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XPO | Question for nighttime line drivers who chose nights.

Conway Lifer said:
Wow, thanks for all the feedback. I run day line now, but the traffic is a bitch, so many ******* over the road drivers, who play games with you, then add all the road const, ADOT everywhere, I’m burnt out on it. I have enough strap to get the run I want. The fact is, my run now is shorter then the run I would have at night, but with all the ********, I’m putting in as much or more hours, and making less cash. Will strongly consider it. Thanks to all.
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You can always try it for a year.
 
There are other thoughts to night running.

They say that we all individually have something to worry about or actually be afraid of. I have always taken fear naturally as part of being human and then overcome that sick paralyzing feeling that can potentially disable me and force the body and mind to keep functioning in spite of.

However when I am along the red river valley (Texas Oklahoma Border) there are two things I hate. Certain cars painted a shade of concrete which is a perfect blend even by day. Especially by day. You never see them.

What scares me is the live stock that escape from the crappy 10.00 barbed wire and tractor supply fence posts stuck into the rocky ground. They lumber out with a bit of itchy scratch and then stand in the roadway (Unmarked, old style gravel-oil mix) unaware that at night the matte flat light absorbing hides on them camouflages them perfectly. 4000 pounds of bull bigger than a car standing there until you smash into them.

I always without fail on some of those roads is have a 4 wheeler in front of me. As long his or her tail lights are moving I know there is no bull.
 
I used to run into a particular receiver late at night. Above that receiver happened to be a Dennys all nighter. Leaving aside certain dennies that are abusive racially and politically... this particular dennys would have like 6 people working all for me and my little table in the far corner.

Whatever I wanted on the menu I shall have. I tipped pretty good for most of them. So quiet and orderly.

If it was a daytime denny who has had their last nerve stepped on by screaming howling over entitled brats all day, you come along and get treated badly sometimes. And wonder why do you even bother.

Those kinds of questions require careful thought. Once you know the root problem then it becomes possible to fix it.
 
OV-10 said:
Line haul is not worth the sacrifice as I see. A lot doing it are doing it to duck out of life and don’t even realize it . I see it all the time . It enables some to become disconnected from life’s responsibilities. If you are such a type A that city traffic bothers you that much you should consider changing your behavior or find another job.
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I ran LH when I first hooked up with ccx back in 1994. 2 weeks later the teamsters went on strike and I was forced onto line haul from my p&d slot and had to run 80 plus hours a week, log books were thrown out. I was on a short run and had alot of dock time, so I didnt make much, being at only the 3 rd pay rate level. I hated it and couldn’t wait for another dsr to get hired under me to take my LH gig and get back to P&d. Never cared for nor bid LH after that for the rest of my driving career, (25 years). Just couldn’t adjust to being a night owl either.
 
upnorth said:
It sure helps to have a spouse on board. It requires changing the whole house to make it work and keep you rested. Don’t forget… not everyone can flip their Circadian rhythm around either.
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It does put a lot more on your spouse. They have to handle a lot of the daily task you no longer can do . A bunch of line drivers have no responsibility of paying bills, attending parent teacher meetings, food shopping and meal prep etc. All for an extra 20 k is it worth it ? It’s definitely a decision that people have to make . Life is short and their no replay button. I think our line drivers are grossly under payed for their sacrifice. Along with other carriers.
 
OV-10 said:
It does put a lot more on your spouse. They have to handle a lot of the daily task you no longer can do . A bunch of line drivers have no responsibility of paying bills, attending parent teacher meetings, food shopping and meal prep etc. All for an extra 20 k is it worth it ? It’s definitely a decision that people have to make . Life is short and their no replay button. I think our line drivers are grossly under payed for their sacrifice. Along with other carriers.
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Yes it does. For me, it’s an extra 50-60k.
 
OV-10 said:
It does put a lot more on your spouse. They have to handle a lot of the daily task you no longer can do . A bunch of line drivers have no responsibility of paying bills, attending parent teacher meetings, food shopping and meal prep etc. All for an extra 20 k is it worth it ? It’s definitely a decision that people have to make . Life is short and their no replay button. I think our line drivers are grossly under payed for their sacrifice. Along with other carriers.
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How much could I help with day to day tasks if my bid was 10:00am? Not much. Night linehaul allowed me to have dinner every night with my family, something that wouldn’t have happened if I worked until 7:00pm or later With a city bid. The money I earned on linehaul also allowed my wife to stay home and raise two kids. We live within our means, have no debt and our kids will have no college debt with some help from our parents.
My point is, what works for some, doesn’t work for everyone.
 
