Profile For Johnboy

Yeah you'll have to do your time on the bottom but even at its worst, the schedule isn't anything as bad and unpredictable as OTR.

Right on , the unpredictability of hours in otr is one of my least favorite aspects of the job. I was definitely naive when i first got into the game, thinking it would provide me with more freedom. (To be fair that has to do with how hard i run my clock and the truck and therefore dispatch has been running me as tight as possible for awhile now) The last 15 months on the road have felt like less freedom than a 9-5 . But thats just me . Im sure theres plenty of folks that would disagree. Thanks for the insight on P &D

Old school- Yup thats the plan so far. Get married have kids. also planning a move out west in about 2 years (montana/utah/idaho) which is part of my job search in LTL in regards to companies that i can transfer out west with. I also should say that you are sniffin up the right tree with getting out of trucking. I have no intention of staying in the industry more than 5 years most likely. Just isnt for me . If i have to be in it longer i will, but the plan is to start a plumber apprenticeship / try to join firefighters or something along those lines once we move out west. There are many reasons for me not just quitting altogether and restarting, the biggest of which is the uncertainty we are facing with rona and the economy. But for the time being trucking is where my paycheck is at , need to save , and its a convenient job to move out west with and something id like to fall back on if need be in the next decade. if i need to fall back on it in the future id like to get at least 3 years continuous experience under my belt as A job safety net for the next ten years . Most trade apprenticeships take longer than 2 years and thats my timeline for getting off the east coast , thus the reason for transition to local for a period of time till we get settled out west (instead of just starting apprenticeship now). I know thats all complicated and such which is why i didnt get into it but i figured id reveal that since ur barkin up that tree. Thanks for the insight. Your comments are always appreciated.

Funnily enough literally as i was waiting to take my cdl exam a couple years ago a saia driver came up to me and told me to quit prime and apply to saia “ you’ll make more money “ he said lol. Glad i got the OTR experience and didnt screw over prime but maybe he was right about the money.

Honestly ive applied to estes before when i was just looking for a training program a couple years ago, and the interview process was kind of terrbile. Id be down to give them another shot but their application process is also very disorganized. I went in for interview, made it sound like i was good to go and then didnt get any kind of call back for orientation even after i tried to contact them. So i went with Prime. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I guess my hang up here guys is that all the reviews online for almost every company is the same. Youve got the same salty dudes who either quit or got fired saying they work to hard and management doesn’t care. Also that the companies lie to you. Im taking most of this with a grain of salt because most people who are in the frame of mind to leave an Indeed review are probably angry anyway...but its just getting harder and harder to research these companies i guess. I feel like its basically all the same except for a few select companies like Old dominion . Unfortunately old dominion doesnt work for my location . Wish it did. Anyway thanks for the response i appreciate it

Thanks for the response. I was looking at old dominion but their closest terminals are 40-60 miles from where i live so i dont think it would work. I dont want to spemd 2 hrs-3 hrs of my 10 hr break commuting. It seems old dominion definitely has a better reputation online. Its a bummer too cus OD is advertising line haul jobs right now in PA and id rather do that. However xpo is 10 miles away from my house so thats why i chose to apply with them. They also seem pretty desperate for drivers right now. Not sure if you’ve noticed this at OD? Im gonna ask the manager if its due to logistics need or turnover rate.

Thanks for the reply, im not expecting a ton of feedback i just figured id give it a try. Doesnt seem to be as much information on LTL as a whole out there. Found one guy on Youtube who just started at XPO around 6 months to a year ago i think.

Regarding Prime- i have asked them about a local dedicated route in my area and i havent gotten any sort of feedback. I actually did my PsD training preCDL on a local shuttle route in maryland/PA with prime. (My first trainer is back OTR cus the contract got outbid) Did TNT over the road. Local routes here get jumped on pretty fast and i dont really know a single driver who hasnt been pulled off a local account and sent out OTR eventually whether its because of company need or because they got outbid on the local contract by another carrier. I would stay here if they had something i knew i could get home every night and have 1 -2 days off a week with family, but i just dont think itll happen anytime soon and even if it did the job would end eventually and id be back over the road.

