Con-way Freight Ltl Driver Apprentice Program

Discussion in Con-Way started by Cooper09, Mar 20, 2010.

I am looking for info on the driver apprentice program

How long have they had this program.

Is this a company wide deal or just in certain areas due to demand.

Any info would be appreciated. I believe this is for the LTL division.

LTL division only in certain areas with the facilities large enough to accommodate it. The program as it stands is only a few years old but we have million milers that have never driven for anyone other than Con-way.

Not sure how old you are or what your job experience is but if you wanna drive a truck and make a good living jump on it. You re locked in for one year I believe but this job is in a different class than the TL jobs that lock you in for a year - you get the same wages and you ll be compensated for everything you do just like someone hired off the street with experience. We have this program at my terminal and million mile drivers do the teaching then once you pass you ll ride with experienced P D and line-haul drivers for a week each while you re doing on the job training. Have no idea how long the program takes but it has a top notch reputation and you ll have experienced LTL drivers showing you the ropes.

Con-way Freight can be a tough place to work but I ll say this I would not drive another truck unless I owned it Was lucky enough to find this company when I was 22 and despite the BS that goes with the job, I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about making driving a career. Made 82,500 last year and will be around 87,000 this year with a little over 6 years in here.

Cooper09 and Boonie Thank this.

jakebrake12 hit everything on the head.. I just started about amonth ago at a larger Conway frt terminal in Northwest Indianaso far its been ok..no major problems..If yu r going to be in trucking this is the place to beso yu can be compensated for everything yu do

After 5 years there you can add the third box and get the triples rate - should be pretty high by then..

It has its ups and downs but if you re gonna work in the trucking industry this is a really good place to be. I remember when I started it seemed like I would never hit top rate or get a line-haul bid but I put in my time and this is now my second year running night line-haul at top rate. I went from the bottom guy at the terminal to being well over the middle of the seniority roster at a terminal with about 160 drivers in a little over 6 years. It can be hard at times, but if you re patient and put in your time you ll be able to make great money and bid a time or line-haul run you want.

I got luckyonly spent 2 weeks on the flex board..now i am doing linehaul at nightmost of the guys there said thats unheard of

Wow.. Completely unheard of. Took me 4 1/2 years to get a night line-haul bid. That s good though - congratulations.. That will make your first year here a piece of cake compared to most.

I will keep yu posted on how it goes

In the job requirements it says forklift exp is goodhow much freight do you guys handle. Do you unload at each customer too. Im kinda a noob so any info is appreciated lol

I spend about 3-4 hours per night running a motor - definitely a major part of the job. You load/unload at customers when you run a city/P D route but when you run line-haul it s terminal to terminal with no customers involved. 99 of customers load you but there are some where we do it ourselves.

I started a little over 2 months ago at a terminal in the chicago land area. Run into the guys from Gary all the time. Good guys. I do not have a bid but I get a run every night. The terminals you will go into for a while are Aurora, and Desplaines, than I also run Lasalle a couple times a week and Gary too. As for the forklift- it is a major part of the job for this area in the biginning. The runs are short so we spend a lot of time on the dock. Got to get seniority to get longer runs. Dock work is not hard, but is a little tiring. Great job overall though. I was over the road before this, so this is much better than sleeping in a truck.

If you already got a bid, may I ask where to.

Jakebrake- you have been a great source of info just reading your posts. Thanks

Thanks for all your input guys. I will be getting my CDL permit within a week or so hereIm just waiting on my birth cert. to get here. I hope they are still taking apps for the apprentice program by the time I get it.

I have ran both a fork lift and moterized pallet jacks quite a bit so that doesnt bother me, I actually enjoy it lol

Thanks again for your input guys.

Does anyone know if there is any classroom training or is it mainly in the truck.

Have any of you guys went through this training program.

I go from Gary to Aurora every night.

I was wondering what kind of transmissions you guys have on the LTL side 9 s 10 s or super 10 s.

Lol.. 7 speeds with no splitter for 07 s and older. Regular 10 s for the 08 s and newer. I honestly kinda like the 7 speed myself on the 04-07 trucks - it shifts fast and gets you up to speed quicker than a 10 when running in stop and go or through lights.

I m not familiar with the 7 speed, is that a low gear plus reverse and 5 forward gears, or is it 7 forward gears. And can you float and double clutch or is it a single clutch.

You have reverse and then 7 forward gears with no splitter. They re not synchronized so you either double clutch or float - my truck floats easy in the higher gears 5-6-7 but shifts faster and smoother with the clutch in the lower gears since it seems sticky getting it out of gear without the clutch in 2-4. First gear is rarely used - 30-40K in a set on a steep incline from a stop is about the only time.

Hey Jakebrake, a position finally came open here at my location but its for a Driver/Sales Rep Supplemental, do you know anything about this type of position. Thanks in advance for your response..

That s just the title for a new driver - once your 90 days is up you loose the supplemental thing and you re considered an associate driver for a year then a regular driver after that. Confuses me too..hahaha.. I think it s a little different and less complicated in the Southern region though.

It s just a fancy name for a driver. You ll do city and line-haul depending on where they need you.

Thats what yu start off as.and after about 15 months yu become a regularJake brake can probably shed some more light on that..

Anyone know anything about the Freight Management Trainee position. I put in for both that position and the driver position, but was rejected from the driver position but found myself eligible for this position. Anyways, I meet the degree requirement and a year.5 of truckload experience and received a call this weekend to come in for an interview out of the Phoenix termina this weekl. I have an idea of what it is based on job descriptions i ve found on the net and talking to a few white shirts at various terminals. TIA.

