I currently have 2 offers and working on a third and I am looking for some opinions on pros or cons to each of them.

#1 is with a local LTL outfit..pay is $14 / hour, M - F, 7am to whenever I get done. Benefits after 6 months. Older equipment...like late 90's Internationals and what looks like old Overnite trailers that UPS didn't want. Most of the equipment looks pretty shoddy.

#2 is a fuel hauling place out of Bloomfield, NM that has a terminal here. Pay is $16 / hour, M - F, 7am - 5pm, newer Kenworth T300's. They deliver fuel to smaller independent gas stations, local cal dealers, and ranches / farms. They also deliver bulk oil to car dealers and places like Jiffy Lube. Immediate insurance.

#3 is one I'm working on with another fuel company...they haul the 53' transports and server most of the Albuquerque Sunport (airport), Diamond Shamrock, and Phillips 66 stations. Not sure on the schedule, pay is $175 per load, in-state routes only, mostly within about 200 miles of Albuquerque. Equipment varies, I've seen Kenworth W900's, Freightliner Columbia's, International Eagles...just a bunch of random trucks..they're all fairly new.

I tried OTR with Swift, but I have 2 kids, one of whom is autistic, and a wife at home. OTR was definitely not for me. Worked for Pepsi for 8 months but was having back and leg problems and had to leave due to that.
So far, I'm leaning towards #2 because of the set schedule and hourly rate. Although, LTL is probably safer than fuel......

Choices.
:lol:

 

So far #2 looks best, but what about #3?

If those runs can be made in 10 hours or less, and the company offers benefits, this one may be worth looking at. That would be equivalent to 17.50/hr.

Good luck in your search.

 

Companies #2 and #3 both off comparable benefits. Both of which are available upon date of hire.
And from what I've been told by #3, most of their runs can be done well within the HOS regs.

 

go with #2 you can never beat an hourly paying job. CFM will be by shortly to back me up on this. You get paid for everything fueling the truck pre-post trips. and time and 1/2 over 40. I would go with #2. I try that getting paid by the load stuff with Venezia and it was a joke. There is a reason why they are paying you by the load and not by the hr.

 

so which one you takin???

 

you are still going to be hauling alot of hazmat in LTL, so neither is probably safer than the other. I would think #2 sounds the best to me. I used to be hourly in LTL P&D before going to linehaul, you can't beat getting paid by the hour to drive a truck. You look for traffic to sit in, instead of pulling your hair out over backups.

 

Easy choice...NUMBR ONE!!! Old Equip+Low pay=DREAM JOB. :lol:

 

The fuel job is great, been doing it a year now.

One thing to ask yourself before taking the fuel job, are you the type of person that pays attention to detail and maybe even a little bit anal about your work?? Lot of guys get let go from the fuel gig do to costly errors to the carrier. The LTL job might not be there afterwards!!

Best of luck, let us know which one you took.

 

I haul fuel too and love it. There is a lot more to hauling fuel than just driving a truck and it will be difficult at first. There is always a demand for fuel, LTL freight is seasonal and can slow down. I worked for 2 different LTL company's before hauling fuel and the fuel job is always consistent. I went through several layoffs with the LTL so it can be tough during the hard times.

BOL

 

You will have slow times with fuel also. I did it for 2 years and it always died after Christmas until March or April- unless your company is short on drivers.