Profile For Banks

I've seen a few pay stubs for OTR and regional drivers but none for linehaul so I thought I'd toss one of mine out there incase somebody was wondering about switching to or starting with linehaul.

OTR is not the only option when it comes to trucking although it is a great place to start and opens many doors should you decideyou do not want to be away from home everynight. I'm off Sunday and Monday plus I'm home every night ( weather permitting).

I wanna be like Bob when I grow up lol. We have 4 linehaul spots opening up soon, I'm hoping I'm lucky enough to snag one.

As someone not familiar with all aspects of trucking, can someone breakdown what "linehaul" is and entails?

Linehaul is usually in relation to LTL (less than truckload). We deliver freight that's too big or heavy for your usual residential deliver outlets.

In this field you have 2 separate gigs. 1 is city driver the other is linehaul driver. A city driver makes local deliveries and gets paid hourly. A linehaul driver transports doubles or triples (if legal) from hub to hub and they get mileage pay and task (hook, drop, fuel etc) pay.

These jobs typically require 1 year of experience, but there are exceptions depending on demand. The assignments given in linehaul are based on seniorty. I'm a city driver for FedEx freight with very little seniority. My job is a mixture of dock work and surprise runs. The gross amount on my check is typically 1000 to 1200 and I've only been a couple driver for 3 months. I came in with a permit and no experience.

In case like this - where the officer didn't WITNESS the incident, they typically cannot TESTIFY IN COURT- so they (typically) just DON'T SHOW UP.

The officer doesn't get to choose if they show up for trial. The prosecutor will instruct the officer to show up if the prosecutor plans to take the case to trial. Officers that don't show up for trial when instructed by the prosecutor get reprimanded by their superiors.

As far as the officer's testimony, she can testify as to what you told her. A statement against interest is an exception to the hearsay rule:

Federal Rules of Evidence Hearsay Exceptions

Talk to several traffic attorneys. Ask them the procedure and also ask if they have either 1) worked for the prosecutor's officer before or 2) "know" the prosecutor well enough to ask for leniency.

Your best bet is to get it reduced through leniency from the prosecutor.

They must take traffic court very seriously in Missouri because I've never seen anything like this. I spent a lot of my early driving years in traffic court and it always me standing on one side and the officer that issued the citation standing on the other, both standing in front of the judge.

The only cases I won were when the officer didn't show up. Happened plenty of times. I've never dealt with a prosecutor or anything like that. Cop issues the ticket and it's set in stone until court. There is no decision to go to trial, pay it or go to court are your options.

This was a contractor with a sleeper usually I can't keep up with them as they go way faster than my 68. The company trucks are a lot more professional

Can't argue with that. We're governed at 65, but pick up speed going downhill (obviously), but if we go over 72 MPH safety gets an e mail and a conversation will be had. The only trucks that are company owned/operated are freight and express. Custom critical and ground are independent contractors, but Freight will pull ground when they're shorthanded like now for the holidays. For that you just look at the tractor and you'll know who's pulling it.

Given that you appear to relish "heated contrarian exchanges," I have often thought about how I would like to engage you should we ever meet. Here's my idea.

A couple of years ago, I was on the other side of that exchange. See it here:

Being A Trainee At Prime Is An Awful Experience

It was the best thing that ever happened to me as far as my career goes. If I would've ran off because I was offended, I may have never gotten the opportunity I did to spend the day with him.

His passion for this business and to help was on full display that day. He walked my through his pretrip and answered any and every question I had with a detailed thoughtful answer. Things I was wondering about were corrected and I could see why I was wrong. There was no heated argument and there was nothing condescending about it.

Tone gets lost in text so a lot is left up to the reader. If you remove emotion and just read the text, there shouldn't be any hard feelings.

Even Brett had some tough love for me here. Reading this really took me back.

FedEx freight assigns tractors to road drivers and a lot of them have CBs in them. Sometimes a driver that doesn't have a tractor will be assigned that tractor to make a run.