Jakebrake12 I was wondering, do you know if the driver apprenticeship program is for exiting vets or can anyone apply. I m a vet just not recently discharged.

Anyone can apply as far as I know. If you had experience before I would think you would stand a pretty good chance - that s just me thinking out loud though.

You get to deal with whiny Con-way Freight drivers..hahaha.. It s not rocket science but some seem to get it quick and others never catch on. If Pheonix is a night operation also you should have some room to advance. We are really short on supervisors and could use a few good ones.

Sorry it took so long to respond.. anyways.. yeah PHX is a night terminal. Nobody wants to load trucks in an open shed with 119 degree daytime heat. But, i ve seen a few doing it.. which is crazy in my book.

I interviewed and am waiting to see if the general manager calls me. I was told that if I haven t heard anything by the time we head home again in a few weeks to give the regional HR guy who my 1st interview was with a call and see where I stand. I m still curious why I was rejected for a driver position though

Do you have any info on the driver apprentice position at Conway. I was reading your post s about applying for that position. Do you need to have a CDL A permit before you can start or do they help you obtain that. I live around Columbus, Ohio and they only offer that position in In. and Pa. and I m wondering if they will train you at a location that has it and then transfer to Columbus, Oh.

I dont know a whole lot about the program I know you do have to have your permit with all endorsements before applying. Im not sure if they will train you at 1 terminal and let you work in another some of these other guys might know that tho. I have been waiting for them to post the apprentice opening again in Gary so I can apply.

Thanks for reviving this thread lol

How many hours do you work and what are your rates. I was working backwards and it seemed like it would take a lot of hours for you to do that. I know you also do triples though.

I m really thinking about working for Fedex but applying to Conway also. What can someone entering the driver apprentice program or first year driver expect to do first year, how many hours and is it seasonal. I have my CDL with my endorsements already and I ll be in that yard after my shift every night practicing an hour or two if I get a chance. So I hope to be driving quickly. Thanks.

I just got hired with Conway in Feburary 2010and my take home averages any where from 750 to 850 per week and i am at the bottom with the shortest run in the barnI wont make what jakegrake makes. .but it wil be over 50,000

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 28, 2010

Thanks. Do you have to work that many hours. I spoke to a management guy yesterday and he told me he was there daily from 8am-8pm. So I started wondering what was expected but wouldn t want to ask yet.

On night line-haul it s hard to work much less than 11. I could get away with about 11-11.5 per night but most of the time I m now between 12 and 13 kinda by choice. On days where all the pay is hourly it varies by how busy the operation is that day/week. I had a P D route here for about 4 years and remember working 12 hour days and struggling to get 8 hours the next week. Just depends.

Linehaul times vary, ,,In Gary In where i work i start at 8.00 pm and usually punch out a little b4 8 am next dayi average just a hair under 12 hrs per dayAs an apprentice yu would be home every daykinda of a rough schedule thoughthe terminal i go to every night 132 miles round trip they are about 4 partimers there who just go into the apprentice program,,, They work at night from 9pm till about 7am then they have to go to class for 4 hrs 8 am to noonfive days a week for 3 monthsso they are all verry tired after working all nightSo it can be a very grueling schedule..but i think it is better to go this route than have to pay out of pocket and then end up over the road and wont make any money

What should the max weight be in the nose of a pup of the first 2 skids..2500 and then after that yu can go heavy.

And the same question for the nose of a long box.

I dont really load right now..I just break. but i am sure i will have to start loading eventually

6,000 in the first 8 feet on a 26,500 pup if it s loaded perfectly.. 2050 in the first two skid spaces 4 feet would be OK.. Keep it at 4,000 in the first 8 and you ll always be fine.. Even though my job last year was to load long boxes at the FAC I ran, I really don t know what the max would be. I d stuff 60 bills in a 53 but it would only weigh 35K since I was dealing with lighter freight. I always found I d end up being too heavy on the back of a long box and not the nose if I was over though..

So what are the hours for night haul, what times do you generally start/end.

And are you home daily as an apprentice/LTLer. .

I run a hub where we send a lot of drivers so my times are pretty steady since I m always about the same number heading there. I punch on to go hook at every night and finish dropping/fueling between and every morning now that we have the 70 hour log - on the 60 I would usually start around and I would get home a little earlier also. Love the 70 though - most LTL line drivers are home daily. All Con-way drivers are home daily except maybe a few out west that run long lay down meet turns but I m not 100 sure we still have those.

So what type of experience do I need to get on in Nashville. My recent experience is 4 months OTR. I was actually called by Conway truckload today. As much as I like OTR being home, making more money is a win-win for me.

There s no set amount but it doesn t hurt to have some.

Would I go to the local terminal or a central recruiter.

I m pretty sure you apply online then follow up with the terminal. All the big terminals have an in-house HR person - no recruiters. They handle all the employee stuff and the hiring process for new employees.

