Posted: 8 months, 1 week ago
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Interesting conversation with a driver
Real drivers work foodservice and back up 48 foot trailers in residential neighbourhoods into retirement home parking lots uphill with lots of low hanging trees, snow and ice on the ground, and cars parked on both sides of the street and around the entrance to the lot.
Posted: 8 months, 2 weeks ago
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I Need Help; Trying To Switch Companies
I don't really feel like explaining all the hassles and headaches that come with putting semis in busy commercial places meant for cars or neighbourhoods, so I'll just give one example from Friday.
Please back up your 48 foot trailer blindside downhill into this alley I've marked with a red X if you can't see it. Or you could sightside it going uphill, but if it was the winter time with lots of ice and snow then I don't think that would work out well either. Also the google maps image does not show how overgrown with trees/added fencing the right hand side of the street is now, and while backing up (at least with my skill level), I had to pull up and backwards about 5 times because my steer tires were near the curb with how long a trailer I was given that day.
Every Sysco is different. They're managed different with different issues and some might not even be union. For pay, mine had switched to full-scale after 1 year. Right now, at 4 (long) days a week, I'm pulling in the same gross as what used to take two 70-hour weeks.
I recently had a 120 hour-period which ended up with a gross pay of $4,200. A 100-hour period is giving me something around 3300 right now gross which is what 140+ in 5/6 days used to take for me to be able to gross.
I would like to correct you on "the faster you work the more you get paid." That's correct and incorrect. The route itself that they give you has a set dollar amount based on cases, stops, pickups, drive time, etc. No matter what happens, that's your base. You're paid the greater of hourly OR what the route was worth. E.g if your route was worth $250 and you magically finished it and clocked out within 2 hours, you made $125/hr and 250 that day. If you took 14 hours to finish it, you made $453 that day. If you want to make as much money as possible on incentive, you finish your route as fast as possible AND THEN go help people or do misc work they might have for you for the rest of the day up to 14. Then make sure to fill out the delay sheet.
This isn't the place to learn how to drive a truck; I don't know how I survived.
And in regards to hours, even when you're done with your route you might not be done. Even if you're over your 14 you can still be hauling groceries as long as you're not driving the truck. Here's the keys to the van. Here take your car, we'll pay you milage. Hey, you finished your route in 10 hours can you go help X, Y, Z. Hey, you're back and it's 14:00 but we had a driver take the truck back to the yard because he wasn't feeling too well. Can you finish his last 4 stops he brought back here? Can you pick up so-and-so because he ran out of hours; you still have a 16-hour clock today. Enjoy starting late tommorow.
Hey, can you come in on time tommorow for this route? I know you won't get a 10-hour reset, but we'll get you a driver.
Posted: 8 months, 2 weeks ago
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I Need Help; Trying To Switch Companies
McLane does the same type of job I do except I only ever see them at night and they tend to have 53's and sleepers. They also deliver to a lot more national chains than we do.
Posted: 8 months, 3 weeks ago
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Starting pay for TMC Transport?
Your friend is working 90 hour weeks? Thats how long he would have to work at $18 and make 1600 in a week.
18 * 40 = 720
1600 - 720 = 880
880 / ( 18 * 1.5) = 32.5
40 + 32.5 = 72.5
Posted: 8 months, 3 weeks ago
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Career change, looking to go local
If my name hasn’t given it away already, I’m in law enforcement and looking to leave. I have been looking at getting my CDL. I was wondering if there are any companies that provide paid training here in Vegas for local routes. I’m unable to be away from home for extended periods so OTR is kind of out of the question for me right now. If there aren’t any companies that provide paid training for local routes, what companies will hire new grads for local routes? I’m willing to put myself through a CDL school if necessary.
Check for CDL B jobs. I paid my way through school, and thought that you had to go over the road. I drive a cement mixer and will make somewhere north of 50k This year and I didn’t start till the 2nd week of February. There’s lots of options out there. I think a lot of folks steer clear of the CDL B jobs because they start between 18-20 an hour. But almost all have overtime and that’s where you make your money at.
