ABF | Drive cams

I'm considering moving to ABF and am trying to get as much info as possible to make the right decision. One big negative is the pto. Or lack thereof. I'm trying find positives to overpower the lack of paid time off
 
Why leave a non union with a higher pay scale ( minus OT of course)? Sefl, Estes, etc, incentivize their managers to abuse the people who have a strong work ethic. The guys who always get their freight delivered and picked up, work dock, and fill in on other routes are rewarded with more work. I get paid same hourly rate as the slacker who always has returns but get 1/3 more work to do during same timeframe. Is it the same at ABF or does the union rules protect you from managers trying to make numbers?
 
Do ABF trucks have drive cams or plans for them to be installed?
Under the current contract ABF can install cameras facing any direction any time. They have chosen not to. I believe they chose not to install cameras because of costs & wanting to keep drivers. That can change anytime. But with the electronic log books, they do everything a camera does except for the video. There is also language in the contract that they can't use video against you, only still pictures or someone following you. But, if the IBT won't support their own contract, like they do now, run LTL, run far away. You will thank yourself later down the road. Drive 2 years for a company. If you like the lifestyle of a trucker, become an owner operator. You control EVERYTHING. Your Destiny is controled by you, not some dispatcher who doesn't care when you get home. von.
 
Find a new career or industry to drive in. The above questions have the answers. Cameras, no ot pay, abuse, etc..all companies in freight are terrible it called the lesser of of the evils. All finding ways to eliminate us.
Abfer said same thing a few months ago lol
 
I don't know about being an owner-operator being "free" to run his business,.....unless he owns both truck and trailer outright, and does his own negotiations with shippers.....Also, owns his own base plate , and carries all the insurance.

It can be done......but it is so time intensive that most O/O's lease to someone and pull their trailers. They most definitely aren't "free"....…….especially if someone else owns the apportioned base plate.

83 to 92 I was an O/O......and toward the end, the rates got so bad, I could no longer pay myself the equivalent of what a Union road driver was making, let alone contribute to a pension. I had too many "competitors" who had no idea how to run a business, and consequently were taken advantage of by the companies they were leased to.

My "break even" point back then was 86 cents a mile.......you got guys today who are making not much more than that,.....but I'll bet their expenses are quadruple of what mine were.......
 
Abrasive as he was,.....I hope he's keeping his head above water. Your first year as an O/O is really make-or-break.....you get to find out the intricacies of paying your own taxes on a quarterly basis,.........and why insurance salesmen are merely one step above leeches, on an evolutionary scale......
 
In hindsight my 'become an O & O might not have been a good idea. Low pay, & all the other things you need to do to be an O&O while running all over the country, sounds like to much work. The grass is not greener on the other side, is it?
 
In hindsight my 'become an O & O might not have been a good idea. Low pay, & all the other things you need to do to be an O&O while running all over the country, sounds like to much work. The grass is not greener on the other side, is it?

It's not even grass, Brother........ it's used indoor/outdoor carpet spray painted green.........badly......
 
Abrasive as he was,.....I hope he's keeping his head above water. Your first year as an O/O is really make-or-break.....you get to find out the intricacies of paying your own taxes on a quarterly basis,.........and why insurance salesmen are merely one step above leeches, on an evolutionary scale......
And hope you have a garage to pull into this winter on your 1 day weekend to change your oil, grease job, maybe adjust your brakes, change an engine belt, and maybe fix a light or 2. Last I saw at a Volvo dealer that I deliver to, the labor rate is around $125 per hour. Did that route myself from 1975-1985. Deregulation made up my mind for me.
 
And hope you have a garage to pull into this winter on your 1 day weekend to change your oil, grease job, maybe adjust your brakes, change an engine belt, and maybe fix a light or 2. Last I saw at a Volvo dealer that I deliver to, the labor rate is around $125 per hour. Did that route myself from 1975-1985. Deregulation made up my mind for me.
If you have a garage, how do you get rid of 44 quarts of oil from your oil change? Not to mention all your other fluids & filters. Doing that @ home is a prime recipe for the next EPA Super Fund Site. Happy trucking. von.
 
If you have a garage, how do you get rid of 44 quarts of oil from your oil change? Not to mention all your other fluids & filters. Doing that @ home is a prime recipe for the next EPA Super Fund Site. Happy trucking. von.
Actually, when I had my truck, I had a wood burning, double 55 gallon drum heater we built. Actually had another guy that rented a stall in my garage. We saved all our oil and drained our filters into an old furnace oil tank we had that held like 300 gallons. Used the oil to get our stove going in the winter. Kept our garage pretty toasty.
 
Hold on, I am sending you a RESPIRATORY SPECIALIST. How many tanks of Oxygen should I send?I worked under those conditions years ago in a small shop in the middle of nowhere. The price of propane was off the charts, hence the used oil.
 
The owner/operator route has improved in recent years, but you need to be wary of what carrier you lease with. Always assume you're going to be screwed and work backwards from there. Do your homework. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

That all said, if an owner/operator can find a good carrier to lease with, they will do well as long as they can do math. Most o/o's fail because they spend money on crap they don't need instead of banking for maintenance.
 
The owner/operator route has improved in recent years, but you need to be wary of what carrier you lease with. Always assume you're going to be screwed and work backwards from there. Do your homework. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

That all said, if an owner/operator can find a good carrier to lease with, they will do well as long as they can do math. Most o/o's fail because they spend money on crap they don't need instead of banking for maintenance.

Yup...... Many's the time I've worked with O/O's who had beautiful chrome lug nuts and hub covers........but couldn't afford skirting for their mobile home.....

Priorities.........remove a perfectly good stock exhaust system,.......and replace it with a thousand dollars worth of dual straight pipes,.......just so you could be a pest at three in the morning with your Jake brake.......
 
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