I've taken runs in tractors that have a CB in them, but I've never turned it on because I have no idea how to. I also didn't want to mess with it and damage someone else's property.

Terminals are convenient, but not important. On home time there are a number of places you can park your rig. I have a friend that parks his truck at a warehouse down the road from him. They don't charge him, but he's offered to pay. Truck stops are usually willing to let you park for a couple of days for a fee.

Safety score is a toss up. It's a collection of moving and DOT violations incurred by drivers that also fall on the company. For example you decide to drive a truck with a bad air leak and DOT catches you, the companies score will take a hit even though they never about the leak. Never drive a truck if you feel it's not roadworthy and protect your license.

CPM doesn't matter that much. Some companies have a higher CPM and offer no bonuses or deadhead pay. Other companies pay a lower CPM but offer bonuses and pay deadhead miles.

That's a bunch of miles spur of the moment, especially for a driver not used to it. Nice work!

Thanks PackRat. It was exhausting, but the thought of not completing it never crossed my mind. Taking a nap would have definitely been a temptation if I had a sleeper lol.

It's normal to be nervous, everyone is. Don't focus too much on money because the pay balances out whether its CPM or bonuses.

The only bad decision you can make at this point is wait and do more research.

Im being told by the recruiter that i have to secure my med physical and cpl through texas before I arrive to class but then i read hear somewhere that they do all that there 

Go with what the recruiter told you. Always take what the recruiter says over what you read online. That may have been the case some time ago and it may have changed or the information can just be wrong. The recruiter is the best source you have on what to bring as far as documents go.

I woke up Saturday morning to a phone call. The guy on the other end said "Hey, we have a FedEx ground run if your interested." I said "sure, text me the info".

I got the FedEx ground terminal I'm starting at and where I'm going. That's all the info they had for me.

I start going through my FedEx contacts to see who has done this before and I got a hit. He tells me you do to our hub pick up a tractor and go to ground. At ground you pick up an empty 53 footer and go to this warehouse. Drop the empty and they'll give you a BOL for a full one. Once you get to the other ground terminal pick up another empty and drop it at the original ground terminal and bobtail back.

Just my luck I get to my hub and the guy I texted calls me. He says to wait for him because he's on his way to the hub, we have the same run. The only difference is the final ground terminal but we're picking up empties and the same terminal and picking up trailers at the same warehouse.

This worked out great because I would've been lost without the help. I would've figured it out, but it would've taken a lot longer. I know it would have because I was completely lost when I got to end terminal and I had no idea what to do. I called him up and he walked through it.

The biggest issue I had with this run was that it was unexpected and scheduled for 2230. I slept though the night and I had trouble taking naps.

This was the longest run I've had yet. I finished the day with around 550 miles. I got back to my hub with 52 minutes left on my clock and a flat tire on my car. After all of that, I had to change a tire.

The funniest part of this is that FedEx ground will not allow a contractor to hire me because I don't have enough experience. The irony.

Sure, you can be a little rough sometimes. For the most part you and many of the contributors (moderator or not) give solid information.

The issue is that people are defensive and sensitive. If somebody comes on here and says "I failed a drug test, help!" There isn't anything you can do about that. You say "you messed up. Go work a warehouse for a couple of years and try again". The typical response is "I thought you people help. That's not helping, forget it I'm leaving".

A lot of the times you start out empathic, but when someone criticizes your advice it goes out the window and rightfully so.

You and I have had a couple of back and forths (not as bad as others) and I learned that you're right. I'm making excuses and I have to do what I have to do. I also learned not to believe everything I hear it read.

The approach that you and G-Town took when addressing my questions helped me realize that I'm in control of my future. I can't do anything about yesterday, but I can change tomorrow.

It isn't a bad thing to be harsh sometimes. Some people need that. You have a large range of personalities here and they all contribute different things. Old School teaches you how to be efficient and top tier. Rainy (I'm sticking with it) tells you what's what and that's what it is. G-Town gives solid advice on skills and how to avoid preventables. Packrat has shown that your adversity is your creation and Rick knows so much about the legality of this industry that he should be charging fees. I learned that I can start out local (not recommended) because Rob did it and Turtle just landed a job he's wanted for years because he is a top tier driver.

