Good Companies versus Bad let's have a Chat

If I had a do over I would of done 2 yrs OTR & found a good local job. I lost alot of hrs sitting on docks, in rest areas & truck stops that I can't get back. The other day a customer wouldn't receive the load because the BOL didn't have the seal# on it & it took 3hrs to get a new BOL from the shipper. So I wasted 3hrs but the difference between OTR & local? OTR would of paid little or nothing but local paid me $126 because those 3hrs put me into OT.

 

About 3 more years for me, give or take. As long as the public keeps buying RV's, I should be good.

 

In 1 year, 11 months and 14 days my wife turns 65, goes on Medicare, and I retire.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and betcha you don't work in the winter months and don't travel to far north...

 

From reading the majority on here are only locked in on truck load carriers.personally from my experience there all basically the same only difference is the color of the truck.To say all companies with more then 150 trucks are bad I don’t know but I would bet most all would take a ups feeder job at $28 a hour with pension and benefits home every day and ups has a lot more than 150 trucks. I have a close friend who for 20 years of knowing him his believes are much like yours he’s probably had at least 20 jobs since I’ve known him he’s 45 now with nothing but leaving pay check to pay check when he has a job .He also tried to convince me how intelligent he thinks he is.But I have shown him of examples of other guys him and I personally know that work for a flour mill delivering flour for 1 for 31 years another been there 26 both have paid there houses off 1st has over 1million in his 401k the other $800,000 also have pension.so in the 20 years my friend has worked he has nothing saved still paying rent to someone else and has no retirement plan.It doesn’t take a college professor to se which was a smart decision.Work 20 years with nothing to show or have a real intelligent plan.And build something that.If you work for even 5 years with nothing to show for it,Then there is no value to show for your work you could just sit on a couch and had the same

 

He is driving now and last I checked it is winter

 

Then it should be just around quitting time don't you think????

 

The real difference between FTL carriers seems to be:

1) dry vs. reefer; and
2) those who chase load boards vs those with dedicated customers.

Those with dedicated customers over a certain number of trucks- keep your head down, nose clean, and put in your time until you get seniority, good routes, hours, and pay.

Those with dedicated accounts, but below a certain number of trucks, just like load board chasers, it's not how much time or effort you've put in to the company but how many miles can you do today without getting a ticket or violation and can you keep doing that without going home or having any kind of life, ever.

Reefer drivers can have it pretty decent, regardless of number of trucks, but those fields and grocery DCs are for the birds. Washouts, rejected pallets, that infernal noise of the reefer- I don't know how you drivers pull it off, but please, oh please, don't pull up right next to me facing the same direction as soon as I pull my curtains for the night.