Pro's Of Companies With Lots Of Terminals?
Topic 23591 | Page 1
What are your experiences with overnight parking at terminals vs truck stops? What are some other Pro's, can you see any Con's of a terminal? Also what will this do if I have a OC near my house? Will it help my options with other work besides OTR , like local, regional , dedicated or LTL? If this turns out to be a positive, companies with lots of terminals could be on my top 5 deciding factors behind things like CPM and Benifits.
I would say it is not a huge factor. I have worked for both types of companies. A slight advantage to having multitudes of locations for the availability of parking when needed. However, I don't go to a terminal now much more often than I did when I had little option, because I don't want the hassle of getting in and out, don't want the oversight, and don't want the contact with other drivers many of whom like to yipe about stuff to anyone they can corner. Still, it is nice to have the option of the parking and facilities.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
Terminal rats are everywhere. I only go to a terminal if I need my truck serviced or I have no other convenient choice for parking.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Terminal rats are everywhere. I only go to a terminal if I need my truck serviced or I have no other convenient choice for parking.
Lol...what are "Terminal rats"?
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Personally I never minded going to terminals at all. I knew I'd have a parking spot, a free hot shower, a decent hot meal that was a couple bucks at the most. Laundry if I need too, a nice lounge and movie room. I could go on. Some companies be like Prime have massage therapy there as Rainy mentions. To me terminal rats are easy to avoid for the most part. And even then be blunt and just walkaway.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Terminal rats are everywhere. I only go to a terminal if I need my truck serviced or I have no other convenient choice for parking.
Lol...what are "Terminal rats"?
The Road Home Podcast - Episode 10: Terminal Rats Are Derailing Trucking Careers
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
I loved Schneider OC’s because I could do laundry for free, no way they could tell me I couldn’t park there and the use of a company vehicle to go grocery shopping.
But, now I get home weekly, plenty of customers allow on-site parking and repairs are not so much an issue. Oh, and Schneider didn’t even hesitate to put me in a hotel if repairs were gonna be overnight.
Either way, you make the best of it. But I’m still glad I cut my teeth at Schneider.
Yes we have free laundry, driver's lounges, etc but we're a smaller company (550 trucks) with 7 terminals and either leased or owned drop yards scattered all over. Only Chicago has more than 1 washer and dryer, and no matter where, there's typically a wait to do laundry or shower, except south St Paul. Terminal Rats hang out in the lounges and I'd just as soon not deal with them whining about how long their repairs are taking. Today I got a new starter and new drums on my steers in less than 2 hours. I arrived and before I could pull out of the inspection bay my phone was ringing to let me know to drive my truck into the shop lol. I love those guys! I hung out with them in the shop and learned more about repairs etc. Now my sweetie and I are on our home time at a hotel.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
We have 250 terminals and are building more. LTL is different than OTR obviously but it is nice to know that there are safe havens around if you are running out of hours.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Terminals are ok but not great. I wouldn't let that influence your calculations when choosing a company. Repairs are not necessarily faster or better at a terminal. Parking can be just as tight and crowded. There is better security although you still need to lock your doors. Personally, I prefer a truckstop. I'm only going to be there for 10 hours anyway.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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Still transitioning out of my old job so I have plenty of time to research CDL schools and companys to apply to. I have a homemade spread sheet of sorts, comparing the different companies, sort of like the "Company Review" on this site.
Anyways doing my research I discovered that some of the larger companies have lots of terminals, and some of these terminals have conveniences. I realized there are a lot of "Pro's" to this that could make a moderate deciding factor between the company I choose in the future.
*Mechanical work, I have heard (famous words on trucking forums) having your truck worked on, basically its time the wheels are not spinning and you are not making money. So for scheduled maintenance and stuff that can wait ( truck can still drive while it's broke) if you have a OC near your house, your truck can be worked on during home time. If your company does not have a terminal you must do this stuff in your work time and will cost you money because your wheels are not turning. I am sure there is compensation for this but not as much and if you were driving a load.
* Free parking, showers, laundry. During my research I discovered parking at truck stops can be a b*tch if you get there late, they fill up and your running out of hours ect. Also maybe lines for the showers, heard that can be a problem at truck stops also.
Companies like Swift, Knight, Schnieder, Prime and a few others have 15-30+ terminals and lots of them have convinces like showers, vending, lounges, some if the same stuff as truck stops. So if you have food in your fridge you can bypass the "truck stop hell" sometimes. Also guessing company lots don't smell like ****, have beggers, lot lizards and the riff raff that goes with it (besides company drivers). I read a few posts where guys are deticated, regional or OTR and just trip plan well and they are at terminals 1/2 the time. Also read a post where a guy hates the terminals and does truck stops exsclusivly, don't understand that one.
What are your experiences with overnight parking at terminals vs truck stops? What are some other Pro's, can you see any Con's of a terminal? Also what will this do if I have a OC near my house? Will it help my options with other work besides OTR, like local, regional, dedicated or LTL? If this turns out to be a positive, companies with lots of terminals could be on my top 5 deciding factors behind things like CPM and Benifits.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.