Best (?) LTL Carrier For Linehaul

At OD only P&D does since they are out in public with customers, they keep us linehaul drivers locked up, as not to scare the public. As long as what you where is not offensive it should be fine.

Opinions vary, but all my naked lady tattoos are covered by my pants.

With linehaul something to consider is most of the runs depart after 9 pm. So you may have to work night for awhile or even forever if your location doesn't have anything else. But you will get 2 days off a week

The main thing here is that I basically consider any work day a bit of a wash, because I know long hours are part of the deal. Something where I'm doing 4x14 would honestly be ideal for me. I've seen some around, not necessarily line haul , but out there. The main appeal of linehaul for me is that I'm home most of the time, get regular days off and it seems to pay well, in part because the industry is historically unionized.

I'm not looking to do this until August of next year, because I'd like to hit the road with the family for another year, living out of the RV and winding down my business.

OD sounds like a good company based on what has been said here and what I have read / watched other places , so I'm wondering about the relative merits of dock-to-driver programs versus the traditional long haul / OTR training route. I'm not terribly bothered by more active work. I like driving but the whole "sitting on your rear every day for a year" part of the OTR route isn't my favorite thing.

The best opportunity you have for linehaul in LTL is to pick a VERY LARGE hub to work at. Many more opportunities and many more personnel moves. If you pick a small place to work you will literally do NO driving for a very long time and if you are extra-board right now you'll work some and maybe not at all. Not wanting to start until next year will probably be to your advantage.

Create a long term plan and stick to it. No matter union or not. Though I DO agree with the union statements on this thread. I feel YRC is not long for this world. They may come out alright if they get Fed money.

The best opportunity you have for linehaul in LTL is to pick a VERY LARGE hub to work at. Many more opportunities and many more personnel moves. If you pick a small place to work you will literally do NO driving for a very long time and if you are extra-board right now you'll work some and maybe not at all. Not wanting to start until next year will probably be to your advantage.

Create a long term plan and stick to it. No matter union or not. Though I DO agree with the union statements on this thread. I feel YRC is not long for this world. They may come out alright if they get Fed money.

So here's a very rough long-term plan:

1) Get in an OTR training program to learn how to drive. 2) After a year, start looking for jobs in Denver (I'm guessing this is the biggest hub in Colorado. I like Phoenix, but I ain't dying to work a dock in 110 weather). Prioritize union work, but don't limit myself to it. FWIW, Sysco is also a Teamster shop, but I think they mostly do local... which I'm not necessarily opposed to. The whole point of linehaul / LTL for me is that it gets you home a lot.

Is that a decent plan?

The best opportunity you have for linehaul in LTL is to pick a VERY LARGE hub to work at. Many more opportunities and many more personnel moves. If you pick a small place to work you will literally do NO driving for a very long time and if you are extra-board right now you'll work some and maybe not at all. Not wanting to start until next year will probably be to your advantage.

Create a long term plan and stick to it. No matter union or not. Though I DO agree with the union statements on this thread. I feel YRC is not long for this world. They may come out alright if they get Fed money.

So here's a very rough long-term plan:

1) Get in an OTR training program to learn how to drive. 2) After a year, start looking for jobs in Denver (I'm guessing this is the biggest hub in Colorado. I like Phoenix, but I ain't dying to work a dock in 110 weather). Prioritize union work, but don't limit myself to it. FWIW, Sysco is also a Teamster shop, but I think they mostly do local... which I'm not necessarily opposed to. The whole point of linehaul / LTL for me is that it gets you home a lot.

Is that a decent plan?

Roger, from what I've through out here. All plans are subject to revision. As you put in the time & learn the options out here, the possibilities are endless. Line haul does offer higher pay & more hometime but....

Here's what I've learned, until you reach the coveted picks of premium routes? That hometime is closer to get in, sleep & get out again. The quality of hometime depends on so many factors. But at the same time, you may find another division of trucking that can offer a better balance of pay vs hometime.

Good luck to you & your family. Most important advise is for you to concentrate on driving safe, that'll give you endless opportunities for your needs.

FWIW, Sysco is also a Teamster shop, but I think they mostly do local... which I'm not necessarily opposed to.

Sysco has union and non union DCs. Are you familiar with what Sysco does? If the idea of unloading 20,000 pounds or more of food every day by hand using a 2 wheel dolly interests you then go for it. Most of your day will be spent in the back of the trailer stacking product to run up and down a ramp into restaurants. Many of those companies pay really well but you can make similar money OTR or other types of jobs where driving is the primary duty without tearing your body up. As others have said you're really limiting yourself by focusing on primarily union companies. I'm a local driver and report to work on time, don't have complaints against me and I mind my own business and am left alone. I talk to office staff once a day when they call me to pick what route I want the next day or occasionally I'll call them to see if they need anything extra done if I have an early day. We have OTR drivers here that go weeks or longer without actually talking to their management. I'm paid a very nice wage, great benefits and quarterly bonuses as a non union employee. 1 of our DCs is union and they actually make less than we do. I'm sure part of it has to do with cost of living but it's a big enough difference we have a couple guys that live 10 miles from that DC but drive an additional 45 miles to come to our DC. I'm not anti union by any means but the ones I've been part of didn't seem to offer anything special. The raises we received were the typical 3-5% yearly, and benefits were similar cost to what I've paid elsewhere. The couple times I had an issue with something that was supposedly against the contract I received no help resolving it. It very well could have been lousy stewards but I'd rather my supervisor be able to tell me I F'd up and coach me rather than needing a room full of people just to review a drive cam video or how I handle myself in public while representing their brand.

I actually grew up in a town where Sysco is one of the main employers, so yeah, I'm familiar with what they do and not necessarily opposed to doing it... though I dunno if I'll want to be doing it when I'm 60.

I think I can hunt for union gigs while not necessarily closing myself off from non-union gigs. A good way of putting this is that, all other things being equal, I'd prefer a union shop. Of course, all other things are almost never equal. It's one of my considerations, and a pretty major one, but not the only one, especially after reading this thread.

FWIW, my experience of growing up in a union family has a lot to do with this. What the Church was to other families, the union was in mine. That might sound silly to people here, but that's how it was in my family.

ABF does train new drivers without exp as long as you have your A permit with Hazmat/Tanker/Doubles. Look for positions in the driver training Program either road or P/D options whichever is available. Its approx 6 weeks long and they will send to either Arkansas or possibly your local terminal if there is a trainer available there . The health benefits are very good probably best in industry but the pension system is broke and are going the 401 route . Seniority is a huge deal on what routes and hours you'll get but this changes terminal to terminal and you WILL have to do dock work possibly for a year or two depending on location . Youll get training on a 28' pup as well as 48' and also put together sets . I know this as I decided to go through the Program and finished but left the company after a short time as I had some personal issues and could not continue working overnight dock for the foreseeable future and continue with my other job as well . That said it's a very good Program and solid company but be forewarned that P/D is quite a difficult way to start . I'd recommend the Road driver option if its available but they dont seem to come up as often. If anyone has any related questions , I'll do my best to answer them .