package to feeders

abes

abes
Besides working nights,12 hour shifts and driving on snow and ice for 300-400 miles,anyone in here have regrets about making the move.Been thinking about doing it as my body is falling apart from pkg. car.Thanks
 
I don`t hit 12 hours too often,as far as snow you`ll have to roll the dice on what is normal for your neck of the woods. I have never regretted the move over the last 12 years.
 

rushfan

Well-Known Member
Just finished training. Waiting for the call to drive the big brown turd train. I'll miss my customers, but not the work.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
Besides working nights,12 hour shifts and driving on snow and ice for 300-400 miles,anyone in here have regrets about making the move.Been thinking about doing it as my body is falling apart from pkg. car.Thanks


No regrets. Been doing it for 25 out of 29 yrs here. But, as has been posted here before, it's not for everybody.

You got family? Very hard on them if you're low on seniority. Will get afternoons, nights, all the crap pickup, shifting in the yard jobs that not too many people want. So, better talk to them first and see if you get support.

You got sleep issues? Very hard if you keep getting bounced around in feeder coverage for a while.

You got the package car "run" mentality? Lose it NOW! A fully loaded set of doubles or 48 or 53 footer can weigh 80,000 pounds. A package car, less then 26,000. Longer, slower to stop, slower to start.

You got body issues? OK, you may be better off in feeders if you settle these other matters. It is easier on your body, not necessarilly on your HEALTH, but on your body.

You scared of big city driving? You may get sent to some places you've never been before with equipment that you've never driven before.

Pluses:
As said before, it IS easier on you body.
Once you get used to the size and weight of the unit, it's just like driving your car. Now have air ride seats (used to have old Bostrom seats that had to be hand adjusted). Now have air ride cabs. Every seen an friend-model Mack? A Diamond T? A Peterbilt city cab? Roughest machinery (besides the CAT scraper I used to run) I've ever been in, BAR NONE!
Now have power steering. Used to be all manual. VERY hard to turn when the whole cab was on the front wheels!
Have outside exhaust stacks. Big deal? Yes, it is if you ever had to pre-trip a unit with a down-stack.
Now have power hook-ups. CB/AM-FM/CD with many drivers installing XM or Sirius.

If you think you can't drive a tractor or tractor and trailers, you will be given training. Just relax and ask questions, especially of other drivers.

I say, give it a try. It's been good to me, body-wise and financially.
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
abe go for it i see your from ny and you know it snows there hopefully your not in buufalo,i heard it snows there after july 5th from my father who lived there. the bad nites take it easy they never say a word to you.its nice and warm in that feeder in a snowstorm,no ice /snow covered pkg car floors no getting up frozen steps and driveways you know all the crap that comes with n/east winter pkg car runs put a soothing cd in that feeder on a bad nite say a few hail marys and in the a.m when your going home look at those pkg cars and the looks on all those mugs walking to them you will be a happy guy!! best of luck and let us know what you do woodsy 6 yrs feeders
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
rush,goodluck and congradulations, you won't miss the customers as much when the ac is blowing cold enough that it keeps the ice cubes from melting in your favorite beverage this summer!!!!by the way,if ac only goes strong enough to keep tractor at 68 degrees you have to red tag it asap or the cubes will melt!!! woodsy
 

abes

abes
Thanks for all the advice,just got qualified.Need to lose the pkg. car mentality,It will be a adjustment,(working nights)and 11 hour shifts.Family is very supportive though,tired of me coming home grumpy,lol. Hey race is that your 56?
 

navigator

Well-Known Member
Johnny Cash has a song. "Sailor on a concrete sea." I was a Feeder driver for about 28 years.(out of 34 years total) the best time ever. Navigating that feeder all hours of the night, ice, snow, fog, we went. I was in the Navy, ran radars set course's in fog, snow, all kinds of weather to bring our ship into port or what ever. Just thought of that feeder as a big ship. Hours: start work at 0200- done around 1300, had time with family, coached hockey teams for 15 years. the hours worked well for me, it doesnt for others. I could go on for hours and tell of the good times all of us feeder drivers had out of Minneapolis. But that was a different UPS. We all cared..
Give it a try.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the advice,just got qualified.Need to lose the pkg. car mentality,It will be a adjustment,(working nights)and 11 hour shifts.Family is very supportive though,tired of me coming home grumpy,lol. Hey race is that your 56?


Congrats, Abe, on qualifying! Remember, just do everything by the methods and TALK to the drivers, not so much on how to "beat the system" but to run "smarter"! No offense to all the "Ties" on here that know the book but there is also a place for "practical experience", in other words, the real world that a little bit of training won't tell you. Now watch THIS create a firestorm from all the "experts"!

Yeah, that is my 56. Was draggin it but got tired and am putting back on street. Gonna leave some tubes in it, glass front end, big rubber (the biggest M/T makes now). My bride just bought me a polished 6-71 for top of small-block, bless her heart!

Good luck! Keep us informed on progress!
 

wildgoose

WILDGOOSE
Just finished training. Waiting for the call to drive the big brown turd train. I'll miss my customers, but not the work.
You`ll get over them as soon as you learn where to go an the driving skills get tuned in ! The best thing i ever did at this company and to be treated with respect as to the way packages did ? Its a no brainer !!!!!!!!
 

submarine

Banned
I'd say Feeders saved my life. At a time when my marriage was falling apart, going into Feeders removed ALL of my job-related stress. I could never go back to package, and they wouldn't want me!
For the first time in my 17 year career I love my job, love the people I work with, and love...well ok not love but get along with management! LOL Never thought I'd day that! Seriously, I have no complaints and rarely hear of any from the drivers I work with. It's very refreshing!
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
Yeah, but you work all night and get minimum sleep. How can life be anyway near normal? When do you see your family? What hours do you sleep on the weekends? I'll be the first to admit feeders would be a great improvement on the physical stress of package, but I don't know about the flip-flop of the sleeping hours and the family time. When ever I see the feeder drivers in the morning they look exhausted and are talking about getting five hours of sleep.
 

rushfan

Well-Known Member
I worked feeders all this week. No regrets. I worked overnight runs the first part of the week, then afternoon runs the last part. Still no regrets. I would highly recomend it to everyone. The feeder dept has a different mindset. Every driver I have met are more than willing to offer advice/suggestions to become sucessfull. The most important advice I have heard is to SLOW DOWN-get out of the package rush.
 

submarine

Banned
Actually I get more sleep now. This week I was on a 2:30 pm to a.m. and I was getting 7 to 8 hours every day. I don't even bother setting an alarm clock. Now when I flip-flop that it can take me a few days to get back in sync. I'm on dispatch, so my schedule changes. Sometimes it's work-10 hours off-then work all week and while it sounds tough it's really not. I don't have a family, but if my wife had stuck around I would have actually seen her more. Every Feeder driver I know who has family has said they actually see them more. They say they end up sleeping while the kids are in school. It takes some adjustment for sure but the sleeping part of it was surprisingly the easiest part. Lots of times I take a nap on my hour long lunch and breaks and you can get lots of catnaps in as you are waiting for a trailer to be loaded.

I think enough can't be said about the reduction in stress. I actually look forward to that call to come in to work (never thought I'd say that either) and I don't mind if I work a 14 hour day. Your family time will be of much higher quality since you aren't as worn out as you are now.

Weekends aren't a big deal at all. I sleep in on Saturdays like normal, or I stay up and take a nap. You don't party as much if you are into that sort of thing as you are now on a 0.04% BAC all the time so you can't risk a DUI. Small sacrifice.
 
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