Profile For Adam D.

Well, that was a ****show! What started out as a normal night and a short-ish run turned into a real marathon! I dispatched at 10pm last night for a 3-part run, Tucson to Bowie, AZ (AZ/NM border)

Then Bowie to Phoenix

Then Phoenix back to Tucson

It’s like 470 miles total, so thought it would be an easy night. That all changed when I ended up about a mile behind a tragic wreck where a trucker plowed into an overpass pillar and caught fire, which shut down I-10 west for an indefinite period of time, looking like several days of not longer while they repair the bridge. Sad to say, the guy didn’t make it.

I ended up completely stopped, stuck there for 5 hours straight while they assessed the situation. Eventually they started to let us through, but we had to U-turn on the interstate and head back east on I-10 as it was the only way out.

I ended up detouring the 191N and 80W rural hwy through Safford, Globe, Miami AZ etc to make my way back to PHX for my second set before returning back to Tucson. Had to use my 16-hour exemption to finish out the run. Finally got back around 1pm, 15 hours after my initial gate time, totally exhausted.

Tonight I’m on at 0030 for a super short run, down to Douglas and back to meet an El Paso driver. Only 210 miles RT, but after last night I’m just gonna be ok with that. With I-10 west shut down, they’re routing all westbound traffic down through Douglas, so traffic is gonna be a pain heading back especially.

Sad day for our brother trucker. I’ll pour one out for him when I get back at ~ 5am tomorrow.

At SAIA on P&D I was getting OT after 40 hrs, and some weeks getting quite a bit, but with the slowdown lately I was also getting unscheduled days of here and there and less OT. Our trucks are governed at 68. I get hourly pay for hooking or breaking sets but only 15 minutes per… Hourly kicks in for breakdowns too, but not much else. The benefits are pretty good, and I only pay like $30/week copay for a whole range of stuff, medical, dental, life, disability etc. They do still match 401k at 3%, so that helps some too. I’m getting older (48) so I put away 13% right now, plus their 3% = 16% to my 401k. I’m also doing the optional employee stock purchase plan for $50/week.

First official week on LH is going ok. Just getting started and schedule is varied. Had a noon gate yesterday and leaving at 10:30pm tonight.

I’ll report back more soon! Thanks for the comments and encouragement

Zombie reply, gonna revive this thread rather than make a new one…

I’m still at SAIA, coming up on 18 months, which is top pay for the company. After completing the dock-to-driver program, I started as a city driver/P&D and have been doing that for the past year. It was a great way to get a lot of experience and I enjoy the work. Along the way, I also have covered Linehaul shifts here and there and volunteered for LH on weekends.

Recently they offered me a position with Linehaul full-time, and I decided to go ahead and make the jump to that. Since I’ll be the ‘new’ guy on Linehaul, I don’t get a set run right away, and will have to work nights a lot of the time, but I’m kinda ok with that.

It’s hot as F$&@ here in Tucson in the summer and driving at night actually isn’t that bad. Less traffic and BS to deal with. Much rather be doing that than loading and unloading trailers in the 110* heat all summer. Plus the LH drivers make quite a bit more $$ than the city drivers so there’s that.

Once I get to 18 months I’ll be at 0.75¢/mile and average about 2200-2700 miles a week, plus still get to be home pretty much everyday; although I may have to do some lay-down runs here and there. At least they put me up in a hotel if I have to do an overnight, so better than sleeper cab and a truckstop. City drivers top out at about $32/hour right now at SAIA, which is also a really fair wage, but the top Linehaul guys are seeing $2200/week, so quite a bit better. Hoping to get that ElPaso run, that’s about as good as it gets for Tucson. 656 miles per day, plus extra to build/break sets. That puts you right at the edge of your HOS’s but still get to be home every night.

Anyway, just checking in. Any comments are much appreciated!

Hey there, TT folks..

Wanted to jump in and give a proper introduction. My name's Adam, living here in Tucson AZ, recently graduated the CDL program offered locally through Pima Community College and acquired my CDL in February complete with endorsements. I started working at SAIA in January ahead of my certification to do their dock-to-driver program, was attracted to the prospect of being able to be home every night and don't mind the stability/predictability of a steady paycheck and route. Plus, so many companies require a year+ experience to start, but hard to land a job to get the experience just starting out.

Working on the dock has been a good experience, and I've learned a lot about loading and securing freight, plus since I have my CDL already they've been having me do hosteling for several hours a night which has been really good experience for maneuvering trailers on and off the docks. After 3-4 months as a dockworker, I'm eligible to apply for the driver training, and am set up to start a 3-5 week training at the end of the month which will take place in Fontana (LA) CA. after that I'll be back at the Tucson hub, and probably do ride-along for a week or two until they set me loose with my own day cab and a city route.

My experience so far with SAIA has been mostly positive, I like most all of the people I work with and the pay is decent. I'm on a swing shift currently which has been a little tough since I'm a morning person by nature but willing to do what it takes to make this work. They have city drivers, and line-haul, city drivers making basically $27-$31 per hour and line haul is paid per mile but potentially more $$$ if you have a good route. As a new driver I will probably be started out as a city driver, which is better hours (daytime, home every night) but also wouldn't mind locking in a nice linehaul if it comes available.

I'm starting in the industry a little bit later in life, I'm 47 now. Worked most of my career as a dental technician making crown & bridge and dentures, but really got burnt out on that industry and was looking for a change. I've also had several warehouse, delivery, Box-truck route, and other assorted jobs over the last 20 years and always enjoyed the work and lifestyle. Getting my CDL and moving up to the big rigs just seemed like the next logical step for me. I would definitely consider doing more OTR style work if I could find the right situation and company to be with. My kids are grown and out of the house, and don't really have a lot of other things tying me down right now. Just want to work and make as much as possible over the next 15-20 years to secure a nice retirement and nest egg. I'm originally form Portland, OR and my kids are at U of O in Eugene, and I have a lil' something going on with a gal long-distance there in Portland, so ideally I'd love to find a lane that has me mostly west-coast or western states with my resets/breaks alternating between OR and AZ.. Gets really stupid hot here in the summer too, and as an Oregon boy I just haven't managed to get used to that despite being here for 4 years now.

I welcome any advice, ideas, questions, comments or whatever. Stay safe and alert Y'all, happy to be here. -Adam