Getting clear of debt was one thing we did try to do during trucking time. At some point that will stop and you will have a home and everything to run on a budget without debt.

It got to the point that we were paying electric, water, gas annually one time. They really loved that with the exception of the power company. 10K in replacing the mains box and other things dropped the power bill from 250 a month down to 30. (We used a pair of 6 foot stranded copper three inches wide between the meter and the aluminum service drops off the pole. which were running the meter way too hot among other things.)

When you dispose of debt and reduce your budget to several items that go out every month, anything else is just gravy. I deal with medical billing now which is not a problem.
 
For me, it’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity. Form the moment I leave the yard till I return, it’s like a non stop NASCAR race on the highway on day time line. I have learned that over the road truckers, not all of them, but so many are complete assholes. Cut you off, brake check you, play the slow down and speed up game, won’t let you pass. We are the slowest LTL line trucks, period! My truck runs at 64mph most of the time, just can’t hit 65mph. Always getting stuck behind slower trucks, so,passing is not an option. Traffic! All the time, have brief moments of just me and no one else around, but it’s brief. Working longer days for less miles, could get more miles, at night, and get done quicker, make more money sure, but most important is just being able to do my job, in peace, and not so stressed out.
 
vetran peddleman said:
I ran LH when I first hooked up with ccx back in 1994. 2 weeks later the teamsters went on strike and I was forced onto line haul from my p&d slot and had to run 80 plus hours a week, log books were thrown out. I was on a short run and had alot of dock time, so I didnt make much, being at only the 3 rd pay rate level. I hated it and couldn’t wait for another dsr to get hired under me to take my LH gig and get back to P&d. Never cared for nor bid LH after that for the rest of my driving career, (25 years). Just couldn’t adjust to being a night owl either.
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Yeah , it’s funny how they throw the rules aside when they want too. I saw it during the Teamsters strike then . Then I saw them use it the other way during the unionization of terminals and use the law as an excuse to fire union supporters. I have seen a lot of dishonesty over the years on the companies part. LH is a tough , dangerous gig and I respect those who make the sacrifice to do it. The compensation never equals the sacrifice they make for the company.
Conway Lifer said:
For me, it’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity. Form the moment I leave the yard till I return, it’s like a non stop NASCAR race on the highway on day time line. I have learned that over the road truckers, not all of them, but so many are complete assholes. Cut you off, brake check you, play the slow down and speed up game, won’t let you pass. We are the slowest LTL line trucks, period! My truck runs at 64mph most of the time, just can’t hit 65mph. Always getting stuck behind slower trucks, so,passing is not an option. Traffic! All the time, have brief moments of just me and no one else around, but it’s brief. Working longer days for less miles, could get more miles, at night, and get done quicker, make more money sure, but most important is just being able to do my job, in peace, and not so stressed out.
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Its very hard to do if traffic bothers you .
 
I'm in my second year of working nights in a truck.

First year, I was on an odd schedule with a late gate time, got up at 12:30 every night and drove 5 hours, then made the return trip during morning traffic. It sucked. I had to go to bed at 4:30 in the afternoon and try to sleep while everyone else was going full-tilt. Kids doing homework or playing, wife trying to help them with homework or trying to clean house, often hollering at the kids. It was a huge adjustment for all of us, but it did enable her to stay home.

By the time the first year was up, we kind of had a handle on the routine. I still had the occasional hard afternoon trying to sleep, but they were few and far between. I found it hard to decompress from the stress of driving that last half during the morning hours. As others have said, a lot of drivers are jerks. I had a few OTR guys either brake check or try to run me off the road.


I just started a more traditional bid with a 9 p.m. gate, and so far, I'm loving it. We bought darker curtains. I get home around 6 a.m. and stay up until around 8 most days, then try to sleep until the kids are home from school, maybe just a little longer, then I'm up to have dinner (my breakfast) with everyone before I head to work. I'm actually seeing my family more than I was when I worked on the beer truck during the day a few years ago. And back then I was so sore from lifting cases all day that I never felt like doing anything with them when I was with them on weekends.

