What are the pros & cons of LTL as opposed to OTR?

[duckdukgoose]

Is OTR really that bad? What are the pros & cons of LTL?

[JLKKLJ777]

OTR is the starting place for most new drivers entering the field of trucking. To get experience in all kinds of terain and all kinds of weather. You will see the country from the cab of your truck traveling to different places each time.

As an OTR driver you will be assigned a truck that stays with you until you take time off, essentially living in that truck while you are on the job (many companies will let drivers take the trucks home with them for their time off usually up to 2 weeks. Any thing longer than 2 weeks off and the company may require a driver to clean out the truck so it may be used while you are out but this varies from company to company).
OTR is primarily nonunion as well. Pay structures vary from outfit to outfit but for comparison purposes here is what most will offer: mileage pay usually based on a routing program such as Rand McNally or PC Miler. These programs basically calculate mileages from city limit to city limit (or postal zone to postal zone) using the most direct route possible. Figure on driving 5 to 10% more than the pay mileage will be.
Pick ups will be for free as will the first delivery. Unloading compensation will vary but figure on around $75.00 for unloading a trailer yourself (companies will pay a lumper service 2 and 3 times this amount to unload the truck instead and I recommend using them). Layover pay will be a token amount around $50.00 per day in the event you get stuck and the company cannot find a load for you. Most outfits will not pay holiday pay, sick pay, or personal days off. Detention pay varies widely from 2 hours free to 4 hours free then around $15.00 per hour (as long as the driver was on time and the company can collect detention charges from the customer). Breakdown pay is usually not offered either (basically tough luck on your part maybe layover pay if your down for 24 hours or more). They will offer vacation pay (may vary from a specific amount per day to 1/52nd of your previous years earmings). Other benefits offered will be 401k, medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance. All will require a co-pay from you to get this insurance (again it will vary how much you pay to get the insurance based on the outfit you work for). Milage pay rates will vary drastically as well. From the low end of around .25 cpm for a new driver fresh out of school up to around .50 cpm for veteran drivers with 10 or more years of experience. Raises are usually a penny per mile for each year of service.


LTL is usually a more routine operation where a driver will know his route, will start at about the same time each and every day, and go to the same group of customers or same terminals day in and day out. Ltl companies are primarily "slip seat" operations where drivers will share the trucks and you may drive a different 1 each day. Mileage pay for some are actually calculated upon "hub miles" meaning the driver gets paid for all miles driven.
Usually ltl companies require new drivers to be "on call" where you will sit at home waiting for a phone call to come to work in the event someone called off. It may take 1 to 2 years of being on the "extra board" (on call) before you get into a full time position. You will have about 2 to 4 hours to report to your home terminal and then be expected to drive a 10 or 11 hour shift. Ltl drivers will use day cabs primarily and are usually home every day. In the event they do not make it back to their home base they are put into a motel for their break.Ltl drivers in many cases will work the dock loading and unloading trucks when not assigned to a run.

Ltl is also predominantly union organized meaning higher wages and benefits. Many companies offer a fully paid benefits package (meaning no cost to the driver)including breakdown pay, detention pay (after 1 to 2 hours varies form company to company) medical, dental, vision, pension, holiday pay, sick day pay, personal days off, and vacation.
ltl union outfits will have a 2 year progressive pay scale once you make it into the "full time roster." (this means it will only take 2 years to make it to top pay here. Top pay or union scale is up around .54 cpm and I beleive $25.00 per hour.

As you can see the ltl outfits have a much better pay scale but it takes time to "get your foot in the door." The equipment is usually older in an ltl operation as compared to their otr counterparts.

[patrick]

I just got laid off 3 weeks ago from conway which is LTL. Its great to be home everyday. The worse thing about LTL is your oncall when you first start out untill you get some time put in. Alot of times i slept all day just to get a phone call to say there was no work that evening. I worked night time linehaul. On the other hand i made enough money those 3 to 4 days aweek to survive because you have to work 14 hours. You get payed hourly and milage pay. So I usually brought home around 520 a week average. OTR you only get payed milage unless you unload a truck which you might get a flat rate. Your gone for usually 2 to 5 weeks at a time and if you try to figure out your pay hourly you"ll probally just cry. My last OTR job i averaged around 10 hourly. Thats at 70 hours a week. Not 24 hours away from home. But being OTR can be great at times as long as you come to terms with yourself and make the best of it. It does get better eventually if your with the right company. So good luck.

