Newbie looking for LTL advice

[newone30]

Well, I've been looking to get into trucking for about 6 months now. I'm curious, is LTL the way to go if you don't want to be gone for weeks and weeks on end? I hear either do local driving which is hourly or line haul which is mileage paid ..... right?

My question to you guys in the LTL sector is, well, everything .... I'm trying to soak in all aspects before I take a flying leap into the trucking industry. What are the good companies, union or nonunion, payscales, ect.

In particular, I hear that line haul is advantageous in LTL .... great pay, and great home time. Is there such a thing as being home at NIGHT when doing line haul?

I don't really know much about local driving other than it is hourly. If any of you can help me cover some of these questions, I'd really like to hear what you guys say. To sum things up for me, I'm almost 30 .... looking for a career change ..... I love to drive ....... and it may be long term for me if I switch it up .... I'd like to know all I can from the pros before I jump right in the thick of things.

[JLKKLJ777]

Yes local drivers are paid hourly and line haulers are on a mileage pay scale.

Linehaul is predominantly a night job. The local puds (pick up/delivery drivers) secure the freight during the day and return to the cross dock terminal where the trailers are stripped and then re-allocated to another larger trailer which is then shipped over night to the next cross dock where it is stripped again and re-allocated to the pup trailers for local delivery the next day.

If you do not make it back to your home terminal after your run you will be sent to a local hotel for your 10 hour break. You may be stuck until the next night for a return trip though.

It may take a year or more of being on call before you are put on full time at an ltl. They are coveted jobs due to the high pay, benefits, and home time. You just have to be patient to get into the roatation.

Top payscale for a union shop is around .54 cpm for the lineahaulers. I cannot be sure of the hourly pay for the locals but last I heard it was over 22.00 an hour with overtime after 40 hours.

Many yards have bids based upon seniority so the senior drivers get the choice runs wether it be a local gig or line haul. The newbies get the scraps no one else wanted.

1 of the good things about union ltl's is they have a 2 year progressive pay schedule that gets you to the top pay rate once your a full timer.

Now for the downside. Many union shops want drivers with verifiable otr experience usually at least 2 to 3 years of safe driving in all weather climes. Some places will expect the truckdriver to work the dock too which is fine for making extra money but some do not like it.

Many guys will actually start working the docks to get their foot in the door and then express an interest in becoming a driver after they have built a good reputation with the terminal managers. In many cases they will elevate a dock worker and have him trained in house for driving.

[here_and_back]

I have worked for 2 ltl carriers. Old Dominion and Con-Way. Both were very different in their operations. OD has dockworkers who "break" freight and linehaul drivers who drive to the other terminals. I was gone for 6 days and home for 2. You have to be there for a couple of years to be high enough to get a bid run, which is mostly run at night. With Con-Way, the operations are different. If you are linehaul, you run at night if you are out of a small barn and most of the Freight Assembly Center(FAC)'s, and then you work the dock when you get to the next FAC. Then you leave with just enough time to get home within the 14 hour day. All of this is at night. Both companies pay pretty competative wages. I say go ltl if you have the chance but look into their operations to see what's right for you.

[trubigtymer]

Originally Posted by JLKKLJ777

Now for the downside. Many union shops want drivers with verifiable otr experience usually at least 2 to 3 years of safe driving in all weather climes. Some places will expect the truckdriver to work the dock too which is fine for making extra money but some do not like it.

NOT TRUE, WHEN THEY NEED DRIVERS, THEY WILL HIRE WITH NO EXPERIENCE

[Alzado77]

Originally Posted by trubigtymer

NOT TRUE, WHEN THEY NEED DRIVERS, THEY WILL HIRE WITH NO EXPERIENCE

Yellow and it's other companies have there own training course for inexperinced drivers. This driver is right, they will hire you. IMHO, that's the way too go. They have a 2 year progression too top rate. Conway is like 4 or 5 years too get there.

[JLKKLJ777]

I was unaware the ltl's had a training program as I do not recall ever seeing any advertisements for this.

However I will defer to my colleagues (Bigtruckerguy and trubigtymer)on this.

If you are able to get into an ltl from a trainee level then by all means go for it. It will be more financially rewarding in the long run (as long as you can ride out the "extra board" or on call status).