Profile For Larry T.

Good luck on your new adventure.

I was hoping to see you were back to slinging those rt's. lol.

I was set up for new hire orientation with McLane foodservice. However being 44 and a bigger guy, going up and down a ramp with a hand cart spooked me and I ended up balking at it.

Looks like I’m in stores for some new adventures!

I left the Werner DG account at the end of 2021 and started a training as a cdl instructor. Overall instructing was a very rewarding experience. Like any job it had it’s ups and downs with more ups than downs. I really enjoyed helping people to build the confidence and provide training and feedback to take the test and get their CDL. But the whole time I really missed actually driving a truck. I think once driving gets in your blood it’s kinda hard to let it go. So after awhile I decided to start looking around and if I found the perfect setup I would get back on the road! It took a few months and I was doing it casually at first and then I found it!I won’t say the name as yet because I’m not sure of their policies but it’s a food service company that is not Sysco, us foods, or pfg. Did a working interview and background and now have an orientation date scheduled next week.

Shuttle driver! I made sure to verify that I was in no way interested in touching freight or being a delivery driver lol! Essentially it’s running empties double from a drop yard to the dc. Picking up full ones and bringing them back so the young and strong guys can deliver. The schedule seems nice. 2pm till about 9-11pm Depending on the warehouse. I’m really excited to get back into the swing of things and will do an update after I’m on the job for a few weeks!

That's part of it. 3+ years of experience and you should be around or making more than a dollar account. So why do 100% unload when you can do drop and hook?

Dollar accounts are HELL! For starters you better LOVE doing labor. Be prepared for lazy store managers and employees. A lot consider you a nuisance, bringing them crap they don't want and have to stock. Packed back rooms, having to bring stuff to the sales floor.

Recruiters are just looking to get their commission. enough said there.

I made around 103k my first full year which ended around 15 months of experience. So you can make good coin coming out of the gate, but its pretty tough mentally and psychically, Unless you're a super hard worker and have your head on a swivel being an extremely defensive driver its probably not wise to start out on a dollar account.

The recruiters that come to my school have made it seem like the dollar accounts are hidden gems that the experienced drivers don’t want because of the manual labor. One recruiter showed us a video of a driver unloading a dollar general trailer and kept saying “doesn’t look like he’s working very hard to me” lol

Nothing disqualifying. Weight, blood pressure around 138/87, and a small hernia. I couldn't get myself to lose weight with the expiration coming up. Maybe a 6 month card will get me motivated.

I'm just paranoid they'll find some reason to not give me one, would suck since I'm still working for current company, and doing a pre hire dot exam.

Larry, what makes you think you might not pass? Even if you only get a 6 month card, it still gives you time to work on the issues that concern the examiner.

I got a 90 day card several years ago because I had a blood clot that kept me grounded for 3 months and then I could only get that 90 day card because the examiner wanted me to get re-evaluated sooner rather than later. Now I have a one year card and that’s the longest I’ll ever get.

For a top Dollar account driver.. lol.

I'm sort of an anomaly. Everything is good except my weight and I'm a smoker.

I found that comment very funny! Most of the truckers I know fit that description. You are no anomaly.

By the way, tens of thousands of truck drivers sleep with a C-PAP. Most of them have improved their health by it.

I'm sort of an anomaly. Everything is good except my weight and I'm a smoker. I managed to get lucky and had a extremely trucker friendly NP that gave me a 2 year card.

I changed it to her however I just found out this place doesn't do them anymore so I had them change them back to the original.

I went to this place twice and each time she only gave me a 6 month card because she wanted a sleep apnea test. Trucker friendly NP was really ****ed that she did that. She was preachy about my weight and being a smoker which I didn't like.

This is a new hire screen. If for some reason she fails me, does that void current med card and I can't drive a semi?

How did you get your position? Seems like a tough gig to get. The shuttle guys on my account are either senior citizens or young guys who couldn't handle it as a delivery driver.

There are drop and hook positions in food service 😉

After rereading the original post though I thought that is what he was referring to and its what I currently do but I believe I misread it. Still though, food service companies employ more than just delivery drivers, like our shuttle team who operates similar to linehaul. Doesn’t seem like the OP is going to respond but curious if that’s the type of position he was talking about, if so I would highly recommend it… the job not the two week trial.

Hey Bobcat, that's a good and legitimate response. I probably was not clear in my meaning.

My concerns are that there seems a lack of commitment to what it is he wants to switch into. He seems to want to go try something new for two weeks and then decide whether to stay or jump ship. That doesn't seem a good approach to me.

Local work is great and takes as big a commitment as any OTR driver has. When I see someone who doesn't seem to make much distinction between a drop & hook job versus a food service job, I start to wonder what it is they really want out of trucking. I always think it best to know what you want and then go for it. That involves commitment.

It would be solo. Foodservice with trailers shuttled from Milwaukee.

I guess Northfield DC is grocery.

They have a 2 day 2 a week Fargo run. That peaked my interest.

When I first started I was able to keep my amazon warehouse job for 2 month's on leave. I just like to have as many back up options as possible.

My old manager would have taken me back in a heartbeat, however with them losing the states I was always in, not confident they would take me back.

