Yard feeder?

K.Pop

Member
Whats up guys havent been here in awhile but im still riding the brown. I signed a bidlist for a feeder postion in the yard and just got a call. I was just curious if any of you guys where ran the small tugs and what it is like?

I know how to drive a standard but havent really drvin anything bigger then a s10?
 

brett636

Well-Known Member
Are you part-time or fulltime? Reason I ask is in my hub they don't place bid sheets for individual feeder jobs such as a shifting position(one you described). You have to bid into feeders first and work as a cover driver until your senority gets you high enough to get a regular route or job such as shifting. I've never driven the mules(thats what they call them) as I am not in feeders, but my understanding is that they are automatics, but lack other luxuries other feeder trucks have such as A/C.

Goodluck!
 

K.Pop

Member
Well she said, I need to know how to drive a standard so i am assuming they are standards. I'll just be shifting the trailors to the to which ever door the unload/load has open. I just signed abunch of the bidlist that involved driving and got the call. I know the local hub-to-hub shifters is hard to get unless you have 20yrs on your back. I am just ready to boost my career. I have done just about everything in my hub.

I'm just ready to get the hell of the sort aisle:thumbup1:
 

diesel96

Well-Known Member
We call them "Yard Horse" in our neck of the woods(auotmatics)....Shifters are seperate than Feeder Drivers...most of them are part time positions in our bldg bid on by senority......I believe in larger hubs that position might be handled differently. In smaller bldgs and satellites they might have an old Feeder truck to handle a lighter load of trailers or Feeders drivers from a different vicinity might shift as directed with their own trucks.
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
Yard monkies!! Now those are good drivers. The one I saw was sooooo... fast shifting trailers!!! Never hit anything either, but eventually, went out crazy. Didn't see him for awhile. Was a lot quieter when he came back. Looking back at it, I just realized he probably went to rehab. No weight gain though, so maybe just crazy.
 

dragracer66

Well-Known Member
This company needs to keep unexperienced people out of any kind of feeder work period!!! You get all these jackasses who think they can back a trailer up because they can back there camper or boat trailer up. Not the same!!! They smash into other trailers and don't report it, they drive around with the dolly lift dragging on the ground bending the crap out of it and don't report it, they rip off the airline's by jacking the trailers to hard, they drive out of the building and forget to lower the boom and roof the trailer, they drive to close to the jersey wall's and rip off the step's and that's just to name a few!!! They should do what they do in my building and hire experienced part time drivers we never have any problem with them. The teamster steward in my building started that and it work's fine. Building worker's if they want to drive should be a package car driver first then go into feeder's and get the proper training. As a mechanic we don't need any more job security, putting those kind of people out there give's us more work!!!!
 

rushfan

Well-Known Member
I was in our yard when all of a sudden BAM!!!! No it wasn't Emeril, the shifter had a high pin and dropped the trailer.
 

Mr Shifter

Well-Known Member
Hello and congratulation on your winning bid. I currently am a part-time shifter for a large hub and won the bid shift with only a few weeks over my first year in. At my facility shifters have to move very quickly and are expected to have their average of trailer movements to little over 6 shifts per hour. I had to start out shifting with a tractor until a Yard shifter came available. And yes the tractor is harder to maneuver around the yard but it made me move slower as i backed because if you don't set yourself of properly you wont be able to back into the dock. I've seen several new Full-time feeder drivers come out of one week of training and do yard shifting for a week then get to cover drivers routes with loads off the property. You have to take your time and not make mistakes which i believe a mechanic had pointed out a few posts up. But right now I'm currently in a Yard Shifter have been shifter for over a year and half and have to say every day you can't let your guard down Follow every procedure they teach you because you could possibly kill someone and not even know it. As a part time loader when i first started i would have feeder drivers pull the trailer i was loading and while i was securing the load retainer and i had co worker actually fall off the back of a trailer on a load stand and hit the pavement. So don't rush like the supervisors get you to do after you been their a few weeks. Is i really worth killing someone?

o yea once again congratulation on your winning Bid I'd have to say i am very pleased with my job and it's a pleasure to go to work every night even when i rains... move overtime do to late loads. :cool:
 

local804

Well-Known Member
We call them "Yard Horse" in our neck of the woods(auotmatics)....Shifters are seperate than Feeder Drivers...most of them are part time positions in our bldg bid on by senority......I believe in larger hubs that position might be handled differently. In smaller bldgs and satellites they might have an old Feeder truck to handle a lighter load of trailers or Feeders drivers from a different vicinity might shift as directed with their own trucks.

In our district, shifter are all fulltime Feeder employees and the jobs are bid just like the feeder runs. In NJ there are alot of feeder shifters that are hired off the street and can not drive off the property. UPS has 2 senority lists in NJ to compensate for vacations and time off ect. The shifters on the other list are not union either.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
This company needs to keep unexperienced people out of any kind of feeder work period!!! You get all these jackasses who think they can back a trailer up because they can back there camper or boat trailer up. Not the same!!! They smash into other trailers and don't report it, they drive around with the dolly lift dragging on the ground bending the crap out of it and don't report it, they rip off the airline's by jacking the trailers to hard, they drive out of the building and forget to lower the boom and roof the trailer, they drive to close to the jersey wall's and rip off the step's and that's just to name a few!!! quote]

Geez, I didn't think anybody was watching me!!!!
 

dragracer66

Well-Known Member
This company needs to keep unexperienced people out of any kind of feeder work period!!! You get all these jackasses who think they can back a trailer up because they can back there camper or boat trailer up. Not the same!!! They smash into other trailers and don't report it, they drive around with the dolly lift dragging on the ground bending the crap out of it and don't report it, they rip off the airline's by jacking the trailers to hard, they drive out of the building and forget to lower the boom and roof the trailer, they drive to close to the jersey wall's and rip off the step's and that's just to name a few!!! quote]