Maybe someone can help me. I don t know if I m going about this backwards. But this is my thinking. I wanted to get all my endorsements before applying to Conway so I would have them all out of the way, and I can focus on training after being hired. I just completed the hazmat but still have to do the TSA back ground check. That wont be a problem. I have doubles and triples as well. I was going to apply but Conway asks for your hazmat expiration date. I m going to go through the Community Collage to complete my training and get my license. My trining will take about 7 weeks. So my question is should I apply even though I don t have the hazmat expiration dates as of yet. Or should I wait until I complete my training and get my license. Conway is my first choice to apply and I would really like to get the ball rolling. Thanks.

good luck with your TSA report, I did my finger printing and background stuff back in mid april, and im still waiting to get clearance. I had been calling the dmv everyday to check the status of it, and finally they gave me the directly to TSA. Been calling them for 2 weeks now, everyday same thing.well were wating to hear somthing from Washington I have no criminal history, so I can t understand why it is taking so long. On another note, my small terminal if you can even call it that WAS hiring, I had called them an explained to them my situation, I have my class A, doubles and triples, and 2 years experience, just wating to hear back on my hazmat. They told me to just wait until I offically get cleared for it. The app has to go through a screening process, if you don t have the required endorsments your app gets deleted Doesn t even make it too the terminal managers desk.. Long story short, the posting for that job in my area has since come and gone, and I still have no hazmat Maybe monday. Goodluck

I was told by the dmv that TSA sends a letter to you directly, then you take that letter to the dmv. Well it sounds like it might be a while until I get that endorsement on my license. TSA web site says 6 weeks. I have 7 weeks of class. I hope I have better luck.

I just completed the finger prints. TSA told me I would get a letter in a couple weeks and they would send the information to the DL bureau and the endorsement would be automatically be added.. We ll see.

Does Con-way have a school for people without their CDL.

Conway truck load did have a deal with a school IIRC. If you are in TN go get yours through TN Tech and the WIA will pay for it. 1400 you pay nothing back, 36 days of classes. I went in Nashville. They teach all over the state.

I don t believe so but that s where the apprentice program comes in.

from what i hear, the way it is at my place, they have a little course set up in the back where no one ever goes, and you come in whenever you can to practice drivers are more likely to help the people that show a little effort. so you shouldn t come in for 2 hours a week to practice the little stuff and then expect someone to take you out on the road. from the time you start you have 90-days to get your license.

Or if you can get your license first, and you re lucky enough to be hired with no experience, you go through a 2 or 3 week training period, mostly city and a couple nights of linehaul and then you re on your own.

Stopped at my driving school to be a guest speaker. One stdent told me Conway is hiring. I will stop in there in 2 weeks when I am home.

Are you looking at Freight or Truckload.

Freight. I was thinking of TL. I have almost 6 months OTR. Like that I can decline loads with Swift. Conway is forced dispatch.

I do like being home. Having a real schedule would be nice too.

You most likely will be hauling triples on your third week out. Yes you most likely will be unloading for customers business and residential. I know you also will have to unhook a trailer to get to the load you want.

I did call the LTL people in Nashville the woman told me to apply on line. She said I needed my doubles/triples and hazmat. Told her I had them. Also told her I had 6 months OTR she said that isn t that important, the others are.

I just called Conway and am just a week past the 30 day deadline for new CDLers to get into the driver training program. Do you think if I fill out an app they may consider me anyway.

How does it take to go thru the program and how was the apprentice program overall do u take your road test the barn how much is the pay and hours etc

The program i believe is 90 days, as in, from the day you start you have 90 days to learn everything and pass the written and driving test.

I didn t go through the apprentice program, but i think its better than any driving school, cause you re actually backing in to docks instead of cones, pulling empty AND heavy loads dunnage so you can see the differences in accelerating and braking, and you re actually learning how the industry works, not just standing around waiting for your turn to drive.

Driving school will get you your license, but con-way will make you a driver.

While your an apprentice you ll probably be a dock monkey / hostler for a decent amount, 12/hr or 13/hr.. and being an apprentice counts towards your seniority. For example, if you were an apprentice and me, who went to a driving school, got hired after you.. even though i have 2 months driving experience over you, you ll still be above me on the seniority list.

where you take the test depends on your state. But i m gonna go with no for at the barn, because the course s dimensions have to be dead on.

My driving school, which wasn t in my state, had a course. But they had to send someone out to pave the section of the yard where the state test course was, because if there s any defect in the lot that can be used as an excuse for someone failing. so they sent a trooper out to oversee the paving/line painting, and i guarantee they won t do that at every con-way terminal.

Ok so what was some of the questions they ask at the interview. Can u work overtime also is there any other things I should know about this company I applied for driver apprentice here and in Illinois

The usual why did you choose the company, what motivates you, how do you define success. . all those stupid generic question that any other job asks then they ll ask if you know how the LTL industry works, and blah blah.. and my manager spent most of the time talking about pay, which was really cool, because thats what everyone wants to know but its kind of frowned upon during a first interview. Then do you have any question. . . Then they ll show you around.

If you read some other threads, you probably know about the flex board, if not go do some research, cause it IS on here. Overtime is allowed. Its not after 40 hours like 99 of the companies in the world. Here you get overtime after 8 hours. For example: you work five 8-hour days, then you come in on saturday which is rare btw and work 5 hours, you DON T get overtime for that 5 hours. Now: you work one 12-hour day, and the other 4 you work 7-hours, for a total of 40. You get 4 overtime hours for that 12 hour day.

Oh, and will have to work the dock, even as a driver.. No one gets out of it.

EDIT: on second thought, i m not 100 sure if you do / do not get paid OT after 40. I know for certain that you do after 8 though.

hi everyone i m currently deployed in Afghan and was wondering if there is a terminal in houston my employment history 2003-2008 USMC, 2008-2009 Grocers Supply: city and regional driving, stopped trucking because there was no steady work or runs for me there was way too much favortism so i only have 12 months exp with 7 8 and 10 gears during that time never had an accident or incident. 2009-Mar2012 US army. So any kind of employment info would deeply be useful. thankyou

Go to Con-way.com select careers/ then DRIVER LTL/ Pick a state/ find the apprenticeship in your area/ apply. Call the terminal to check on your application. I have known several people to go through the program. They said it s tough, not everyone makes it, but the ones I new did, and they love it.

