Do feeder drivers have a better quality of life?

BigUnionGuy

Got the T-Shirt
Feeders is a good fit.... for some people.

If you have alimony and child support.... your next (payout) is just around the corner.


Feeder drivers.... are always looking for the next batch. Someone with "less" seniority than them.


It's true.... and you know it.



​-Bug-
 

QKRSTKR

Well-Known Member
Ive been in feeders since May and agree with Mac. Body feels so much better. Stress is a lot less. I don't hate going to work. I know where I'm going every nite. I get to spend way more time with my wife and daughter. I sleep while they are at work and school. I get up when they get home and spend a solid 5 hrs everyday with them. Time to do things around the house. You can really get by not talking to anyone in management in feeders. Grab your keys from dispatch and go. Turn around is now automated so no need to talk with anyone there either.

I actually think I have the best thing going right now. We ll see how winter goes lol.
 

Maoun

Member
Have have talk to a few feeder driver and was told they are treated way better than pkg driver; at least that is one less thing to worry about.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
Ive been in feeders since May and agree with Mac. Body feels so much better. Stress is a lot less. I don't hate going to work. I know where I'm going every nite. I get to spend way more time with my wife and daughter. I sleep while they are at work and school. I get up when they get home and spend a solid 5 hrs everyday with them. Time to do things around the house. You can really get by not talking to anyone in management in feeders. Grab your keys from dispatch and go. Turn around is now automated so no need to talk with anyone there either.

I actually think I have the best thing going right now. We ll see how winter goes lol.

​I had noticed you weren't as bitchy ... now I know why.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
Feeders is a good fit.... for some people.

If you have alimony and child support.... your next (payout) is just around the corner.


Feeder drivers.... are always looking for the next batch. Someone with "less" seniority than them.


It's true.... and you know it.



​-Bug-

Yep, just like package car. The more time you have, the better routes start coming your way. But unless you go to feeders with very little seniority, the people coming in aren't much of a concern. In feeders, what really matters is what goes on above you. The more people retire, the more you move on up. We have over 300 drivers here, and I'm right in the middle. I've been here almost three years now, and I've only had five or six drivers come in with more time than me. There just aren't that many high seniority drivers, or high seniority drivers who want to quit smoking dope, left. But, honestly, very few drivers complain about it, because it's feeders.

Do I miss package car? No. I miss the people. I miss being able to fire up a doobie after work. And even though I never thought I would, I miss being on my feet all day. But really, being in feeders is, almost, like working for a different company.

A lot of package car drivers say they don't want to work odd hours, and being away from the family. In reality, though, you're more likely to spend more time WITH your family. Especially if your feeder department has a lot of drivers. And where I'm at, road jobs are the most desirable, even if that means working nights. So daytime feeder jobs are full of drivers on the back end of the seniority list. Those day jobs tend to be yard jobs and local pickup jobs. We have quite a few triples jobs, and probably 2/3's of those jobs are filled by drivers on the second half of the list.

As some of the other guys have pointed out, you might not talk to your supervisor for weeks. That's not to say WHEN you talk to them, that they won't be pricks like PC sups. But generally, they don't say much. When they do, it's normally because some division manager is screaming down their necks about us. They know, for the most part, that feeder drivers aren't pushed around like newer drivers tend to be. Yes, there are plenty of exceptions. I know some buildings where it's like a bunch of bonus babies drive in feeders. But that's not what it's like here.

Bottom line, if you talk to feeder drivers that you used to know from package car, the most common thing you here is, "I can't believe I waited so long to come back here."
 
Every package driver from my old center who said I was making a mistake giving up my cake route and going feeder is now a feeder driver.
 

pretender

Well-Known Member
To answer the original post....in the 3 months that I have been in feeders I have put on a solid 15 pounds (I'm 5' 11" - in package I weighed about 145 in the fall/winter and about 135 in the middle of the summer...I weighed 160 this morning!), my neck, arms, shoulders, knees, and back no longer ache as soon as I get home, when I get home I actually feel like cutting the grass or fixing something around the house, my kids tell me I'm no longer "grumpy", and the wife says I now have a "normal" attitude towards life in general. So I believe the answer is a most definite YES!

BTW I'm typing this while taking my 2 hour lunch/turnaround/meetpoint at my 1 stop for the day...:rolleyes:

Wow-I am the same height as you, and I am happy if I can stay in the 170s. You needed to come to Feeders to put some meat on your bones!
 

Brown Now

Well-Known Member
While I can't comment on package car,I can say road feeder is pretty good. There are a lot of PCMs as well as a lot of rules but, I can't complain. We do have a schedule that you try to stick to,but sometimes its not always possible. When you don't, they call you on it, and if you have a reason why,you never hear another word. Golden rule though besides the obvious of no accidents or injuries is, DON'T BLOW SORT! I was told by everyone this is huge. If you think you're going to be, you need to start making phone calls to let them know why so they can start working on a plan B for your trailers. It can be nerve wracking knowing your trailer was cut late,traffic,or not the best driving conditions and you have say 200 miles to cover, it's 2:30A.M. and your pulling a couple of sunrises which at my hub means in yard by no later than 6:30A.M.

Also take into account that on average a tractor cost about $100-$120 thousand dollars when new. I just read the new ones coming in that are natural gas have a $100k premium on top of that. My manager told me that you can figure that most feeder drivers are responsible for roughly 1 million dollars in equipment and cargo once they hit the street. Take into account 4 wheelers, weather and wildlife and at times it can be very, very stressful. With that being said, when you have a good tractor, straight pulling loads,nice weather and a good program or music on the radio, it's an awesome job.
 
I don't care who gets blown. Keep management aware of every delay especially the one they are responsible for and just sit back and follow the laws and safety procedures and let the chips fall where they may. As long as its not by your hand your free and clear.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
While I can't comment on package car,I can say road feeder is pretty good. There are a lot of PCMs as well as a lot of rules but, I can't complain. We do have a schedule that you try to stick to,but sometimes its not always possible. When you don't, they call you on it, and if you have a reason why,you never hear another word. Golden rule though besides the obvious of no accidents or injuries is, DON'T BLOW SORT! I was told by everyone this is huge. If you think you're going to be, you need to start making phone calls to let them know why so they can start working on a plan B for your trailers. It can be nerve wracking knowing your trailer was cut late,traffic,or not the best driving conditions and you have say 200 miles to cover, it's 2:30A.M. and your pulling a couple of sunrises which at my hub means in yard by no later than 6:30A.M.

Also take into account that on average a tractor cost about $100-$120 thousand dollars when new. I just read the new ones coming in that are natural gas have a $100k premium on top of that. My manager told me that you can figure that most feeder drivers are responsible for roughly 1 million dollars in equipment and cargo once they hit the street. Take into account 4 wheelers, weather and wildlife and at times it can be very, very stressful. With that being said, when you have a good tractor, straight pulling loads,nice weather and a good program or music on the radio, it's an awesome job.

cachsux is right. If the sort is missed, 99% of the time, it's because there's bad traffic, or you got held up at a previous sort. I do my job, and never stress about things I can't control.
 
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