Experience with your LTL company

Right now I work for a local company in Chicago. I get $17.50/hour and overtime after 8/40. I am getting between 50-60 hours a week and work about 7 am to 5 or 6 pm everyday. I've been thinking really hard about going line haul. I need more money and better benefits. Do you guys think its worth the switch? I know I have a pretty awesome gig right now and it's hard to give it up.

Also, I have applications in at FedEx, Conway, and OldDo. In the rare chance I get offers from all three which is the best to work for? Should I hold out for anyone over the others?

 

well, with linehaul you wouldnt be handling any freight. There is a possibility of a nite out overy now and then. From the 3 you listed, my order would be Old dominion, Conway then Fedex.

 

Well you will most likely be on the extra board for a while before you get a bid run, so be prepared to wait by the phone. You will most likely be working nights to start out. You might not have steady work. Now with that being said I wold go with ODFL. If not then FedEx, last Conway. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the info. What can I expect to make in my first year as a line haul driver at one of those three companies? I make about 50k a year right now but I'm pretty much at top pay so this job doesn't really have much of a future for me.

 

I went from being an OTR driver to working with conway freight and I would say that was a huge mistake...Plan on working on the dock 80% of the time and driving if your lucky 20% of the time....You start out at your home terminal at nite working the dock then when the floor is clean you go out and hook your set up then drive to your terminal assigment for the nite which will change daily being the low man but it will change between the terminals that are the closest to your home terminal then when you get there you unhook your set and dock both trailers then you work that dock for a few hours and then when its probabaly 4 or 5 in the morning you go back out and hook your set head back to your home terminal unhook your set put them in the dock doors fuel your truck and go home... On a rare occasion you will get a longer run being the new guy....will take many years to move up the ladder and get a decent set run....Plan on working 14 hours 5 days a week and sometimes 1 of those days youll use the 16 hour rule...I dont mind working on a dock but for me I would rather drive all nite or work on the dock all nite not doing both....Plus if you get a Via which is after you leave your home terminal youll go to a middle terminal unhook and hook to another set and then go to you destination terminal only to unhook and hook again is a pain in the butt...I dont know much aout Old Dom but I would definently choose Fedex over Conway I know they get paid more...Alot of guys who worked for conway work for Fedex now,,,Ive never heard of someone who was with Fedex working for conway...Good luck man

 

Halping you out is right. If you can, dont work at con-way. You will be nothing but a glorified dock worker. Only good thing is you get driver hourly pay for working the dock. But you will hardly see a truck as an extraboarder. And especially now at the winter time, enjoy that toyota lift. You'll be real acquainted.

 

Thanks guys

 

Got a little 7 hour day run with Estes (Mon thru Fri) that pays $1200. Had to run Extraboard for a while at first to get it. I could have landed other scheduled runs earlier but they were Tuesday thru Saturday. Extraboard pays much better but I'm glad it's over.