This site isn't here to hold hands or direct people. It's more of a guide to your goal. Any path you want to take in trucking is laid out in a blueprint on this site. We don't insult anyone, but feelings get hurt because bad information will get called out and so will excuses. A forum can't make you fill out an app and show up for orientation, but it can tell you what to expect and how to overcome some obstacles. You can't help people that can't see past their feelings.

I talked to a guy that runs team with his boyfriend and CLAIMED to make 120k EACH per year running doubles for Estes in a regional type setup with I believe 1 day off a week at home. I've also seen Old Dominion, and Fed Ex (mainly lease ops) using sleepers. It may be worth looking into to compare those to what you currently see. It would definitely fit your drop and hook criteria.

FedEx Ground and custom critical only use independent contractors. These contractors rarely drive and hire people to work for them. When I was a package delivery driver I got paid whatever the contractor got paid for each stop, he made his money from service bonuses. I'm assuming linehaul is the same. The contractor pays the employee the CPM FedEx pays them and they make money on bonuses. All of that being said, FedEx ground requires a year experience, some will make an exception and take 6 months with a school certificate. I can't get hired by FedEx ground even though I've taken runs for them and I was trained by FedEx.

Guess who I still highly recommend? CFI!

You're horrible at this game. I didn't even get a full second before you gave the answer. Not cool.

Sometimes you have to vent. The internet is great for it.

Our backgrounds are very similar. I come from a history of substance abuse and I learned to stay away from it because of what I saw. You have to learn how to distance yourself from it and not let it consume you. It took me a long time to learn how to do that. When I did, I started making better decisions and my life improved greatly.

As for failing the test, it sounds like you're going in there with distractions. Your mom's health issues suck and it's a hard thing to deal with. I don't know how to advise you here. I can tell you that the test is very easy if you're completely focused. If you go into it thinking about your upbringing and worrying about your mom, you're going to have a hard time. Backing is problem solving. Stop and talk to yourself. Ask yourself what do you have to do to get yourself in the hole (giggity). Slow down and think about it.

My license doesn't say how long it took to be back up. It doesn't say how many pullups or GOALS I used and it doesn't say how long it took me to do a pretrip. I don't know what my score was. People here say I scored this or that. I didn't care to ask, the man said I passed and that was all I needed. You'll do great once you learn how to focus on the tasks at hand without worrying about everything else going on in your life. Focus on the test and the end result. When you're there, worry about everything else later.

"You have to get lucky everytime, I only have to get lucky once".

I had a supervisor say that to me once a long time ago. It was a reply to me making a "you have to catch me first" comment. It stuck with me forever.

We're taught coming into this to report everything. Doesn't matter how small, if you'll pay for it out of pocket, if the other person says don't worry about it. Report everything, get in a little bit of trouble and move on.

You're not realizing that this is your second chance and you made another poor decision. Like Rob said, they probably wouldn't fire you for a small backing incident but you broke the trust and there are consequences for that.

"Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is looking"

My trainer said that to me one day in the truck. That also stuck with me because he's right. It's hard to always do the right thing, but it's what you have to do to maintain trust and gain forgiveness.

I don't care if I sound like your parent. You make it seem as if falling asleep driving a truck is no big deal because of the result that time. You have no control on the outcome falling asleep. You can kill someone and you're lucky you didn't because you'd be sitting in a cell right now instead of worrying about your career.

OMG you guys are always so mean to me.

Maybe you only come here to ask questions about yourself and never contribute anything of value. You only get of something what you put into it. If you only come here to say you did something stupid, that's not our fault. Nobody is going to say "that company sucks my company will hire you without a problem". Being honest, I'd be ok with nobody hiring you because I don't want my family driving down the road while you're dozing off. Just the truth.

