rocket man
Well-Known Member
look up day of a trucker on you tube everything eles in the world is on it why not that?
Feeder drivers
- Thread starter Boonie
- Start date
I have, but that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking more for a specific job description, plus usually LTL drivers go home every night versus most truckers. One person at least told me what their day was like as a feeder driver.
raceanoncr
Well-Known Member
OK, Boonie, I'll throw in my worthless two cents.
I was a feeder driver for most of 32 yrs on parcel side. Will try to cut this down. Started out as package driver, signed feeder list until finally called, worked vacations/sick days/scheduled day off/etc for another 6 yrs, mostly crap jobs. Move yard trailers, afternoon pickup, and if I did get to cover a run, it was always night. Finally got a bid job but you can imagine what kind of bid it was, I was the lowest in senority. As my time grew, so did choices for bid jobs but still, almost exclusively, night jobs or afternoon or night shifting jobs.
It finally got to where I could bid a "day" job, if you want to call it that. Maybe start at 8,9,10 Am, drive someplace come back and get sent out to make 1,2 or more trailer pickups (some hubs or centers forbid that), get done at 8,9,10 PM. No thanks. That ain't no "day" job to me. So, I always bid night runs. Worked better for me. Spent most of my 32 years running cross country at night, but, yes, was back home most everyday. EXCEPT, for the time I was on UPS sleeper team. Different story altogether.
UPSF? Here, they have two boards, city and road and can't cross over. That means their city people deliver and pickup all day and into the eve, freight is sorted at terminal, loaded on trailer and driven to a relay meet or laydown run by the road drivers, to return the next day, almost always at night.
There's lots more that goes on but that's it in a nutshell.
Covemastah
Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
The only Combo reference in Feeders is the #4 Combo at Wendys MMMMMMMMMM triple Cheeseburgah with swiss,mushroom, bacon large fry and a diet coke !! We don't call em Feedah pants for nothing yah know !!!
Moving trailers inside the yard.
menotyou
bella amicizia
Where do I sign up for that?!?!?!?
I do because I'm a Feeder driver who shifts....
Shifter drivers make a little less.
Think about it.... In the yard all day, no responsibilities at all, just do the moves....
Oh yeah, it's BIG TIME BORING!
AND, (here) you are an inside worker, so you're not protected by the 60, 14, 10 hour DOT rules.
Not worthless at all! Thank you so much. How did you have time to get your CDL while you were driving package car? At least one person on a forum somewhere (here?) said that UPS trains you to get your CDL so you don't have to go out of your own pocket to do so. Is that really true? I take it I should start out as a PT or FT package car driver at a big terminal first? The terminal where I live is very, very small and they are saying they'll probably want me to do some seasonal package car driving in April.
P
pickup
Guest
If you are in a small center/ terminal, it will probably take over a decade to go into feeders.
But addressing your question, the way it works where I am at is that they put up a list for package car drivers to go into feeders. Guys sign and if they need 4 guys, they pick 4 guys off the list by seniority. They go to tractor trailer school (they don't pay for it but i believe they go when they are not working so they don't get paid for the time learning , an hour lesson here and there I believe) , then a road test and if they pass they wait for the transfer when the company needs them. After the transfer, if the guy wants to go back to package before two years are up, then he is on the hook for the cost of the cdl training. That's the way it works here
Old International
Now driving a Sterling
Boonie, here is a typical day for me. All time is 24 hour format.
Start work at 1930 on Sunday, 2030 the rest of the week. I start early on Sunday to unlock everything, and break the security pattern park of the loaded trailers.
2030-2037 Pretrip tractor, get info on how the local sort is running.
2037 > 2115. Build a set of doubles. Front box is normally 90% or better load for the hub, back box is MTY.
2115 depart the center for the hub. Drive time is 60 minutes, give or take 3 minutes.
2215 inbound at hub gate. break down the set, spotting both trls where told by the window wizard(dispatcher)
2245 or so- walk into dispatch, sign off the equipment, wait for window wizard to give me trls #'s to haul back to center. Drive around hub looking for trls, as they are NEVER where the WW says they are. Build set, pretrip set, depart for center somewheres around 2320-2330.
0030 arrive at center. Break down set, spot trls in doors to be unloaded by the preload. Find 2 empties, hook them together.
0100 LUNCH or checking my eyelids for light leaks.
0200 Pretrip empties( I do it this way, cause our center isn't in the best section of town, and the locals have come onto the property and screwed with equipment.
0205 depart for hub.....rest of the night is a repeat of above.
0530-0630 clock out and go home. I avg 42-44 hours per week, and about 1090 miles per week.
That, in a nut shell, is my week.
Start work at 1930 on Sunday, 2030 the rest of the week. I start early on Sunday to unlock everything, and break the security pattern park of the loaded trailers.
2030-2037 Pretrip tractor, get info on how the local sort is running.
2037 > 2115. Build a set of doubles. Front box is normally 90% or better load for the hub, back box is MTY.
2115 depart the center for the hub. Drive time is 60 minutes, give or take 3 minutes.
2215 inbound at hub gate. break down the set, spotting both trls where told by the window wizard(dispatcher)
2245 or so- walk into dispatch, sign off the equipment, wait for window wizard to give me trls #'s to haul back to center. Drive around hub looking for trls, as they are NEVER where the WW says they are. Build set, pretrip set, depart for center somewheres around 2320-2330.
0030 arrive at center. Break down set, spot trls in doors to be unloaded by the preload. Find 2 empties, hook them together.
0100 LUNCH or checking my eyelids for light leaks.
0200 Pretrip empties( I do it this way, cause our center isn't in the best section of town, and the locals have come onto the property and screwed with equipment.
0205 depart for hub.....rest of the night is a repeat of above.
0530-0630 clock out and go home. I avg 42-44 hours per week, and about 1090 miles per week.
That, in a nut shell, is my week.
trickpony1
Well-Known Member
If you have the money and the time but remember, the company may want to train you on the equipment we use instead of a long wheelbase, sleeper equipped, 15 speed that real truck lines use.
Your forward thinking attitude may pay off around the first of 2013 when there is a mass exodus of feeder drivers retiring. No one may want to sign the feeder bid sheets because it means working nights forever. This maybe what you're waiting for.
Just something to think about.........
Wow, thanks. I would absolutely love working nights anyway (night person here). No joke. One thing about working days is that during the summer I'd hardly ever get to see my kids or have fun with them. Why do you believe there is going to be a mass exodus of retirees in 2013? Does UPS care what kind of school, if any, one goes to to get their CDL or is it just that you have one however you get it (Grandma taught you, etc.)?
Last edited:
