Is This Normal To Feel This Way As A Truck Driver
Topic 11127 | Page 3
Tyler, I read through of your posts. It took me quite a while getting used to long periods of driving. Like Brett suggested, take more frequent, short breaks if you need to until you get used to this. As far as the snow and ice, you will also learn to drive in that. Just take your time and try not to tighten up. If it get's too bad, you and only you can make the decision to shut-down and wait out the weather, and no one should question that. I shut-down once last winter, "ice is nice, but trucks don't skate".
The other thing I want to mention is have you thought about running dedicated? It's somewhat of a compromise between local and OTR. Swift, Schneider, JB Hint and others have numerous dedicated opportunities possibly local to your area. On my dedicated assignment, it's rare for me to drive more than 3 hours between delivery stops, most days my actual driving time is 8-9hrs (split up into anywhere from 3-6 increments depending on # of stops), on-duty time upwards of 12-13+ every day. Most of the deliveries are live-unload, so it depletes the 14 hr. on-duty clock quickly. And yes many weeks I am within 2-3 hours of my 70hrs on-duty clock by the end of day six, it's the nature of the account. My day-off, either Saturday or Sunday is my 34 hour reset. Like everything else in this business you learn to manage it.
You mentioned Kinard, they're a decent outfit. You might also want to call Wolf in York PA, they have a large fleet. Swift Dedicated runs the Target DC/Terminal in Chambersburg PA. I have several friends working there, 95% store drop and hook (occasional back-haul), out and back the same day. And eventually you have an assigned set of routes. Maybe something else to think about.
All the best.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
I drive Line Haul for a LTL company. I go from Bowling Green Ky to Cloverdale In every night and back. 524 miles every night. I do have a tight schedule, but my company tells us to take a break when we need to. (even take a 10 minute nap if necessary) Most good companies will want you and their freight delivered in one piece. I have driven for 5 companies in 21 years of driving and I have never had a problem with rest breaks as long as I communicated with dispatch properly. Very few companies that will be 100% perfect, but you can find what works best for you. Good Luck.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
Line Haul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.New Reply:
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Well, between YRC and ABF in Carlisle - if you're willing to make that commute - I'd be surprised if you couldn't land a P&D or linehaul job. NEMF and Ward Trucking are also LTLs in Camp Hill, PA. With all the LTLs in the greater York - HBG - Carlisle area, it shouldn't be a matter of if you could land a P&D or linehaul job, but whether you're willing to make the commute.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
P&D:
Pickup & Delivery
Local drivers that stay around their area, usually within 100 mile radius of a terminal, picking up and delivering loads.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers for instance will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.