Things I wish I would have known before I got started...

boy ive got a few stories..lmaoooo

 

LMAO... me too....

 

I found this post when I was looking for information on LTL. I've been OTR for the past 2 years and looking to go local. I love being out there and I must admit I'm pretty spoiled with the company I'm with now. I get home every weekend and the pay is pretty good but I still miss sleeping at home and it's taking a toll on the family life. I have an interview on Thursday for local LTL but I've been informed I'll probably be doing 40% driving and 60% dock work. It'll be a definite decrease in pay, at least initially, and the per diem counts for a lot too. Any thoughts??

 

A couple of things I haven't seen anybody mention here. First off, glad hand seals. Whether line haul or local, LTL, regional or OTR, keep several sets of glad hand seals. And if you are hauling sets, keep at least one spare power cord in your tractor.

I worked of several months at my last job, before realizing that they automatically pulled a half hour a day off your time sheet for a "lunch break." Whether you got it or not. Made darn sure I always got it after that. Before I found this out, I did a lot of eating while driving down the road. While I've always been more than willing to give my employer full measure, I don't appreciate working for free as an hourly employee.

Another thing they didn't tell me when I signed on with that outfit was that they didn't have enough hand trucks or pallet jacks to go around. Many times I had to use the customer's equipment to get my load off.

 

One thing I like about learning the area very well in P+D. You have a good idea what stops need a pallet jack. I made the mistake once of going to a pretty big shipper without one. I didn't realize that they didn't have a dock and they were shipping 3,000 lb. racks of cylinders. Four of them on the last 8 feet of a pup... I felt that all the way back to the yard.

 

Tools. Not just vice-grips. Wrenches to swap out an air line or glad hand(make sure you have 2 and can actually hold what you need to).
Up to date mapbook. I love using my smartphone but a good old mapbook helps when you're asking someone else for directions or when on the phone and they're explaining the route. (not that it shows which 'big tree' to turn left at)
Spare air line and elec cable if possible, even if old/used it may get you home or off the highway.