FedEx freight is hiring driver apprentices in Hagerstown, MD. A quick Google search shows that the terminal isn't that far from that Lowe's. It's worth looking into. Worst they can do is say no.

If they do decide to move forward with you be prepared for a 1 on 1 in person interview and be prepared to work the dock for a little bit before training and before driving regularly.

The interests and personalities of people in this field are so broad that I think it's impossible to nail an appreciation prize down. Your best bet night just be a gift certificate or card that they can use however they'd like.

Congratulations, Turtle.

Walmart is a great company to work for. As long as you perform, they'll always have your back. The benefits are awesome too. 100% match on a 6% contribution to your 401K after 1 year and a 15% match on the stock purchase plan up to 1500 right away. It adds up quickly.

There will be an adjustment period for sure, but you'll do great.

Will there be another diary?

How's it been going?

It's going well. I can't complain, but things have slowed down a bit so I'm not getting any drive time. I asked dispatch if I could run 2 empties and bring 2 empties back. They didn't think that was funny.

I did just get back from Harrisburg. All new hires have to do this, but every terminal handles it differently. At my terminal, I had to come in at noon on Monday and work until 2030. Then I came in at noon on Tuesday and I worked until 1600 and took a 30 minute break. At 1630 we left to Harrisburg. Upon arrival we checked into the hotel and went out for dinner. You have options on getting to Harrisburg.

1) You can use your personal vehicle and get paid CPM. They check your mileage when you leave the terminal and when you arrive. You get reimbursed for every mile you drove until you got back.

2) You can rent a car and get reimbursed for the rental and fuel. No CPM with this option.

3) FedEx can rent a car for you and reimburse fuel. No CPM here either.

I drove my personal vehicle. The next day we reported to class at 0800. Went thorough the dreaded "introduce yourself" routine. Not a fan of that. And then we began learning. We were taught the proper way to do paperwork, how much damage freight costs the company and how to deal with angry customers. Proper pickup and delivery procedures and various what if scenarios were brought up. We learned how to handle these situations. Class ended at 1630 and we went back to the hotel to change out of our uniforms and we went out to dinner. Wearing uniforms outside of work isn't not allowed, but public perception is very important. If you're not on company time, it's best to not have it on.

We had class again the following day at 0800 and that day we learned all about hazmat. What's hazmat, what to do with a spill (don't taste it), how to placard and how to handle emergency situations. I learned a lot this day. Being honest, I would always just use the suggested placards part to placard my trailer. I know better now. Class ended at 1530. We went out for dinner and drove back to the terminal to document miles. The people that had more than a 3 hour drive back spent another night at the hotel.

Breakfast was provided by the hotel, lunch was catered in class and you paid for dinner out of pocket. Turn in your receipts and get reimbursed up to 40 dollars, gratuity included up to 20%. For the trip on Tuesday we got paid for an entire 8 hour day even though it was only a 6 hour day. On the return trip we get paid up until the time we get home. That was an 11 hour day.

On Friday report to dock work from 1200 to 2030.

Google isn't usefully. Freshly got hired by Swift to do Walmart Dedicated. Trying to figure out the busy Holiday season for Walmart. Are there typically a lot of loads on the main holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. My understanding is Wal-Mart is closed on Christmas day, so when do the associates leave and return during this? Also does Swift make you run in extreme weather? Last year was bad for road conditions due to snow.

I don't know much about what Swift is running this time of year. G-Town will have more insight on this.

I did with for Walmart DC for some time though. This time of year we moved a lot of canned goods and groceries. We were done with Christmas items (decorations, trees and toys) right around now.

Walmart tends to be months ahead of everything. They're shipping patio furniture and grills in February, Heaters in August and back to school supplies in June.

When I was working at Walmart DC a man approached me and asked how I liked it. Without thinking I just blurted out "this ***King job sucks". I was a couple of weeks in and frustrated with the struggle of trying to keep up with my peers. My partner was standing next to me and he turned white as a ghost. When the man walked away he said to me "that's the GM of the building". Oops, bad first impression. I learned from it and made it a point to keep things like that to myself.