Skipping OTR for LTL Linehaul - Pros vs Cons for a family man

Morning Drivers,
Well, I graduated yesterday from CDL school. Got my diploma and CDL A w/ hazmat, doubles/triples, and tank endorsements. Ready to roll. Figured I'd share the decision-making process for any prospective drivers or new CDL A holders who are wondering which direction to take their new career. Keep in mind the following, opportunities will vary depending on your location, and my final decision was based on two criteria: 1. which opportunity will pay me the most amount of money, 2. which opportunity will get me home more frequently to be with my family.

The boyhood fantasy of having my own (assigned) big truck and traveling the country has taken a back seat to the most important factor for driving a truck, for me... supporting my family and having quality home time. If I was single I'd definitely spend some time OTR. But, I've already traveled most the states in my younger years, and that pretty much leaves the one other thing about OTR that I will miss - having my 'own' truck. Considering all the pros of getting a linehaul gig right out of CDL school, I'm OK w/ slip seating.

Defining quality of home time is different for everybody. For me, I'd rather have more frequency of home time than one big lump sum, and here's why. I have a little girl and wife that I would miss too much to be away from for weeks on end. It's not comparing apples to apples, but if I compare LTL linehaul with a regional gig from a truckload carrier, it's really no comparison at all. Seems to me that linehaul is kind of a medium between local P&D and OTR. Keep in mind that the linehaul gig I'm rolling with has me out 5 days a week, home for two. It's nightshift work. So, seems more of a fair comparison to compare this particular linehaul gig w/ a OTR weekly gig that would keep me out 6 days a week. Here's what I came up with in regard to the pros of linehaul vs a weekly OTR gig:

1. will be getting paid more
2. will be home twice a week, rather than just once
3. will go to the same places (terminal to terminal), this for me is a positive, not a boring negative. it's like having a dedicated account w/ OTR
4. will get to sleep in a bed every day (hotel bed), and have a shower and toilet readily available every "morning" I wake up
5. driving at night will get me out during less traffic, the downside will be fighting possible sleepiness
6. I'll be able to put to use those tank, hazmat, and doubles/triples endorsements I earned!
7. taken on a monthly basis, I'll be home 8 days out of the month, not including holidays, as opposed to just 4, if comparing against a standard weekly OTR gig
8. I won't have to deal w/ waiting on a load, finding an empty trailer, or inconsiderate shippers / receivers

THat's basically the pros for me, and how I came to my decision to take this linehaul opportunity instead of going the tradition route of OTR right out of school. I am by no means knocking OTR! Like I said, if my circumstances were different, I probably would've gone OTR, and eventually eased into linehaul. I'm going into trucking because I love trucks, love to drive, and couldn't think of doing anything else that I would enjoy doing while supporting my family. For me, linehaul is where it's at, and I'm very fortunate to live in an area where I can go into LTL linehaul w/o having to pay my dues OTR. Besides, if for some reason down the road circumstances would allow me to try OTR, a lot of companies now dont' require specific OTR experience to get a OTR job, just tractor trailer experience. Case in point, JB Hunt. There are plenty others. The old adage of getting specific OTR experience isn't always true.

Hope this thread helps others that are in the decision-making process. I know I looked for threads like these.

 

[QUOTE="semi" retired;4097235]Hi wawtrucker, well, let's see, 1st, congratulations, 2nd, your definition of "linehaul" differs from my idea of linehaul. To me, it sounds like your linehaul, is more of a dedicated account, meaning, you go to the same place, but long distance. The linehaul I have done, is you go to the same place every day(or night), drop and hook, and come back, sometimes twice, and go home. Being out for a week will still take it's toll on your relationship, and you will miss a lot with your kid, believe me, I know, and you can't get that back. It takes a special woman to understand a trucker's life, and my ex-wife knew full well I was a trucker, and most of my jobs were local, but had to be in bed by 6 pm to get up at midnight, and I missed a lot. Just some food for thought, best of luck in your career.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for sharing that, much appreciated. Yeah, I've seen how different companies have different definitions of linehaul. In fact, I've read that TMC calls some of their runs 'linehaul,' and they are what I'd consider an OTR company. I will be going from terminal to terminal, pulling sets of doubles, not sure about triples. It's NE so I'll be going to multiple terminals, not just the same one or two. I know a lot of linehaul gigs are home daily, this one isn't.

Only being home twice a week will definitely still put stress on the family, we've accepted that. I'm thankful to have a supporting wife. She would've supported me going OTR, if that's what I wanted to do. I don't want to do P&D, and the company that's offered me an interview for a linehaul position only has linehaul runs that stay 5 days out - I believe. I know that US Xpress has a daily run in my area, JB Hunt and Schneider have daily intermodal gigs, but I know I'll be making more doing the linehaul w/ this LTL company. Like I said, I view it as being in between a local P&D gig and an OTR gig that would have me out weeks at a time.

It's a wed-sun position, I won't be on an 'extra' board where I'd have to wait on the phone and not sure if I'd have consistent work. I will train for some P&D during my training, so I'll get a taste of that, but the majority of my driving during training will be the linehaul driving. They aren't union, but they do have seniority w/ bidding for shifts. There's a couple LTL companies in my area, this one seems like they offer the most that fits w/ what we want, and I won't have to work the dock or wait for a linehaul position to become available.

But again, thanks for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated. I'm always open to listening to others' experiences and thoughts.

 

Home daily would be sweet indeed. Perhaps they have those positions available w/ more seniority at this company I'm interested in. I'll find out more during the interview.

 

Yep, I'm certainly not going to pull the trigger on the first company that offers me a job, just because I'm trigger happy. I've gotten a couple offers and pre-hires. Old Dominion is my first choice for a couple reasons. I'm close to their one terminal. I do appreciate you bringing up some salient points though. I've looked into Estes and also Con-Way. For me, OD seems the best route to take.