Boonie and jakebrake12 Thank this.

No doubt right.. Not real sure where that 37K came from though..haha.. That s not a realistic figure at Con-way Freight..

I just got hired as an apprentice at conway. first week and already gettin OT. not gettin driver rate yet but the work is definitely there. jakebrake, you ever been to xfl.

You mean XLF.. Yeah.. Used to run there back in 04/05.. That is the coldest dock in the history of freight docks.. Pretty tricky in all directions during winter - be careful man..

Yeah xlf. Seems like a pretty sweet gig. doesn t help the dock is on top of a mountain. Good thing for wood chips.

On top of a mountain with the prevailing winds coming from the open side..

Haha.. No doubt on the wood chips.. If you have not seen it there yet, the most treacherous condition on that dock is actually when it sweats.. Probably could have happened in the last couple of days but when it gets real warm and the dock cement is still pretty much sub-zero it will sweat and freeze..lol..

I know a lot of the line-haul drivers up there from my time running Newburgh, NY and Newark, NJ - you ll have a real good group of co-workers there.. Good luck and keep us posted on how it s going man..

Jakebrake - I m interested in the apprenticeship program, but already have my CDL, so unsure of how that would hurt or help me. I just got my license today through a well known and respected 300 hr. course trucking school who tests through the state rather than 3rd party.

Any idea on my eligibility or is this a question for Conway recruiting.

i can answer that and yes it does help you out. I went on my interview with my cdl a with all my endorsements, they actually prefer it because its less time for the class i believe, they just give you some experience bakin up and driving, plus the companies way of operations. as i havent started the class yet so im not too sure of what to expect from it.

Awesome, thanks. Is the starting pay higher as well if you ve already got a CDL. Also, what have your average weekly hours been, much OT, off weekends. Thanks again for the info..

starting pay is still the same as if u dont have ur cdl, i believe it just looks better that u have it and they dont have to worry about u failing ur roadtest but try and get ur endorsrments as well. Your first week will be all different hours, doing different things, right now i do the dock inbound, i start at midnight sundays well its actually monday, then the rest o the week im in at 5am. the supervisor normally has me leave when the freight is done being put onto the trucks, which can be anywhere rom 10am-1130am. Ive only gotten 1 hour of overtime so far because i had to stay after one day to finish doing something. u get overtime after 8 hours and after 40. as an apprentice ur off weekends, although if there is weekend work the senoir guys normally do it.

thats really it for the apprentice program so far, this is going to be my 5th week here. if you want to know more about the driving and all that, i would ask jakebrake on here, hes been with the company for a while and nos a lot

keep me updated if u get the job

All good on the hours. How long is the apprenticeship program if you ve already got your license and what was the starting pay. When will you be eligible for benefits. Thanks.

Starting pay is 13.89 in NY for the apprentice pay, the pay after the apprentice program is like 19 something a hour. U get benefits after u finish the apprentice program from what I was told. The program is about 3 months, not too sure how long it is when you have ur license but will say when I start the program

Much appreciated. I ll stay tuned. Btw - Congrats on your new position. From what I ve gathered in my research you re with one of the best trucking companies going.

The only obstacle I see for myself is that I live 1.25 hrs. from the closest terminal. Jakebrake was mentioning that they had shifted to 70 hr. work weeks recently. It would be pretty tough to put in 16.5 hr. days long term, so we may have to sell our house and move closer before I can apply with them. I m thinking of doing some OTR until then.

well it depends, u could work 14 hours, 10 hours, 8 or maybe not be able to at all. as a new driver it depends on how much freight there is for the day. a lot of otr companies will pay nothing and ull never have home time which is y i never did it, plus a lot of those companies ur locked in for a year or so.

i live five min away from my terminal which is how i lucked out.

The apprentice program is for people with NO license. When i applied to cnwy last year i applied to both apprentice and driver, and didnt find out till the interview was almost done that i was actually interviewing to be a regular driver. I thought they had the program for people with no experience or with big gaps in cdl-based employment, but nope, its just basically a company driving school.

But dont let that scare you, they hire a lot of people with no experience. About half of the drivers we hired last year were brand new, all of us are still here as opposed to only 2 out of the 5 experienced guys, and more importantly, none of us have any accidents. And i owe that to being trained by a variety of drivers, whether its actual driving or just stories.

You ve both encouraged me to just go ahead and apply. I ve been on the fence for the last couple of days about where to go now that I have my license and this section in the overall process almost seems more difficult than the school, studying and testing for the CDL itself, as this decision affects more than just me. It also affects how much my two young kids get to see their daddy and how well I ll be able to provide for them. I really appreciate you taking the time to assist me and help me to make a well informed decision. It means a lot and hopefully I ll be able to return the favor for a new comer or two somewhere down the line. Wish me luck. I ll post updates as they arise.

negative on that, i have my endorsements and my license and they hired me as an apprentice, they only put me in the class to help get some experience, and learn everything, unless u have exp. then they will hire u as a regular driver

I applied for a driver position, as the apprentice position was already filled, but I have a question regarding the Hazmat and Double/Triple endorsements. The school I went to told me not to worry about those until I get signed on with a company. They said not all companies require them, which is true, but the Conway driver position does require them. The school told me that most companies that want the Hazmat endorsement give you anywhere from 30-90 days to get the endorsement after being hired. I m going on Monday to take the written tests, but is this an automatic consideration exclusion in the application process if I don t already have them on my license. Or does Conway still consider a person and give them a short grace period to attain them.

