Terminal Location- Preferences, Benefits, Challenges
Topic 6521 | Page 1
Frank, it all depends on the company you work for. Some companies require that you park your tractor at the terminal when you come home for home time. This could be a positive thing, since it will be easy for you to park your truck with empty trailer attached. It could be a negative for you, if you need to take a lot of personal belongings with you when you leave the tractor.
Some drivers like the flexibility to park their tractor in their own driveway, but this can be a problem when it comes time to leave home and get your first load back out, because you don't have an empty trailer attached.
Also, some companies will not pay you breakdown pay if your truck is in the shop getting repaired within 50 miles of where you live. Getting to go home for a day or two might be nice in that situation, but you would be getting paid your breakdown pay if you were somewhere on the road instead of at your home terminal and close to home.
Companies have terminals in a lot of locations, but not all of them are great locations for getting a load home. This can make it harder for them to get you home on time when you requested, or get you a load back out when your home time is over. Some of the best locations for terminals are Chicago, Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth, or Atlanta. Some of the worst can be anywhere in Florida or the New England area North of New York state and Pennsylvania. My company has a minimum 45 days required to stay out, if you live in a certain area. This is because it is harder for them to get you a load home or get you back out on the road when the time comes. A lot of this depends on the company you drive for, and what type freight they haul.
If you are flexible, you could relocate later once you find out where you need to be. Another option would be to go to work for a different company who has a lot of business in a particular area. Some of this info will be hard to acquire, until you have been working in the industry for awhile. There are just so many variables depending on what you want, where you live, and who you work for. That is one reason why this industry is a good choice for single people with few attachments and responsibilities. Especially so, if you plan to work for a national fleet and drive OTR. Good luck and I hope I have helped you understand the pros and cons a little clearer.
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.
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.
Thanks for the insight Dutch. I love the value of this site for not only my own education but also that it can help others who may not have thought about the situation in my questions. Would love to read thoughts from other drivers as well. Every bit of experience helps.
As for my own situation, I start school on January 5, 2015, and being that I'm retired and looking at this as a second career, I have a lot of options available to me that a driver just starting out may not have. For example, I live outside of Atlanta and have many large terminals close to me. There are also a lot of LTL , Intermodal , and local jobs here in this heavy freight lane. I have not settled on what style of driving I want to do yet; whether I want to do long haul, regional , or local. I'm planning on going through the 8 week college course and soaking up as much knowledge there (and here) before I make any decisions. For me it is something I've always wanted to do and I am already enjoying myself just by getting into the High Road training and exchanging thoughts with the great folks on TT.
Be safe!
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.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
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
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
Ive been with 2 OTR companies.. Both allowed me to take the truck home.
Swift was my first. They have locations everywhere, one in almost every state if not more... (CA has like 4) I was able to take the truck home as I lived 150 miles away from the closest terminal.
Gordon (Current employer) also allows me to take the tractor home, but I have to have a empty attached, Little more challenging, but there's an old abandon car lot about a mile away that I park at.. no issues. we have a drop yard (not a full terminal) in KC which is about 40-50 miles away. Still get to take the truck home as the closest terminal is 220miles away.
Daniel B is at prime and is based out of Salt Lake City, UT and lives in Sacramento, CA he takes his truck home as SLC is a little far.
there are companys that would rather you park at the terminal as it provides a safe location for your truck. but most of the bigger places will let you drive home if you live in a certain distance from the closest terminal.
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.
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.
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What are your thoughts on the location of your terminal to your home location? What pros and cons have you found about being close or far away...or even in another state?
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.