What's new

Estes | workN4estes...

S

sadsack679

TB Lurker
Credits
262
Saw on co. web site listing hub and linehaul jobs in Ft. Wayne---which is better?linehaul working70/8 or 60/7? Out forever or much hometime? Want variety of opinions not just from constant bitchers or co. :buttkisser:.. so I can get middle of the road answers. Doubt city drivers would be much help with road insights. Still looking to work 10--12 years before retiring and looking for a place to finish up.
 
In linehaul you will start on extraboard which is what I am running now. They will run you the 70/8 logs. The farther west you are, the less you will need the 70 hours. East terminals are a lot closer and a lot of time is wasted at terminals waiting for loads, and they only pay break and hook pay (in the east it's rare) and mileage. No delay time. Unfortunately out of Ft Wayne you'll probably spend most of your time east.

I am home every weekend. I usually leave monday night (I am monday- first out) and return anywhere between friday night and saturday night but 95% of the time it is saturday morning. Some weeks the freight is specific and I home everyday. Sometimes once or twice. Some weeks I work nights, some weeks I run days. Some days I sit in the motel and wait for 18+ hours, some days I am rolling again after 10.

Which brings up another issue. Coming from the midwest I rarely get out east, ergo I rarely see bunkrooms and stay in hotels/motels. The east has many more bunkrooms which is basically an 8x8 room with a bed. Some aren't that bad, some are. But it definitely isn't a motel room.

As far as the job.....meh. I was hired on a schedule and lost it. As a father of 3 small kids, I dislike extraboard, but I am not an OTR driver. Some are and the job is great. The money is good and if I didn't have small kids, I would probably like the job more.

As for the company.....meh. There are goods and bads. Terminals and areas are different, but I feel like a lot of decisions are based on emotion. I have personal opinions about it that I will keep to myself, but understand I came to the company with the promise of a lifetime bid and am now on extraboard, so I may be more disgruntled with the company than others, however if I could get my hands on a schedule, I would probably be happy.

I hope this answers your questions.
 
if you can get hub, take the hub. go somewhere, work the dock, come home. same thing every day.

Extra board you are their B--ch and they own you. You can make good money or you can loose you butt waiting for 20 hours on loads and being put to bed in 400 miles. Being out dealing with the BS can certainly get to you.
 
I appreciate all 3 answers. Straight truth and no B.S.--much more then I had honestly expected. Thanks again to all 3 of you, maybe I might run into you one day, never know.
 
I should add that I turned down that kind of linehaul work 13 years ago at USF. Having little ones at home makes pretty tuff. Now I've got 8 grandkids running me ragged. Make more of their ballgames, school programs,ect. then I ever did for the 3 parents. Right now I do scheduled freight--634 miles a trip,don't do pharmy's, power drinks,don't pull over for naps. But I have been late a few times, seems I do have to pull over to pee more than I used to,lol.
 
frkybgstok you say you are first out each week, do you have a sunday start. we do the first in first out and it sucks cause you have to try to get close to home thursday and run a short day friday home so you can be at top of list to get out,

they should go by senority to send us out each monday no matter what time we got in, with all this new hires lately its a pain to make top of list, so not waiting till tuesday to get out.
 
no they do it by seniority at our barn. until recently i was the only extraboard guy so it didn't matter when i went out. but right now with M1 and M2 and that is it. 2 extraboard guys at the moment. i am M1 so i go out before the new guy. but i am not really that picky to be honest. if he wants to go out monday morning before me he can. i am not leaving until monday night. i miss my family too much i don't want to leave early. but come 7pm or so i had better be the first one to leave. and i always am.
 
Correction: I found out today that we do it like you are saying. First in, first out. Wtf is the point of being M1 or M10 if that's how it is?
 
Every terminal I've been to was first in first out. What always messed me up was the motel/bunkroom guys automatically bumping xtraboarders (still at home) down the list. Not a big problem when its busy but many times when it was slow, my Mon nite start would become a Tue. or Wed. nite start. It seems fair cause you gotta move those guys. Can't complain much about being home when some other driver is in the motel/bunkroom
 
i just dont think its right for first in first out to start the week out, after week is started fine cause you could never keep track of senority when guys are from different terminlas. but i get asked to volenteer to stay out another day all the time but if you do that to help out you get punished by going to bottom of the list to go back out. or even if you will run a out and back for them on weekend at home you get punished, pushed to bottom of back out list.

anyplace i ever worked the new guys had to take whats left, not get moved to top of the list. just like in the city with estes the new guy comes in late or not at all get whats left.

i know i know people gonna say but why does the new guy have to suffer, well why does the new guy have to suffer in the city then, do city drivers same way first one to go home is first one back in next day.
 
The way I hear it, it's first in first load that's ready. If they have a 100 mile load ready the first one gets it, then the 700 mile load that just finished 3 minutes later goes to the next driver. Everyone makes plenty of money either way though. Just because you may start out with a 100 mile trip doesn't mean it's where your going to bed. I started out many of times with the shortest load and wound up with over 800 miles and sitting under the palm trees with my flip flops and one of those cold drinks with an unbrella in it before I went to bed. :beerchug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top