Profile For Mark J.

Awesome information. Thank you for taking the time to write this up.

I am a new reader to this site. I am contemplating trucking as a second career for me. I had never even heard about the LTL option before reading this I don't think I've even seen them listed on a website as a category for drivers to pursue. Thanks a lot. I am looking to replace lost income, and even though trucking will not replace what I formerly made I am interested in how to maximize income potential even at the expense of losing some of the oft cited reasons that people enjoy the trucking lifestyles. So, if you apply for a job with a company do you have to ask if they even have LTL opportunities?

I think that about completes it for linehaul, as I covered what the schedule would be like, and the job. I'll do the same for P&D, based on my research and chatting w/ experienced drivers. Before moving to P&D, I'd like to comment on a few other concepts from the LTL world.

The Extraboard / flexboard & Seniority

This varies from LTL company to company, but the concept is pretty much the same. Related to the idea of an extraboard is seniority, so we'll cover that as well. Extraboard is usually where drivers who don't have a set schedule are placed. They are typically new drivers, or perhaps they moved from the linehaul side to the P&D side ( and vice versa) within the same company and lost their seniority. Some companies run a single board for both linehaul and P&D drivers, some have separate boards. If a driver wants to move over to P&D, they might lose their seniority and have to start again as a fill-in with linehaul - this would be if a company runs two boards.

Some LTL companies make it really difficult for new company drivers, even if they had years of OTR experience. Unless they changed, YRC (formerly Yellow and Roadway) makes their new drivers stay by the phone, waiting for loads. They are on the extraboard, and until they get enough seniority to bid on a set schedule, they are also on call. Mistakenly, some people think that all LTL companies operate this way, and they never bother looking into an LTL job for fear of being on call for a year or more before they can earn steady income. Sadly, new drivers or those on the extraboard are also the first to get laid off. I'm not saying that YRC is a bad company to work for, I'm just relaying the facts - unless they changed.

For some LTL companies, a driver can't even bid on a linehaul job until they pay their dues as a P&D driver, these companies usually don't hire linehaul drivers off the street. Some LTL companies will hire drivers off the street for a linehaul position, but they will be on the extraboard until they can bid on a set schedule. The linehaul position I accepted is with a company that does hire off the street, but I will be on the extraboard. Thankfully, my LTL company has seen tremendous growth, and is hiring for lack of drivers due to company growth and retirement, not because of driver dissatisfaction and turn-over. I don't have to worry about being laid off, and I don't have to be on call. My home terminal is a breakbulk terminal, which means they are responsible for breaking up and distributing freight for the whole North East within the company. Therefore, they have a high demand for linehaul drivers. I will cover for drivers being on vacation, and take freight where it needs to go. Hence, I'll be out 5 days a week because I could go to Maine for one drop off, where they might need me to then go to New Jersey for another.

Back to seniority, it is gained only when other drivers are hired beneath you. THe more seniority, the greater chance that when you're going up against another driver to bid on a schedule, you'll get that bid. My company uses the seniority system to bid on schedules, but then balances that out with dispatching on a first come, first serve basis. That way, the 'better' or longer runs are given to those who show up at the terminal earliest. With my company, some drivers choose to remain "solo wild," or stay on the extraboard, because they have a greater earning potential, especially on a Wed-Sun schedule.

I should also mention that in the LTL world there are unions. Not every LTL company has a union, but most do.