They ll work with you on hazmat but would probably require you to get doubles/triples before they would officially hire you. 99.99999 of our line-haul is run with doubles/triples.

Sounds good. I ll have the double/triple and at least the written portion of the HM done on Monday, so I ll give the terminal a call to give them the update and check on the status of my application. I appreciate the information man. Enjoy your weekend.

jakebrake got it right about the haz-mat, my hazmat was still waiting to get confirmed and they had no problem with that. i did however have doubles and trips for my license at the time. give them about a week before u confirm ur application status, which is what i did

I ll be curious to see what you think when you head out with a line-haul driver for a week.. You ll probably get to see Carstadt, NJ, Milton, Pa, and Hagerstown, Md - Carlstadt is easy but Hagerstown and Milton are two of the busiest, if not the two busiest terminals/FAC s in the entire country. I used to run Hagerstown and can say I ve never seen another place like it - it s actually two separate terminals now. One is 166 doors and the other is like 145 doors.. Long run from Elmsford but I hope you get to see it in action..lol.. I do know Hagerstown is the heaviest volume terminal we have in the entire country..

wow u basically got everything, yea im training with the guy who does the hagerstown line haul, hes the most senoir person there so they asked him to train, and yes to the other two, do u go to n e of them, maybe i will c u out there

btw howd u no i was in elmsford

I ve been to Elmsford a couple times and know where Hawthorne is so I figured that s where you were from. I took a year off from line-haul but I ll be back out next year so there s probably a good chance I ll see you somewhere.

I ll be curious to see what you think of Hagerstown - the place is a total zoo..haha.. I used to run there a few years ago. Are you training with Harry then. I know he s been running there for a long long time - I think he might have just hit 2 million safe miles.

lol just hawthorne is that town no ones nos about, even people in my county. Elmsford is known quite well tho. Yea i met harry on friday night, he was getting ready to head out so i went over to ask him a few questions about linehaul. Hes a cool guy and has been there the longest cuz one the guys there told me about him and how quite a few people want that route lol. harry then told me they had recently asked him to be the line haul trainer so i probly am then, if hes got those kind of miles then yea he should deff be the trainer

once i get to go to hagerstown ill deff let u no what i think of it, cant imagine that, ours is only 60 doors. but yea hopefully i will c u out there next yr then that would b cool, what r u doing there now i ur not doing linehaul this yr

The Lasalle, IL terminal is really big too with something like 200 doors.

Yeah - that was just opened in the last year or two. That s the largest single terminal in our system I believe. Hagerstown is two separate ones that are about a 1/4 mile apart. I m pretty sure one building is used for freight heading South and the other is for North freight.

well one more week till class starts, cant wait. get to do both p/d and linehaul. been gettin a lot of freight so im guessing ill get a lot of runs, especially since we also get a truckload company bring us a 53 footer everyday slam packed coast to coast. plus heard from some people YRC might be going under soon so thatll b more freight for us but a lot more work etc.

jakebrake, u can answer this, we had a guy pull a wrong trailer to our terminal, and i heard he doesnt get paid for that, is that true or no.

YRC is and has been in trouble but we are not equipped to handle much more freight. This is the first time though that it really looks like YRC may not survive much longer - only time will tell. I m hoping they re able to stay in business for a variety of reasons - mainly I would hate to see 20,000 people lose their jobs.

If you miss-pull you re not supposed to get paid for the half of the trip that was with the wrong trailer. I know some people were paid and some were not for mis-pulls. My guess is it s a matter of management submitting the paperwork or something. I mis-pulled last summer - was half way home when I realized it so I had to turn around. They sent a driver up to meet me in the middle and I got the right trailer. I ended up driving over 600 miles but was only paid the normal miles for the trip and wasn t about to make a stink over it since it was my fault anyway.

It s not had to do though - you know how our trailers are numbered. I was supposed to pull like a 317-6509 and I pulled 317-6905 for a back box. Most mis-pulls here are when you re supposed to pull say 315-9920 and you pull a 313-9920. The way to make sure this never happens is to check your seal numbers. After I did that I started checking them twice - once while hooking and once as I was walking out to leave. I ll never do that again..

I know what u mean by the trailer numbers, they really r close together. Never thought about checking the seal numbers but thats a good idea. Will have to keep that inmind when I start doin linehaul training and if I have to do it one night

As for yrc, I agree with u. I no a few people who work there, friend of mine worked for roadway but was laid off when they shut down the roadway terminal he worked for and yellow had a diff union so he couldn t stay. From wut he told me that yrc or yellows equipment is so run down and not kept up to date that they ve been using roadways old stuff since its in better shape

And as u no elmsford is not a big terminal I can t imagine that much more work coming in, be such a mess

Just sent an application for apprentice driver to both Irwin/Pittsburgh and Alliance/Youngstown. Jake do you know anyone at either terminal. How long before I follow up on it. I live about 1 hour from either one.

I currently will be taking at least a 30-40 pay cut on my 100k yr job in the mortgage industry, maybe more thanks to the FED Reserve and the new Dodd/Frank Finance bill of 2010. Time to start a new career.

Yeah, actually I do. I know a lot of drivers and management at both terminals and have ran each one as a night line-haul destination.

Not real sure how old you are or what the future might hold in your current industry but I thought I would throw this out there first. It can take a while before you really start making money here. I don t know what your income requirements are but it will probably take 4-6 years before you make 60 or 70 percent of your current salary. I m in my 8 th year now and have finally reached the point where I can make as much as I want by how I select my job and destinations for the year - was my 5 th year when I started to make the money I wanted to. That said, I now make more than a lot of my white collar friends in areas like Washington DC and Arlington, Va if I choose to so it can pay off.

