Please help a wannabe LTL driver out

Most of them required OTR experience,min.of 6-12 months but some of them may have a program for non experience drivers but hard to find.

 

I've never known one to specify "otr experience". 6months OTR is almost useless when it comes to LTL, they'd rather train you themselves..lol. I was a casual at Yellow when I was 20yrs old as well as full time for a grocery chain. ofcourse, that was before the "CDL" is what it is now.

 

If i were you, i would wait till you get your CDL and then leave an application at every LTL carrier thats in your area. In the LTL sector, things change real fast. From layoff's to putting on an extra man. its all about timing. I left an application and about an hour after i got home i got a call from Human resources wanting to schedule an interview/ roadtest. that was 15 1/2 years ago. i just happened to stop in at the right time.

 

Yes you can get a P&D or LTL driving job just out of school. I wish I would have research more to find that out. I tried doing otr and had to quit within a month (family) went back to my school and they sent me over to Reddaway. After applying online I did a follow up call to the center manager. Got an interview the next day. Pending my whiz quiz results I got the job.

I'm not expecting easy work though. 11-12 hr days 5 days a week but they pay OT over 8 and 40. My son may be sleeping when I get home but a kiss on the forehead is priceless compared to being on the road for 2-4 weeks at a time. Plus getting paid hourly means at least I'll get paid for the work I do. Stupid cpm!!

Get your CDL and apply for every local job you can find. You'll never even have a shot if you don't try.

 

Just remember that LTL most likely means your handling freight all day long not just driving. This could mean loading and unloading your own truck as well as picking up and dropping off freight at the consignee. It will take it's toll on you...trust me.

I'm kind of in a similar situation as you are. My wife prefers I be home instead of gone 3 or 4 weeks at a time. So I have a local gig where I run overnight Monday thru Thursday. Then I have off the rest of the day Friday when I get back thru Monday evening off. But I'm constantly handling freight...and at times I've got to break the pallets down and hand unload the freight. After spending 15 years working on cars and constantly lifting, pulling, pushing, twisting, bending, etc... and now doing this gig that has me always handling freight there isn't a day that goes by that I don't hurt. Especially in my knees and back!!! So please keep that in mind.

Like I said, I understand wanting to be home especially if you have kids. But if handling freight all day long gives you the slightest bit of doubt then LTL may not be for you. I'm not telling you to not try it, just giving ya some heads up!! I'd love to go OTR where all I gotta do is bump a dock but I also gotta make the wife happy. Best of luck to you my friend! Hope all works out for you and your family!

 

Yes, it IS a lot of physical work. Hell, for me with bad knees, the very worst of it was in and out of the truck and trailer all day long. Sure handling freight is not a lot of fun, but there are ways of doing it without killing yourself. That is why they make pallet jacks, hand trucks, straps chains etc. And if you get something you just flatly can't handle, GET SOME HELP!

Pallet jacks are great, but if you are lugging around 2500 to 3000 lb pallets, don't be ashamed to ask for some help. Believe me, the company would rather send a second driver to help you out, than to pay a worker's comp. claim. As long as it is a legitimate request, they likely won't criticize you over it.

 

I drive for a large LTL carrier. We haven't hired anyone new in my region in 3 years, there have been a couple of rounds of layoffs. I would imagine it would be hard to get hired with no experience, because there are plenty of guys with lots of experience that also want these jobs. I've been here 7 years now, and I haven't really ever seen anyone quit. People either retire or get fired. If all you want to do is drive, ltl is probably not for you, but we have good pay and benefits with weekends off. As for P&D or line, it all depends on when you want to work. P&D is days, line is night.

 

Where I work there's a program. But have to be there 5 years though. You could try places like Pepsi, coke, even dumps and logging