My return to LTL... with SAIA

My wife drives my pickup and I got a little chevy sonic turbo 6 speed commuter its ugly but really fun to drive. 36 mpg helps the ugly part also.

 

So how was the first night back in linehaul?

 

So far the whole week has been smooth, like riding a bike. Really just familiarizing myself with the computer processes and dispatching procedures. Week to date I'm at 1638 miles, and the run that I'm on this week will finish my week out just a bit north of 2700 miles, 3300 if I work Saturday. Will be a nice "training" paycheck that's for sure.

 

I’m assuming no dock work involved in that run?

 

Zero dock time unless I have to make an empty in a dark facility (if there are none available) or have to pull a bill off the trailer for a drop. Both I’m told are very very rare circumstances.

 

I have worked for ABF since March. I run linehaul (road driver) out of Wichita,KS and do a meet and turn To Stratford,TX with a driver out of Albuquerque.
I am on the bottom of the board and I usually get 4 runs in a week Thurs-Sun, sometimes only 3runs. If its really slow they send me to Kansas City, less miles but at least its something. Sometimes they send me direct to Albuquerque, which can be a good thing if you want to stay out since they will send you to Denver or Salt Lake City. They have Hotels you stay in when you are away from your home terminal. $23.11 and .58cpm 90% scale first year.
It really is feast or famine.

 

Just stick in there. Most good jobs are a little wonky at first.

 

I’ll be honest, I love the job. My wife works crazy hours so weekends off isn’t a big issue.
I knew going in it was going to be a lot of sitting by the phone, they have an app, so you can see where you are on the board so that helps.
Coming from XPO is like night and day. It’s a lot less stress.

 

Yeah, I had my own problems with them, so I eventually had to leave. But that doesn't mean that it's not a great company for most guys. My terminal was just run differently than most, and wasn't a good fit for me.