Profile For Turtle Tail

I drove OTR for about six months then ran Coke for 5 years. I stayed that long just to lock in a pension but it was a lot harder to go local back when the economy crashed. Did about 5-6 hundred cases a day in 6-10 stops and remember you will touch each case a few times stacking and down stacking. We switched to what is called E-Z pallets which are pretty much half a pallet and a special pallet jack for convenient stores they hold about 20 cases so no stacking. Got to know most store managers enough i would actually use a full size electric pallet jack and go right into the stores. Good bennies and insurance but don't plan on taking anytime near holidays off they black those out. If you enjoy working out its actually pretty good job. I ended up quitting for a union LTL gig and no looking back. Only did about 45k a year ******* soda the first couple years. We were commission and base pay non union, money is a lot better in the summer than winter. Good city experience I usually ran a 35 ft lift gate sometimes a 53 ft for bulk routes when i filled in.

Take it as a lesson never to take a "rent a job" A.K.A lease a truck especially at what some of these companies want to pay. Best to leave the liability with the company. Why do you think they push so hard for guys to take a lease? Do you think they really do it for the drivers well being?

The problem with the Central States Pension Fund doesnt just lay solely on YRC. The problem is there are so many companies that no longer exist that have retirees drawing a pension from the fund their company no longer contributes to. That leaves the companies still in the fund to pick up the tab.

Pretty simple really, companies still in the fund are subsidizing the fund for retired workers from companies that no longer put money in the pot.

Benefits must be cut or the companies still contributing to the fund will go out of business trying to keep up with the payments, or the fund will collapse.

Its the same situation as the Social Security System. More people taking more money from a smaller pot than was ever contributed by them or in this case, for them.

True the so called "orphans" are part of the problem but the formation of YRC was a disaster. You basically had a deeply in debt company buy up a bunch of profitable companies, cut wages, benefits and greatly reduce everyone's negotiating power.

Straight line, look for the same amount of trailer tires visible on each side helped me when i was learning. Also small adjustments.

I can comment a little on both situations. First off you live in Ohio so you would be in the central states pension fund which is not in great shape and might have government intervention soon. My Dad retired from Holland in central states fund which was bought by YRC shortly after he retired and he took a $700 dollar a month pension cut even though he never worked for YRC, he still gets a pretty good pension not sure how much he doesnt discuss such things. I'm with ABF in the western states, pension is well funded here. It is true no vacation till two years under the last contract up in 2018 but you do get 5 paid sick days and 2 personal days at the first of the year both of which you can schedule and use as vacation if you wish. Management has been pretty understanding about not getting vacation for two years and are pretty flexible if you need time off. You get zero cost insurance for the whole family, OT after 8 and home every day. Everyone is real nice and usually in a real good mood compared to most places I have worked. I work out of a really small barn of 8 drivers with 3 retiring in the next year so its a good time to get in if you want to move up the board. I have been there a year this month and casualed for 5 months before going full time. I now run whats called a utility route basically shuttle to a larger terminal about a hour away, its overnight but pays a extra dollar a hour and usually spend about a hour a night on the dock unloading high velocity freight. Which I like cause it gets me out of the truck in the middle of the night and wakes me up and lets me socialize. Hope that helps

Hi guy. Been a lurker on the site for a while never posted. Was wondering how much more does your sleeper weigh compared to single axle day cabs? All our dock guys assume the loads are being pulled by day cabs and build them accordingly.