I have no idea how long to wait before following up because I didn t go that route starting here, but I would think keeping your name in their head wouldn t hurt.

As far as the two terminals go - both are 24 hour operations during the week and serve as nighttime hubs. Lordstown is one of the heaviest volume terminals in the entire company serving as the main East/West link between the Mid-West and East Coast. The main reason is they have triples access on the toll roads. They probably average somewhere around 75-90 total day/night line-haul runs and cover a large area of P D territory in both Ohio and Western, Pa. They run a lot of different terminals at night - Milton, Pa and Fremont, In are two of their highest volume runs but they also run Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Hagerstown, Md, Clearfield, Pa, Charleston, WV, and Detroit, Mi. There s a lot of dock work there too. My guess is you would probably start off working the dock during the night hub operation - it s a nice easy dock to work and it s just real laid back.

Pittsburgh is a lot smaller operation - my guess in 25-35 night line-haul runs with a few day runs to Columbus - don t get your hopes up, those day runs take like 20 years to land..haha.. They serve a a link between Columbus, Oh and Hagerstown, Md so they have a lot of runs between them - they also run Milton, Pa, Charleston, WV, and Toledo, Oh. They cover mainly East and South suburbs of the city as their P D territory but go up to Saxonburg, Indiana, over to Latrobe, and down into Morgantown, WV. The Neville Island terminal covers most of the city, Washington, and up through Cranberry/Mars and into Butler. Again with it being a 24 hour operation even though it s smaller, you would probably start on the night hub. It is my all time favorite hub to work even though the terminal is kinda crappy - actually it s really crappy..haha.. It s real laid back and not as congested as most night hubs.

Strictly work wise Lordstown has more options but I would prefer to work at the Irwin terminal given a choice. It s really laid back and they have a really easy going bunch of drivers. Lordstown does too but I would personally prefer Pittsburgh. This is purely conjecture on my part and in no way should you let it influence your decision in any way, but this company spends a lot of money on infrastructure and maintains excellent facilities for a trucking company - Irwin and Neville Island are both dumpy terminals that don t compare well to our typical newer facility like Lordstown or even Bedford, Pa. There s a long standing belief that at some point the Pittsburgh area will be reconfigured by building a large new facility somewhere between the Turnpike and Washington, Pa. I wouldn t let that influence you but keep in mind the company will make major changes fast if they feel they need to.

Hope that helps a little. Feel free to shoot any questions you may have my way and I ll do my best.

Wow, I knew I come to the right place for answers. Thanks for the input. I m mid 40 s and fortunately, I did save up some money, so I can afford somewhat of a lull in income in lieu of starting a new career. What do you think is realistic 1st and 2nd year income. Is it possible to make 50-60K or is that unrealistic for the first few years.

I really want to make a good decision because I m not the type of person that likes switching jobs. I ve had 3 in the last 18 years and the last 2 were with the same supervisor as he had me go with him when one of the company s shut down that we worked for.

I honestly would prefer working nights too. I live north of Zelienople so any terminal near Pittsburgh would be great.

Thanks again for the info, it s much appreciated.

Well it s a small world isn t it.. I just drove right passed your neck of the woods early this morning on I79 heading back down here - I m from Erie and spent the weekend up there at my parents house. If you saw a green late model Yukon Denali driving erratically at a high rate of speed around 7AM ish that was me..haha.. I love my parents but will never forgive them for what they call weather up there..haha..

I have my past W2 right here on my desk so I can tell you what I did my first two years - 2004 was my first full W2 year at Con-way and I did 49,654 - in 2005 I did 52,979. Should mention in 2007 I only did 45,471.. You might do a little better since I think the pay rates are a lot better than they were back in 2003 - my first hourly wage here was like 15 or 16 something an hour - I think it s over 19 now.That said, my 2009 was 82,500, and my 2010 was over 87,000 and I wasn t running long.

I used to work at a terminal that would have been just perfect for you where you re at - Sharon, Pa. It was closed back in 2008 and I ve since moved to Eastern Pa to keep my job with the company. I lived in Wexford for years while working there - even get a new Wright Wexford license plate bracket for the Denali every spring when I pass through.. When I first started at Sharon, I would run down to the Veka plant in Zeli to pick up before I d head out on night line-haul.

Anyway, if you re up there Lordstown might be the better option. That seems like more than an hour commute to me for Irwin - the terminal in 4.5 miles West on 30 from the Irwin interchange plus tolls. Even if you jump off at Monroeville you still have the tolls and traffic coming in that way. The terminal is actually in North Huntingdon and there is simply no good way in. Lordstown sits right behind the GM plant off the Ohio Pike and is only 2 miles and 3 lights North of I76 off Bailey road.

If you don t care about the commute at all I d say Irwin but Lordstown seems a lot closer to me..

My last job before Swift was Lowe s and I got fired there. The one before that lasted 7 months before I got laid off. Lots of verifiable self employment. I am 53 and thinking that and Lowe s hurts me for Conway LTL.

I have been at Swift 13 months with no glitches.

Being home is important. I may have to do another year OTR to get local. Conway or Crete may get a call from me.

LTL has my application. I have got no interest from them in Nashville.

Thanks again Jake. Yea that area from about Edinboro north is horrible in winter. Sharon would have been great, only about 35 minutes away.

Those 1st year incomes definitely sound doable. Probably have to put the better half to work part time for a while. I was hoping you wouldn t say 35-45K, that would have been a real letdown. I will be sure to follow up with the terminals sometime this week if I dont hear anything. Are hiring decisions made at the terminal level or is it a corp person that I need to follow up with. What is the title of the person that I should ask for.

