LTL Trucking - My Linehaul Job

6-String...took this in Galesburg Illinois while attending their annual Railroad Days event. Thought it would be a welcome addition to your thread.

Cool brother! Great pic!

I saw a Wal-Mart trailer pulled off by the A&W convenience store / gas station on US 30 in Bedford this evening - only to see a Schneider truck pulling it. Was I mistaken or do you get out to that Bedford Wal-Mart as part of your route? Where are you usually running? I'm always on the hunt for Old School on the turnpike or 81. My head snaps every time I see a grey SAPA Volvo pulling a flatbed.

Hey, you'd look good in a green polo shirt!

6-String wrote:

Cool brother! Great pic!

I saw a Wal-Mart trailer pulled off by the A&W convenience store / gas station on US 30 in Bedford this evening - only to see a Schneider truck pulling it. Was I mistaken or do you get out to that Bedford Wal-Mart as part of your route? Where are you usually running? I'm always on the hunt for Old School on the turnpike or 81. My head snaps every time I see a grey SAPA Volvo pulling a flatbed.

Hey, you'd look good in a green polo shirt!

Rarely west of York/Harrisburg/Williamsport. Anything east of those three locations is where I spend the majority of my time. My jaunts on WB76 exit at either West Shore, East Shore or RT72. I've been to the Bedford DC area only a couple of times during blitz week (the week before Thanksgiving).

New linehaul raise brings top rate up to .6568 cpm.

Hey 6 string just wanted to add myself to the list, I have been working for an Otr company that I won’t bad mouth and things didn’t live up to what was promised. I applied at Old dominion and now a rookie with 6 months Otr exp got a contingent offer of employment pending background and drug test. Which I have my twic and I don’t do drugs so I’ll be fine on that stuff. I’ll let you know if anything goes sideways but as of right now I’ll Be your neighbor in the east working out of the Allentown terminal. See you around hopefully.

Hi Jared.

Yes, most linehaul jobs are the same, save for the fact that some companies want their L/H drivers to work the dock too. Not sure if Fed Ex requires that, I know Con-Way Freight does, but they've been bought out by XPO, so we'll see if their policy changes. OD doesn't make their L/H drivers work the dock, unless you're at a small terminal that needs everybody to be a jack of all trades.

In regard to pay, most L/H gigs pay relatively the same, union or non-union. Top rate at OD is currently around .62 cpm for L/H drivers. It takes two years to reach top rate. At our terminal, we have some guys that are raking down 100k plus a year, but they've got the bigger runs. Most drivers are between 70k - 90k. It all depends on the miles.

My miles have been fluctuating, simply because I've been running wild or extraboard - by choice. I enjoy the variety, but really chose to run wild because that's all I can get right now to run days. I prefer days for the family. I can have a schedule if I run nights. Daylight schedules take a few years at my terminal, so if I wanna run days, I gotta go wild. Even still, running wild, I pretty much average 2500 miles a week, 10k a month. WIth all my accessory pay in addition to miles, I'm routinely grossing at least $1,500 a week, sometimes around $1,700. Not bad for getting to run daylight linehaul and being home every night.

Biggest challenges? Getting to know some of the terminal locations in the metro NYC area. Getting used to running nights. Adapting to a demanding work schedule - pretty much the type of schedule most trucking jobs require, it's long hours.

But I love this job. Love this company. Love being a linehaul driver.

I'll write more later ....

Hey 6 string, after reading this thread and when my 1st year is up at CRST I might consider a move to an LTL company also. I was thinking in order from top to bottom: UPS, FedEx, XPO Logistics, and after reading your thread here, Old Dominion. I want to see if first CRST has any LTL dedicated routes with any of those 4 companies. If so I could stay with the same company and still move up. I would want to move either to Cupertino CA or Bloomington MN before I do make that change though. Are there any great LTL opportunities with those 4 companies out of either one of those cities that would pay good money?

I would want to move either to Cupertino CA or Bloomington MN

Where on Earth did you come up with those two choices?

Enjoy the cost of living in Cupertino if you go that route. omg.......

I would want to move either to Cupertino CA or Bloomington MN

Where on Earth did you come up with those two choices?

Enjoy the cost of living in Cupertino if you go that route. omg.......

The greatest tech company ever is based in Cupertino: Apple Inc. Also for Bloomington: Ready access to anything I need and still not far from CRST. Cupertino is more of a pipe dream of mine. Bloomington is more realistic and either one is still several years down the road for me.

Hey 6 string!

I received a conditional offer of employment for line haul with OD yesterday and can't tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into your LTL thread.

6 string do you have tips as to how I can get my sleep schedule swapped from days to nights? I'm no stranger to a grave yard shift, did it for 5 years at a previous office job, but currently work a 6 am - 4 pm pd gig with a different employer. Im still at least 3 if not 4 weeks out from starting LH training, and would love to make the adjustment as easy as possible.

Thanks again sir! Bret

Hey 6 string!

I received a conditional offer of employment for line haul with OD yesterday and can't tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into your LTL thread.

6 string do you have tips as to how I can get my sleep schedule swapped from days to nights? I'm no stranger to a grave yard shift, did it for 5 years at a previous office job, but currently work a 6 am - 4 pm pd gig with a different employer. Im still at least 3 if not 4 weeks out from starting LH training, and would love to make the adjustment as easy as possible.

Thanks again sir! Bret

Hi Bret. Glad the thread helped.

There's really no easy way about getting acclimated to nights. If you've worked nights before, you probably already have an idea of how to sleep during the day, and what not to do during your night shift. We're diurnal beings - some just tolerate night shift better than others. For me it wasn't as much the work week that gave me trouble, but rather flipping my schedule on the weekends for the family - that's rough. I try to stay daylight now. I run out of a terminal that has daylight runs and I have enough seniority to stay days.