Also. Maybe a stupid thought but i do very much like the idea of getting back to being paid by the hour. Although i sincerely think Prime is a great OTR company to work for, they have a lot of the same pitfalls as any OTR company, no one is perfect. Local routes at prime are not hourly, they are flat rate weeks. Means you generally get paid a certain lump sum for the week whether its slow or heavy. Can be good and bad depending on how your week goes. There are lots of things i just do not get paid for OTR and the paycheck is sometimes parabolic due to that. I make good money as a rookie believe me , but id rather move to a payscale where i get paid for ALL of my work. But thats just me, im sure ill have some people who disagree. Just my personal experience thats all.

Again Prime was great to me my first year. Any mistakes i made they helped me get through it. I think i cleared around 40-45k my first year. I had some issues with dispatching and sales decisions of course and it is frustrating, but at the end of the day thats just truckin’ . Its gonna happen. I mean jeez im sitting down here 30 minutes away from my 90 right now for an extra 2 days because i tried to deliver yesterday and found someone forgot to schedule my appointment correctly and they had to reschedule it. But it is what it is 🤷🏻‍♂️I am realizing this isnt a sustainable lifestyle for me and i wanna try out LTL to see if it fits better. If i was a single man with no prospects of starting a family id probably stay OTR. If it doesnt work out well....im you g and theres always plumbing 😉

Hello all,

Hope all is well... Been awhile since i posted on the site. I’m a Prime driver running OTR reefer. So far Prime has treated me pretty well and for my first 15 months of trucking i can’t really complain about the paychecks. However, My girlfriend wants me off the road and i gotta admit im not cut out for not having a home life. So I recently applied to XPO logistics and have an interview setup for next time im home. Wondering if there are any local P&D drivers from XPO on here that might have some insight on the company, if they are trustworthy with their follow thru on offerings and their general feeling towarss the job. Most info online seems more to do with their buyout history with conway/CFI and less to do with the job. Im assuming local guys just have less sitting time on their hands and thats why theres not a ton of driver testimonials online. Im aware LTL is a totally different job than OTR and most of the week is just work>home>sleep>work , lots of tight backing, residential, city, pallet jacks and dock work , but if i get nights and weekends with the girlfriend and make comperable money to OTR im fine with that. Also really wouldnt mind the forced excercise , OTR is packing on the belly fat. Anyways. Any thoughts on XPO from some experienced guys and gals out there? Any info would be much appreciated . Especially regarding north east LTL (pennsylvania)

Topics interested in

Graduated payscale timing? Set or earned?

Average hours worked? (Pennsylvania)

Turnover rate for XPO?

Management Competence?

Safety and equipment quality?

Benefits? (Expense and quality)

Anything else you might think is helpful

Thanks And stay safe

PackRat,

I like it. 👍Yeah the more time I spend on the truck in a team that can’t agree on anything or how to run it the more I want the challenge of doing it myself. Trial by fire so to speak. I don’t have any misconceptions about having it all figured out (believe me I am very green). But I’d rather be frustrated knowing I made a mistake and paying the consequences then constantly being in a tug of war with someone who won’t compromise on anything and having to deal with the consequences of his mistakes as well as my own. Add on top of that a less than satisfactory mileage count ...it’s all a bit too much stress for the payout. I’m gonna go it alone and see what I can do. Thanks again for the advice and encouragement. Much appreciated.

I agree with turtle. Going solo as opposed to continuing to team in a non productive situation is a no brainer. Nobody is going to label that as being a trouble maker or complainer. It looks more like a guy that wants to make a go of this. Go for it - you'll be able to figure this stuff out better on your own.

If you’re thinking of going solo, don’t wait. Let your DM know now so he get the wheels turning for getting you a truck of your own.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the insight. Maybe I’ll send out an update a month after I’m solo. I’m sure I’ll be back for more advice

Turtle, You got a point there turtle. I’ve got some home time coming up at the end of the month So I’ll make a decision then and probably do one more month of teaming while I wait for a truck. Don’t wanna sit around without a paycheck. Thanks for the response