As others here have said, it's a lifestyle choice and it's not for everyone. For me and my family, it has been the right choice.
 
Conway Lifer said:
For me, it’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity. Form the moment I leave the yard till I return, it’s like a non stop NASCAR race on the highway on day time line. I have learned that over the road truckers, not all of them, but so many are complete assholes. Cut you off, brake check you, play the slow down and speed up game, won’t let you pass. We are the slowest LTL line trucks, period! My truck runs at 64mph most of the time, just can’t hit 65mph. Always getting stuck behind slower trucks, so,passing is not an option. Traffic! All the time, have brief moments of just me and no one else around, but it’s brief. Working longer days for less miles, could get more miles, at night, and get done quicker, make more money sure, but most important is just being able to do my job, in peace, and not so stressed out.
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That is one of the things I hated about the industry to this day. That started when the computer nannies started governing people to 65 then to 63 and some companies were as low as 55 in those days at 55 speed limit states. Creating a horror show where you are over here in the far right in the way of 3 lanes worth of 70+ down fancy gap. I once used the GA overdrive (Neutral) to take her to 67 or so and they gave me a weeks suspension without pay once the computer data came in.

Prior to those days your trucks sorted themselves out on the interstate. Fast ligth ones in front and the slow ones in the back. Everyone else was in the rocking chair. The CB radio was pretty sorted by then too. It was more or less orderly. Fast but orderly.

All of the other time problems stress at 64 stuck behind someone rather pass at 65 even if it takes 10 miles holding up a whole two lane interstate...

That is the fault of dispatch and trucking companies governing the trucks way too much. We are a 75 mph state and there are trucks at 63 which causes a hazard. We get around them fast enough. But in certain situations the entire three or four lane highway can be a liability with this clot in the traffic flow.

Finally but not last. Governing a truck at 63 on a 3100 mile cross country trip results in about a 10 hour delay in arrival. If you were able to run 75 where it's legal your freight will be there hours faster. Isnt that nice? But no. Slow em down. This nation does not run well on that.

Its alot better just to leave the industry and retire from trucking than deal with all that.
 
I wake up at about 7am Monday, take a nap at 1400 wake up at 1800. Then on Saturday if I get back early I take a 3 hour nap, if I get back late or don’t get a nap I’m a puddle by 1900 on Saturday. City you are fighting with dispatch, customers, the clock…Linehaul u are fighting with yourself (being tired all the time) and feeling like u just work, sleep, eat and repeat. But I like it. The money is great, being able to go on awesome vacations and maxing out your 401k are the big benefits. And it’s a lot less stressful.
 
OV-10 said:
Yeah , it’s funny how they throw the rules aside when they want too. I saw it during the Teamsters strike then . Then I saw them use it the other way during the unionization of terminals and use the law as an excuse to fire union supporters. I have seen a lot of dishonesty over the years on the companies part.
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But, But you said CCX was the greatest company to work for and treated there driver with the greatest respect
 
OV-10 said:
It does put a lot more on your spouse. They have to handle a lot of the daily task you no longer can do . A bunch of line drivers have no responsibility of paying bills, attending parent teacher meetings, food shopping and meal prep etc. All for an extra 20 k is it worth it ? It’s definitely a decision that people have to make . Life is short and their no replay button. I think our line drivers are grossly under payed for their sacrifice. Along with other carriers.
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Man you really would be shocked what really happens. I know LH driver that do that and more. I don't know how long it takes you to pay bills but it about a 30min jobs with online bill pay. Food shopping you should see how empty the stores are at 7am on a Monday morning. Teacher meetings are very easy we had guy just request to be the last dispatch time out on those night and even for sporting and other school events. To me and others that 20K+ more a years is more into the retirement plan and could mean leaving here at 62 vs 65 or in you case still here at 71. You say life is short at 71 you are still here so for some to sacfice for yrs to leave at 62 has more of a life then you will working 10 more years
 
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Conway Lifer said:
I’m looking for nighttime line drivers who chose, we’re not forced, to be on nights. Pros and cons… I know the obvious con, up nights sleep days, but what other cons are there? How the heck do you have a weekend, and somehow on Monday, go back to your night schedule? I’m on days now, the ********, horrible traffic, I’m sick of. Im asking those who chose nights because you had a choice.
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I only did it for the money.Night linehaul 28 years
 
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