I agree with what they preach here though I wouldn’t want to be trying to deliver pulling a 53 ft trailer to some of these business That’s a recipe for disaster.
From working at Sysco, the OT pay doubles your pay. Since 6 hours * 1.5 = 9 and you look at 8 hours regular vs 6 hours OT on a 14.
I've had some weeks with all near 14 and some with all 8-9 and it's massive.
Posted: 8 months, 4 weeks ago
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Career change, looking to go local
Also, check with food suppliers and beverage suppliers. Sometimes those companies have training programs. Keep in mind those are the hardest to get because of the competition for those positions. Good luck.
You just have to find the right one that's understaffed like mine was at the time
Posted: 9 months ago
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First payperiod I've had two actual weeks in a row since coming off of unemployment.
Year's still been ok. 4 days ~100 hours gets me what 140 hours in 5/6 would when I started
Posted: 9 months, 2 weeks ago
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When to know how to start your backing
I just improvise it a lot without a direct formula in mind. In my head it's like I'm sitting at the rear of the trailer driving fowards. And then when I got the trailer where I want it to go, and the tractor is still out of wack, I might just pull up and back and up and back like 4-5 times to get the tractor where I want it.
But this comes from foodservice backing; I don't have much experience at big distribution centre type things with actual docks.
Posted: 9 months, 3 weeks ago
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Free hometime
I had a supervisor ask me the same question a few months ago and I said "A free day off"
Posted: 9 months, 3 weeks ago
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A Week in the Walmart Private Fleet
Thanks Turtle. Like Old School you’ve found a way to make a fine income. $480! I wonder if a guy could break $600? Or more than that?
I think the most I've made in one day has been ~$500 (with current hourly rate it would be $650.
Except that was a 19-hour workday where the last 5 wasn't even spent driving a truck
Posted: 10 months ago
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Oh no, companies making money is evil and they shouldn't be allowed to do that!
Posted: 10 months, 1 week ago
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I am thankful for my pup in downtown areas and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Absolutely I was very thankful for mine down there too. It sucked with how they crammed everything in but maneuvering was much easier. Just giving them a hard time.
When I was having trouble on Thursday because of 1100 cases in a 42 (With only 50 or so being stop 1) I kept telling myself "I've done 800 in a pup I can handle 1100 in a 42"
I don't want to see 800 in a pup again. When it's so full you can't even put your wheeler in there.
Posted: 10 months, 1 week ago
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I am thankful for my pup in downtown areas and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Posted: 10 months, 1 week ago
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Man, no response for me?
You must've responded as I was typing it out. Is business getting more normal now or is it still very light workflow for this time of the year? Hearing how much weight you had to throw the last couple days is bringing back nightmares lol
Business is lighter which means routes are heavier. Everyday is 15-20 stops. Maybe you'll get 11-14 on the low end but with a high-case count. I haven't seen a route under about 750 since I came back except for the dudes who get stuck with something like 650 and 23 stops. We're still not working wednsdays which makes thursdays really heavy. Route 1 - I like to cross out what I've done by the DOT break which thank god is going to be able to be satisfied on duty in the future
Route 2, I didn't have a pen but I was at least done with 7.
Posted: 10 months, 1 week ago
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Yesterday 1100 cases, today 1100 more cases. Both weighing like 22-24k lbs. The first day I came back to work I had 800 or so, and I still managed to finish on time but I was completely delirious and out of it. It's a little better now.
For YTD including unemployment I'm at about 40k; this week I got 1.5k gross from working just 4 days a week.
Posted: 10 months, 1 week ago
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ISO Info on driving a reefer for Dollar General
I used to work at one before I became a driver. We had a regular driver come every week; knowing what he had to back into and out of and how he did it, I didn't realise how good of a driver he was at the time.
Posted: 10 months, 2 weeks ago
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Dwell and detention times begin to decrease post-virus
That's why I call them and let them decide
Sysco backhauls are usually last-stop anyways
Click Anywhere To Close
Posted: 8 months, 1 week ago
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Dollar accounts teach you how to park it!!
And I hate doing those kind of parkings in a 42 foot trailer with a daycab