I'm leaning to jumping into the deep end and see what happens.

With McLane are you team driving?

In my area they shuttle 53 footers from the DC in Northfield MN down to Ankeny IA (Des Moines). Routes are scheduled to be out 18 to 24 hours if I remember correctly every route is teamed in sleeper cabs. Upon arrival back to the drop yard they grab another and go back out. Out of this yard though they also service all of Iowa with their main customer being Kum & Go gas stations so it may be different for you. My brother in law drove for them out of the Denver area and said it was also sleepers and teams out there. Just something to make you know what youre signing up for. Where I'm currently working we have a few guys that came over from McLane. They all agreed it was tough labor but they made over 110k a year. Another guy that did almost strictly shuttle runs said the management out of Northfield DC wasn't very understanding about a driver shutting down for weather. Obviously you're protected by FMCSA to do so, but I personally wouldn't want to work for someone that may try to force me to go out when I don't feel safe doing so.

Great post. I would also like to know.

I've been extremely lucky. In my 20's and 30's I drove a box truck and had a terrible temper.

I'm 44 so I did start chilling in my middle 30's. I've been doing a lot of rural driving in Minnesota and getting extremely angry with cars pulling out in front of me lately. Made a pass on a solid yellow line just entering a small town. I need to get this in check now so I don't screw up my career.

Thanks for your response. I read your diary a year ago when I was thinking of switching and also Papa Pigs DG diary when I started there. I'll go through your diary again.

It's been an evolving job. November they started sending me relays to my drop yard. I would do the Dakota's and Northern Minnesota stores. Be out 5 days. We lost the Dakota's a couple months ago. They have been sending me a trailer a day and doing 5 in five days. Home daily. Doing mainly Minnesota and a sprinkle of Iowa and Wisconsin. Pay is down 25% because of less miles.

Was notified 3 weeks ago that the relays would be stopping and I will have to travel 300 miles to start my week. Still in limbo when that will start. Not really keen on doing short loads around the DC, staying out and hope they can get me somewhere near home. Yesterday I was 218 miles from home, 148 from DC. It will work out since I will get a relay, however in the future that would have been 400 miles of unpaid deadhead. no way im doing that.

Mclane and yes 2 wheeler fun, They have an office and a tiny fleet of 3rd shift drivers at my drop yard. The $15,000 bonus and 4 day work week is nice. However much more intense than the DG account. I can do a DG trailer in 4-5 hours depending on the stops. Drop key is sweet however doing 3rd shift in Minneapolis/Saint Paul is not appealing to me. They have extended Fargo trips and shuttle. I know I'll get the crap since I will be new.

I see a new regional intermodal option with Schneider. I also inquired with Ruan with that Rogers MN to Gwinner ND dedicated bobcat mon-friday home daily. No sign on Bonus. If I stay with Schneider for 3 more months I get 80 hours of PTO. I should probably do that.

But yeah I'm totally lost. lol.

My employer runs MVR yearly which i believe is the minimum. Larry what type of food service gig is it? Is it 2 wheeling a load like Sysco/PFG? Bumping docks like Dot Foods, Walmart, supermarkets? If it's shuttling/linehaul for Sysco/PFG/ US Foods etc. Make sure you understand what you're getting into. Some warehouses all drivers hold the same position and bid yearly based on seniority for those shuttle positions. That means you may get hired and start as a shuttle driver but could be bumped off it next year and be 2 wheeling.

Those dollar accounts are always hiring. With your experience level anybody would take you on to do those accounts if it doesnt pan out. Would you really be able to give it your all with a fall back plan? Starting any new job regardless of the industry is frustrating at times because of different policies and not as efficient as your previous job. It takes a while to get in the rhythm.

If you're getting on with a food service company would you be running out of the warehouse/terminal location or a domocile/drop yard that trailers are shuttled to? At PFG drivers that were based out of the terminal weren't guaranteed hours, other than 40 guaranteed from union contract, until they had a set route. You'd basically be on call and could be sent out to other domiciles to cover for vacations or call ins. They also had several layover routes that could have you out for 3 days at a time, just to turn around and go back out when you were legal to do so.

If it's a 2 wheel unloading check out the diary I did of Food service as a rookie

If it's drop/hook how are you getting paid (daily/CPM/Hourly)? Some of those gigs look at a run and say it'll take you 5 hours to turn so you get paid 5 hours at your hourly rate to complete it. It doesn't matter if it takes you 8 hours to actually do because of traffic or anything else you're only paid 5 hours.

You didn't really share what has you looking for something else. Those dollar accounts are tough and we don't fault you for wanting a change. Heck, lasting nearly 2 years (if I remember correctly) is a great accomplishment. Unless there's a dire need it may be best to just hang tight where you're at for now. The economy is in the trash and many members in OTR and even LTL have shared their struggles with having work available. Running for the dollar type stores I expect them to only get busier until things turn around. When most people need to tighten the budget dining out is usually one of the first things to go.

Looking at a drop and hook mon-friday to and from the same place home daily. Also looking at a food service company. I don't have any pto left at current company, however probably could take a leave. Would that be a bad idea to take a leave and see how the food service goes for a couple weeks?