Explaination of what LTL is ?

linehaul is where it's at. imho one of, if not thee best job available. not a lot of work for certainly a lot of pay. i think it is intimidating bc of night shift - and it goes, no matter what - rarely ever being held back. it's one of those jobs you can't be late, can't mess around and you know there's literally a line of ppl waiting to take your job. we get truck priority and assuming we're simply doing our jobs, no one can gripe at us, for any reason.

i imagine it feeling like an airline pilot in the 80s when i walk in the terminal, minus the hookers and blow. and stewardesses. that aura surrounding it. people whispering -he's linehaul, he's so brave and handsome and works so hard etc etc etc- as we walk by heading out to our chariots of respect. preparing for another night of turbulent skies, low visibility and volatile load combinations.

 

"Chariots of respect!" Ha! (Darn)it, driverrr, you're certainly one of my freight-haulin' heroes!

 

OMG! THANKS FOR THIS! I desperately needed a good laugh today!

 

This is good stuff!!

 

ive been in ltl a little over 2 years. i hired in on linehaul. ill retire from this job if i am lucky enough, i love it.

 

Gonna give you a short answer. P&D drivers are like the mailman with a big truck. In most cases you tailgate the freight and some guy or gal will pick it off with a forklift. Other times you liftgate the freight and charge the guy extra.

Your focus is not driving... It is delivering freight. I log 100 miles a day during a 12-14 hour shift.

You'll spend more time driving backwards than forward.

My motto is whatever it takes to get your #### off my truck.

 

Gonna add something nobody else did in here... Your number one Nemesis is not your dock crew or your customer. It will be the clock. It is the biggest stressor in my daily routine cause you are adapting the workflow to something you can not control... Their lunch times and closing times. Cherish the few guys that will entrust you with a building code to their warehouse so you can do a dead drop.

 

The terminal I worked out of had routes varying from 50-300 miles per day. I was on the same route for about 13 of my 18 years of LTL. I averaged 85 miles per day, with some of my stops literally a couple blocks apart.

I never liked the idea of charging for a lift gate delivery. I remember being at a stop where another driver from the competition was on the phone to his dispatch. I was flabbergasted when I overheard what he was saying: "The customer wants to know if I can use the liftgate. Am I authorized to use it? Yeah, I'll remember to add the charges..."
Unbelievable.