I can actutally answer that. When I applied I waited about 2 weeks before I called to ask about my application. I told them I wanted to find out what the status was and they told me who to ask for. They will go over ur application with u and ask u to come in if the spots still available. When I went for my interview, I spoke to the personel manager and then u speak to th terminal manager and he has the last say. The interview was quite long ad they will tell u on the spot whether they want u or not

As far as pay goes u r paid by the hour like jakebrake said. I m an apprentice and right now I make 13.89 a hour. It is about 19 something when ur a driver. Not too sure how the linehaul paid by mile works, ud have to ask jakebrake.

If u got experience with a forklift or dock work they do prefer that. I however had none, but I ve been playin with machine like backhoes, tractors with buckets, sizzle lifts etc. I m actually starting my class next week, and I wil keep everyone posted on here on wut u do in class

P.S. It helps if u have ur class a and endorsements already. I have mine so they say my class will b faster. Good luck and let me know how it works out

Got a hold of the terminal manager and he told me that I would probably only get 30-35 hours a week and that he would take me on but he was concerned that I live over an hour away from the terminal. He said that it would be up to me but he sounded like he was discouraging it. The hours don t sound promising. I really need 40 . Just from my conversation, it doesn t seem like they are getting many people apply. He hired one young guy and he lasted 2 days.

I may call the terminal in Ohio tomorrow and speak with the manager there as I m about an hour from that one too. The ad for that job also mentions it being part-time. Doesn t make much sense to me.

When you start the program you start on the dock which is part time. If you already have you license you would start as a driver which is full time with benefits after so many days. So if you go through the apprentice program, you become full time when you re hired as a driver. Hope that clears it up a little.

Hey Jakebrake I have a few questions for you.

I graduated in October of 2010 from an accredited driving school in PA but have not found work yet and i am afraid my skills have become rusty. I am looking into a few driving schools in NY since I am no longer in PA for lessons to refresh my skills. My first question is since I already have my Class A CDL would Conway be a good place where I could relearn some of what I learned in school with this apprentice program or would they want someone who hasn t been out of the truck long or had at least one trucking job.

Also the driving school I am looking to go here in NY has a forklift certification program. Would you recommend taking it for the simple fact that forklift experience is preferred at Conway. I assume that Conway apprentice program might include forklift skills but I could be wrong. Thanks in advance if you can answer my questions.

it is preferred the forklift experience, i was given a hard time about it, but they will train u and certify u on a forklift like they did to me.

as an apprentice ur considered a dock worker, once u get past the apprentice program u r then a full time driver. u r put on a flex board which means u will have to work different hours or maybe not work at all. u could work at 8am, then 10am, 930am, or u could work the linehaul overnight, or maybe not work at all. after u build up senoirity u can bid on ur own hours and choose what u want to do or when u want to come in. jakebrake nos a lot more about the company than i do as ive only worked here for 2 months.

my class starts monday so from there on i will keep everyone updated on it.

I left a message for the manager at Lordstown but never heard back from him last week. I may try again this week. They just placed a new ad for apprentice drivers again.

Good luck tomorrow with class.

Thx, man, for ur interview will b a while so be prepared to spend a while, u meet with the personel supervisor, then the terminal manager then the personel again. They will tell u right there wheter ur yay or nay well for me they did. I however had my license so that was a big help, keep me posted

Hey Century was just looking at a couple other threadsis Conway LTL slow or what. I know this might be a silly question but I havent been on here in a long time.

Some of my friends who work at CWF said its gotten slow and bad. The ones who got senority are doing ok but the lower guys with less, not even on the flex are hurting a little bit. Ive heard that the economy is starting to pick up slightly again and notice a lot more trucks on the roads again so thats a good sign. We got a little slower at YRC but due to we are a little understaffed for drivers we are still all working, hence why they wont hire any more, even though 75 of the time we can use at least 3 or 4 more drivers

Honestly you can make a decent living in trucking. Its an industry thats always going to be around. I wanted to get into the equipment operators union to operate machines but with less construction I put it off since im worried about being laid off for a while. The best trucking industry to get into would be tanker for gas/diese/oil/jet fuel, since people will always need that, and the waste industry since garbage will always needed to be taken away. Even doing reefer would be good due to people will always need to buy food.

I honestly enjoy the LTL business even though it can get slow, but i think its the way to go.

Its picking up..spring time is coming up. busy time is at hand

Cooper09 and ACH1130 Thank this.

though the LTL business gets me irate sometimes, im gonna stick with them. Those suckers can have that OTR 20cent a mile garbage

Yes it does get very stressful, especially P/D in the Bronx lol. Im going to stick it out as well. Everyone thinks the OTR guys make a lot of money when we make a LOT more. I also enjoy being in my own bed everynight too. LTL in the beginning is rough, but later on once you put your time in the the best way

Not to hi-jack this thread, but can someone explain to me what some of these terms mean; Line-Haul, Truckload, LTL, P/D. Yes, I m new to the industry Oh, you couldn t tell. . I thought that there was only OTR, Regional, and Local drivers. I m guessing that some of these descriptions mean the same things. Thanks to all in advance.

linehaul is the movement of freight between cities on a specific schedule. Usually at night. this is when you see the guys usually pulling doubles on the highway to another big city to drop off and pick up freight heading back to their home terminal.

P/D: Pick up and delivery. Kinda like UPS or fedex. this is the freight that the linehaul guys bring back from their night runs for delivery to customers during the day, and the freight the guys pick up during the day, the linehaul guys bring it to another city so those guys can deliver it.

