need to go under. I suppose any company could change its ways if their labor shortage became grave enough. It would be a hollow victory, but a victory nonetheless. Yes they only did it to survive, but they did it.

All things considered, Schneider was fairly progressive for a mega carrier. Still a mega carrier, but at least one of the better ones as those things go.