Geez, I didn't think anybody was watching me!!!!
Hey Race....From one racer to another, nothing but love here!!! Hope I didn't offened you!!! Also how's 8.63@ 164mph sound!! Got it out last weekend, should get into the 40's with some more tuning and maybe alittle nitro added in!!!:thumbup1:
 

K.Pop

Member
This sounds like a challange to me...this sure as hell would look good on a resume if I ever left for another local job. But, if I do get this down I am in for the long hall, as I still am now. As far as doing all that crap Dragracer said, only thing I have seen is a guy backed his trailor into another next to it, man was it a laagh. luckly knowone was in the trailor since it the door was shut.

As far as saftey...I put safty of a supervisor any time of day. You know they didnt install those big red buttons in the primary sort for know reason:thumbup1:

So what thell do they do exactly as far as training? They said to goto a office monday and talk to this dude. I take its a mini-interview or something like that?
 

dragracer66

Well-Known Member
This sounds like a challange to me...this sure as hell would look good on a resume if I ever left for another local job. But, if I do get this down I am in for the long hall, as I still am now. As far as doing all that crap Dragracer said, only thing I have seen is a guy backed his trailor into another next to it, man was it a laagh. luckly knowone was in the trailor since it the door was shut.

As far as saftey...I put safty of a supervisor any time of day. You know they didnt install those big red buttons in the primary sort for know reason:thumbup1:

So what thell do they do exactly as far as training? They said to goto a office monday and talk to this dude. I take its a mini-interview or something like that?
You have crap and fact mixed up!!! Any article 22 or part time hub worker that want's to shift in the yard mean's trouble! When you have a 16'th of the time I have at parcel you will see that I'm right!!! Ask any mechanic or teamster steward it's nothing but trouble!!! That's why they don't use them in my building that job is for experienced driver's. You think this company would have learned when a sup in the Meadowlands was crushed by a jockey and I belielve it was a article22 guy that did it!!! I knew Frank well he only had 2 week's till he was retired!!
 

K.Pop

Member
You have crap and fact mixed up!!! Any article 22 or part time hub worker that want's to shift in the yard mean's trouble! When you have a 16'th of the time I have at parcel you will see that I'm right!!! Ask any mechanic or teamster steward it's nothing but trouble!!! That's why they don't use them in my building that job is for experienced driver's. You think this company would have learned when a sup in the Meadowlands was crushed by a jockey and I belielve it was a article22 guy that did it!!! I knew Frank well he only had 2 week's till he was retired!!
I know the risk and dangers that can be cuased in the yard. But...its UPS theres dangers all over the place you just gotta know the the hell your doing and pay attention unlike some of the asswipes in my hub. I may not have experince in a rig but I am more then willing to learn and pay attenion. I heard about the guy that was killed cuase the driver wasent paying attention from a driver. Not all poeple where made for trucking.
 

local804

Well-Known Member
You have crap and fact mixed up!!! Any article 22 or part time hub worker that want's to shift in the yard mean's trouble! When you have a 16'th of the time I have at parcel you will see that I'm right!!! Ask any mechanic or teamster steward it's nothing but trouble!!! That's why they don't use them in my building that job is for experienced driver's. You think this company would have learned when a sup in the Meadowlands was crushed by a jockey and I belielve it was a article22 guy that did it!!! I knew Frank well he only had 2 week's till he was retired!!

You sir are 100% correct.
 

local804

Well-Known Member
You have crap and fact mixed up!!! Any article 22 or part time hub worker that want's to shift in the yard mean's trouble! When you have a 16'th of the time I have at parcel you will see that I'm right!!! Ask any mechanic or teamster steward it's nothing but trouble!!! That's why they don't use them in my building that job is for experienced driver's. You think this company would have learned when a sup in the Meadowlands was crushed by a jockey and I belielve it was a article22 guy that did it!!! I knew Frank well he only had 2 week's till he was retired!!

Have you ever seen the yard at the NJ meadowlands? It is a complete mess and the suits realize it too. Imo, I am surprised no one else has died in that building and I am sure that your friend wont be the last. The blame totally cant be placed on the shifters though. They do not have cameras on the back of thier boxes and have to mantain a quota.( they usually want 7 moves in an hour) There is very little room for the safest back up in that building and UPS can easily have that problem corrected.(straight back). But instead, they store trailers in front of every mf primary and make the feeder drivers use blind side backs or left side backs which makes the drivers view out of 1 mirror instead of two. If UPS is so concerned about safety and does not even want us to back, why would they even allow this type of back. If you have not been to the NJ meadowlands and not seen the chaos, please dont even answer on this question.
 

Super Shifter

New Member
Good luck on the new assignment.A few words from a 14year shifter..
(1)Take your time and use what they teach you
(2)Speed will come later with experience
(3)Ask another shifter,don t be afraid to stop someone to ask
(4)Don t let the feeder drivers get the best of you
(5)Be safe

Our building has 20 fulltime shifters,48 combo shifters,and 26 partime shifters (someplace in that 48-26 shifters you would think another full time job could/would have been created)Another fact is feeder drivers talk down about shifters all the time...When lay off or bumped with many jobs available to go to they always :confused:1bump into shifting.
Its funny when their GOOD BUDDIES see them shifting and down them also:thumbup1:
Again good luck and be safe friend.Y.I our moves for 8 hours are 60-100 depending on the person
 
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