Truckload: Is usually one customers product on one trailer

LTL: less than truckload. this is where we combine shipments from multiple shippers on a trailer usually a pup 28ft trailer. Usually the shipment is only one pallet per shipper. that one shipment will not fill the entire trailer, so its combined with other shippers product to fill the trailer, usually.

Hope this helps a bit. Other guys may have better/clearer definitions

haha its all good, we were there at one point.

Line-Haul - pulling trailers from terminal to terminal or hubs. They usually work at night and do a lot of highway driving. Most companis pay you by the mile for this and you can make a lot of money

Truckload - its when the whole trailer is going to one stop right after the driver makes the pickup. this is usually OTR and the freight wont be taken off until it reaches its destination, like i said before 90 of the time the driver is OTR and takes it there himself.

LTL - less the load. These are companies like con-way, YRC, ABF, UPSF, Old dominion, duie pyle, estes express. These are usually the companies that deliver small deliveries to the customers, and the trailers will have multiple stops. I did 13 today, 10 deliveries and 3 pickups. So if you ship 3 pallets it will go back to the terminal where the driver is out of, and will go to its destination by going through different hubs. Also LTL competes with parcel deliveries, and can do residential as well. usually this is local

P/D - Pick up and delivery. Thats says it right there

I tried my best explaining for you to understand and hope this helps

lol looks like we both did it at same time bro.

Would a line -haul and a feeder driver be considered to be the same thing say for FedEx or UPS.

somewhat. With line-haul at CWF you will drive to the hub then work the dock for a few hours. At YRC, old dominion, abf, and estes you dont have to work the dock but could stay out overnight until the loads ready or if its a far trip.

the feeder drivers you could do multiple trips, i know with fedex ground its 100 drop and hook

I dont know if you want to get into the industry or not, but I would make sure to do you homework one every company you want to work for. I know a majority of the common carriers so any questions feel free to message me. I know what companies are good to work for, what aren t and what will train you

and yes this website can be a good helping hand

Thanks again for the info. Yes I m going to get into it here soon hopefully. I ve had my class A since 93, but only used it for working in the electrical utility industry for moving trenchers and backhoes to and from jobsites. Currently working on getting all of the endorsements on my own and will be getting fingerprinted this week for my HazMat. Friend of a friend has some work lined up hauling gravel local, a regional reefer run, and a couple of OTR runs as well. Kind enough to put me to work hopefully a little of each so I can cut my teeth so to speak.

I m thinking about entering the OTR biz and have pretty much come down to Conway TL as my final choice, but I do not currently have a CDL. I am wondering what the best way to go about getting into the industry is. Do I go to the local DMV and take all the tests myself and get a CDL, or join a local truck driving school and get a CDL, or join conway s apprentice program. What is the best way to get in without experience.

If you are looking into truckload, they do not have an apprentice program. Thats only for freight. From what I understand Truckload will take graduates out of a trucking school. I would honestly get every thing you need yourself at the DMV like I did. I went to freight after passing my road test and they hired me and trained me.

So freight is different than LTL.

If you are looking to get into over the road and are considering Conway, the first step is to call the Conway Truckload recruiter to make sure they are hiring in your area.

To get your CDL, currently Conway has a few schools that they work with and they will pay about half of the costs associated with that. The recruiter has all the info and helps getting that set up if you qualify for hiring.

I know this info because my girlfriend is going to be attending school so we can run team and Conway is currently in our top 2 of companies to work for so I have spoke with the recruiting department very recently.

Hey would you happen to know how much of their freight is touch-less.

Working ltl, almost none. Unless your a very senior guy with a long Linehaul run and you get to turn and burn both ways.

If you re p d, you will be working the dock a lot. Linehaul, you work the dock at the fac until your trailers are loaded.

thats very unheard of at a LTL company AT my company we have two accounts that we do a drop and hook. One you need to have senority to see, and the other isnt that far away from the terminal so they send any one Not to be rude but if you are looking for a no-touch trucking job, LTL isnt the route to go, the no-touch jobs are very very hard to come by these days from what Ive heard from guys who been doing this for a long time

Im new to the forum here and Im currently in school for diesel mechanics and I m figuring out that its not my cup of tea. Im interested in driving for CW but I have a few questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. Do I have to have my class A license or can I have my permit and apply for the apprentice program.

2. How is the job outlook looking like in the NC area.

3. Are you guaranteed a job once you finish the apprentice program or do you have to then apply to the company.

any and all insight is greatly appreciated.

If you go to Con-ways sponsored schools you have to have your permit when you go. That entails just taking your combination vehicle, air brake, and i m sure one other test to get the permit. Study materials are online, generally at the DMV website. The only company that has an apprentice-like program is Prime..

When I was there I was in the NC area alot did quite a bit of pickups in Mebane and Charlotte areas.

During the first week of school someone from recruiting will come down and take down all your information.. or verify what you already gave them.. I can t remember which. So, in essence, your doing your application both before you go to school AND while in school. Then, once you graduate you will be picked up the following monday morning and taken to Con-way HQ to start orientation. I don t know how the process is done during orientation now but I know others have spoken about it around here.

Check your messages I just sent you one.

Conway Freight is a totally different side than CWTL and operated totally different as well, so I can t speak to the LTL side. I know there are a few LTL guys on the board hopefully one of them can chime in for you.

I see a lot of useful info on here I ve been loading and unloading conway trucks for years throughout the warehouse i ve worked, a few years back I went out and got my CDL and well, like most couldnt go over the road and was stuck back in a warehouse Long story short. Conway finally called got the interview coming up for there trainee program anyone got any tips that could help me out.

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