[stoneyABF]

Ok, I've done both types of trucking, and I'm a union driver for ABF. Most dirvers usually go go LTL after they pay their dues. And here's why.
Yes LTL is an on call job, but ur home everyday or everyother day at the worst, and you'll make twice as much than truckload carriers. Job protection from the union. You get pensions and 401Ks. Medical is very good too.
I've benn with ABF 2 and half years now as a linedriver, and its great. Already have a bid run. I go to a hotel every trip. But I come home very next day. I have Wednesday's off, but If I want everyother week i can drop a trip and take 3 days off. Sometimes I work 3 weeks without dropping a trip and drop 2 tips the 4th week and take 5 days off. You see a trip for me is a laydown. So I leave Thursday comeback Friday, leave Saturday comeback Sunday, and leave Monday and comeback Tuesday then take Wedneday off. So the 4th week I'll drop my Thursday and Saturday trips and take a mini Vacation.
As far as pay, I get paid .5522 a mile and $22.14 an hour. Whenever I breakdown, get stuck in traffic due to an accident or something like that, when I fuel up or have to make a set or even just a simple Drop & Hook I get paid by the hour. Yes I know a drop and hook only takes 3 to 5 minutes to do, but I get an automatic 15min from dropping and 15 minutes for hooking, so 5 minutes of work pays me a half hour automaticly And if they hold me in the hotel longer than 14 hours I go on the clock. Last year I made $61000 and I wasn't even at %100 pay yet.
The bad I can think of, is that I don't get to drive big, fast beautiful truck. Our trucks on go 61 MPH. Buts thats cool, I'll just sit in the right lane and make the dough!!
There is some much more good stuff, If you wanna know just ask.

[Dirtball]

Home time and telephone waiting pretty much sums up the biggest differences. Good responses guys.

[ala4ama]

Originally Posted by JLKKLJ777

OTR is the starting place for most new drivers entering the field of trucking. To get experience in all kinds of terain and all kinds of weather. You will see the country from the cab of your truck traveling to different places each time.

As an OTR driver you will be assigned a truck that stays with you until you take time off, essentially living in that truck while you are on the job (many companies will let drivers take the trucks home with them for their time off usually up to 2 weeks. Any thing longer than 2 weeks off and the company may require a driver to clean out the truck so it may be used while you are out but this varies from company to company).
OTR is primarily nonunion as well. Pay structures vary from outfit to outfit but for comparison purposes here is what most will offer: mileage pay usually based on a routing program such as Rand McNally or PC Miler. These programs basically calculate mileages from city limit to city limit (or postal zone to postal zone) using the most direct route possible. Figure on driving 5 to 10% more than the pay mileage will be.
Pick ups will be for free as will the first delivery. Unloading compensation will vary but figure on around $75.00 for unloading a trailer yourself (companies will pay a lumper service 2 and 3 times this amount to unload the truck instead and I recommend using them). Layover pay will be a token amount around $50.00 per day in the event you get stuck and the company cannot find a load for you. Most outfits will not pay holiday pay, sick pay, or personal days off. Detention pay varies widely from 2 hours free to 4 hours free then around $15.00 per hour (as long as the driver was on time and the company can collect detention charges from the customer). Breakdown pay is usually not offered either (basically tough luck on your part maybe layover pay if your down for 24 hours or more). They will offer vacation pay (may vary from a specific amount per day to 1/52nd of your previous years earmings). Other benefits offered will be 401k, medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance. All will require a co-pay from you to get this insurance (again it will vary how much you pay to get the insurance based on the outfit you work for). Milage pay rates will vary drastically as well. From the low end of around .25 cpm for a new driver fresh out of school up to around .50 cpm for veteran drivers with 10 or more years of experience. Raises are usually a penny per mile for each year of service.


LTL is usually a more routine operation where a driver will know his route, will start at about the same time each and every day, and go to the same group of customers or same terminals day in and day out. Ltl companies are primarily "slip seat" operations where drivers will share the trucks and you may drive a different 1 each day. Mileage pay for some are actually calculated upon "hub miles" meaning the driver gets paid for all miles driven.
Usually ltl companies require new drivers to be "on call" where you will sit at home waiting for a phone call to come to work in the event someone called off. It may take 1 to 2 years of being on the "extra board" (on call) before you get into a full time position. You will have about 2 to 4 hours to report to your home terminal and then be expected to drive a 10 or 11 hour shift. Ltl drivers will use day cabs primarily and are usually home every day. In the event they do not make it back to their home base they are put into a motel for their break.Ltl drivers in many cases will work the dock loading and unloading trucks when not assigned to a run.

Ltl is also predominantly union organized meaning higher wages and benefits. Many companies offer a fully paid benefits package (meaning no cost to the driver)including breakdown pay, detention pay (after 1 to 2 hours varies form company to company) medical, dental, vision, pension, holiday pay, sick day pay, personal days off, and vacation.
ltl union outfits will have a 2 year progressive pay scale once you make it into the "full time roster." (this means it will only take 2 years to make it to top pay here. Top pay or union scale is up around .54 cpm and I beleive $25.00 per hour.

As you can see the ltl outfits have a much better pay scale but it takes time to "get your foot in the door." The equipment is usually older in an ltl operation as compared to their otr counterparts.

It can be as long as U sit there...OTR is wrong. Pay should be alot higher...these trucking companies slut drivers pERIOD.