LTL vs OTR

From my experience, local pays less than OTR. Being home every day is nice unless it is just for your 10 hour break then you actually lose break time coming and going to work. I never ran dedicated before but I would think if you were on a good account, it would be better. Knowing where you are going and the layout of the shipper/receiver is a big help.

 

I've done both. Honestly I've had LTL jobs that I liked and ones that I hated and same with OTR/dedicated regional work. LTL doesn't automatically pay better either...that's a bit of a misconception. P&D jobs usually pay in the $50k range...not hard to find a dedicated regional or OTR job that pays that or better. Linehaul can pay better but the higher paying runs are usually not just something you can walk into off the street.

Driving some company's trucks for a living is a crap sandwich at times either way you go. Pick your poison.

 

I have never done OTR I'm a local driver and love I work m-f 5am to around 3-5 pm 20.10 per hr min of 40 in 4 days overtime after 40 or on the 5th day if I work Saturday it's x2 pay and benefits that are vary good

 

As far as OTR vs LTL goes LTL is mostly local but not always. Pay wise go you make more money at LTL for the work you do then you would in OTR. If an ltl driver makes 70k and an OTR driver makes 70k the ltl driver will have worked less hours (and most likely home daily and off weekends) then an OTR driver did to make that money. The bad thing about LTL is that some places are worse then being enlisted in the army for how anal they can be about stupid **** where as OTR your more or less left alone to do your job and not bothered unless you screw up. Linehaul is LTL is very much like OTR you will drive usually between 500 to 600 miles in a day sometimes more or less depending on your bid. However it can take you years to get seniority to get a good linehaul bib (becoming less of a problem due to driver shortage) so you can expect to be stuck on the dock for years even after you get a linehaul bid because it's going to be a short bid. OTR drivers just drive the truck and rarely have to unload unlike LTL drivers.

I started out doing OTR for Schneider and I worked briefly for Fedex Freight and to be honest I will never go back to work for either of them. I hated OTR after a while because being stuck out on the road for 3 months solid (Schneider ****ing around not getting me home) is not a life. Fedex Freight paid extremely well but just had way to much BS to deal with. It's really not hard to understand why every few years an employee snaps at Fedex and goes on a mass shooting. Being honest I will never work OTR again I'd rather walk away from trucking and as far as LTL goes after dealing with Fedex I'm very very reluctant to give ltl another go.

 

FedEx and Conway are usually considered the worst LTL outfits to deal with.

 

I worked for FedEx Freight for 18 years, left them a year ago to work for Providence Health and Services, hospital system with its own distribution warehouse and fairly new transportation department (only 1.5 years now...). Several of my coworkers left FedEx, as well, and found themselves much happier at ODFL. In my region (Pacific Northwest), FedEx pay was comparable with competition, about $25/hr for P&D, and 62¢/mile for line drivers. I believe ODFL pays about the same or better here.

 

Fedex in my opinion was Way better than Conway. But every terminal is different. Ltl is better to me because you're getting paid for everything you do unlike Otr where you could be stuck waiting to get loaded/unloaded but not getting any money until after the second hour. Plus you're working less hours than Otr and still bringing home the same amount if not more money than a Otr driver.

 

Most of the folks here are confusing--freight company type LTL--w/OTR LTL--typically 2 different worlds--and yes while the pay may seem low--it is NOT mileage you should be looking at as the end all be all....it is stop/handling pay where the money is...I do have done otr reefer ltl for many years--and while it is a different animal--it is can be very lucrative--The stop pay does(if paid properly)make up for the lower mileage pay...and the freight handling---can get very lucrative--where a local LTL guy handles all/most of their freight--they are on the clock--in otr ltl(especially reefer)a driver can/should handle their freight also--but instead of being on the clock--it is handling pay---where--if you are being paid properly--should be equal to what the thieving lumpers would have charged---and when you copnsider most of these stops(grocery whse etc)---the lumpers will still have a 75-100 min charge--and you have 10+stops on a load--well do the math--Most syscos for example--have a 90 min--4/5 of them on a load add up quick--and just like the local ltl guys--once you get the hang of it and understand the procedures--you get in/out pretty quick--if you play the game--its usually pretty interesting to watch the faces on the other otr guys(who have been sittin in a door for a few hours already)watch me back in--go inside--and typically see me walk back out in 15/20 minute--paperwork in hand...and leave.....
Its not for everyone...but it IS(or should be)much more lucrative than any regular OTR job--I typically make a little more than than senior teamster road guys...and in all honestly do not work 1/2 as hard as a local ltl guy.....

 

Very few on this site have any real clue as to what it is we do (and thats a good thing), nor could very many of them be successful at it..

 

Interesting, I would have thought it was Conway and Duct Tape Express (AKA Central Transport)