Lowes Local Delivery Flatbed

Ive run Lowes dedicated out of Hagerstown Maryland during my time with local flat bedding with DM Bowman.

They load you at the railhead every afternoon, intent is for you to be somewhere at a assigned store delivery at 7 am depending on the store. That store could be up to 250 miles away. Or 9 miles down the road. Then you return to Hagerstown to load more wood, usually different kinds and you will be taught which to tarp. There are certain woods out of Asia that is frightfully expensive and those get tarped first and best.

You generally do not have to deal with the rail cars. The wood is in truck load lots ready for you to show up with your empty flatbed. When loaded, secured and tarped you headed off to delivery that day or went to the home yard to get out in the morning to show up at the assigned customer store by 8 am usually next day. Again that could be 250-300 miles out, which means you leave at 2 am regardless of the weather conditions. So going home at 4Pm after loading you are already short on your sleep. Sometimes when the weather is very good, you slept up there on top of the load under the stars in the yard. Some of those tarps make a good hammock when you pull a corner and strap it just so. Toss another over as a blanket and off to z land you go.

After your first delivery, dispatch will have more loads for you to do. Load, tarp secure and drive to customer number two which is not a Lowes or something else entirely. You might do 3 or 4 flatbed load, unloading during your 16 hour work day then go home for a pre-load for morning delivery. There is that theme again, loading previous day for the next morning delivery.

Pay? Nothing special, at the time in the 90's it's around 550 net after taxes each week. IF you shut your engine off at every single traffic light you could gain a extra 60 off the tripmaster bonus cash for not idling. But looking back on it it's stupid and wasteful. I'll just blow off the 60 per week and just go normally.

Today's wages will have to be around 1000 net for that kind of work. Or more. 550 wont cut it anymore with today's inflated everything.

 

Sounds like that job is for the store not the D.C..My cousin does that in my area Estes truck load is who he works for not actually lowes he does like it not sure about pay Mostly job site delivery and occasionally will help out at another local store if needed

 

At Loves close to me (Chicago area) its JB Hunt truck.

 

A big class B straight truck or Dump truck etc should not interfere with your work. They drive similar to the tractor trailers without having to deal with a trailer. And you would be doing some work (Paid hourly I assume...) when not driving. A box truck or a box flatbed is not that big of a deal compared to a huge tractor trailer relatively speaking.

If they did replace that B truck with a A tractor trailer you will be happy. Right? Take the good with the annoying or bad or even ugly for a while. It's too bad the manager did not look happy when you told him no. What you should have said is yes. You would be a awesome driver with possibilities into the future.

So, that's is that. Why the word no? And don't tell me a little bit of inventory loading is a hassle to you....

 

I understand your position now. Thank you for the clarification.

I cannot get my head wrapped on wages in trucking being lower than mindless burger flipping. (Ive actually did the burgers cooking the meats in the corner supporting those who assemble them for the filling of orders. I was a very good meat cook because people will not return for crappy burgers. Ive filled that little resturant many nights when Im working. They only paid me 6.25 a hour. Which I see as niggarly wages in those days when I come off a OTR trucking in 2002 that paid thousands a week at times. It's degrading.

And to see you explain that burger people will bring in more money than those of you with CDL's and engaged in trucking in a variety of ways up to and including freaking Hazmat, Radioactive, heavyhaul and munitions that go boom etc... I have a problem with that.

no wonder you said no. I would have also said no. I would not do any local work for less than 25 an hour these days for anything. But I will never find anyone willing to pay 25 to 30 a hour for my professional experiences. That's one hour of OTR work at basic entry wage of .50 a mile at a average fleet speed of 50 miles an hour. That is literally 25 dollars a hour. Anything less is a insult.