Is dry van really just 95% drop and hook?
Posted by Mustbenice18@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 43 comments
Starting CDL school soon and decided to start with dry van just for the experience. Have any of you gotten stuck with a dry van job with frequent backs or are they all mainly drop and hooks? (Ik this is generally job specific as well)
Conscious_Grass_853@reddit
You’re gonna have to back up a lot doing drop and hooks. A lot of them are picking up trailers from shippers. You’re gonna have to go to yards and back where they keep the trailers and swap them out. No matter what cdl job you have you’ll be backing up (for the most part) I’m in LTL so I’m bumping 15-20 docks a day in really small tight areas. But the moneys good and I’m home every night. You’ll make less money doing no touch freight.
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Looking into starting LTL whenever I can! Can you tell me more about what your day to day is like and if you actually enjoy LTL or not
Conscious_Grass_853@reddit
I get a paper that tells me where to deliver to and what of how many I’m delivering. And in between my route my phone goes off telling where to go and grab pick ups. Which is literally the opposite of delivering. Very simple. I tend to go a lot of places that are really tight and can barely fit a semi. But when you’re in LTL you will be the best in the industry at every kind of backing imaginable. We do it so many times a day at all different angles. Some will make your butthole pucker up and some will be easy. I literally listen to podcast and audiobooks all day. I don’t hear from anyone all day as longneck as I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. LTL tends to pay very high (depending on the company) because us having to have our Hazmat, tanker and doubles and triples endorsement. But I wish I started in LTL sooner. I started as a coke driver and that was shit pay and shit everything. But I did my one year and found LTL. The test for the endorsements are pretty easy. Common sense mostly. I like being out all day and not having anyone bothering me. If you’re a new driver it will definitely be a tough starter job. I started it after a year experience and I struggled my first year. But I got the hang of it now. You’re home every night. Pays very well. Just take your time at first and don’t rush and you’ll be okay. I’ve been with my current company for over a year. I haven’t gotten mad, upset it pissed off once since I started at my new company. The workplace culture at my terminal sucks. But I’m never there and I do my job and go home. Try and get into it. Drop and hooks are okay. But I couldn’t do that all day. I like getting out of the truck and being physical too. But it’s not to overbearing with the physicality. Not like what delivering Coca Cola does to your body does. And I make way more now.
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Also do you do overnight LTL?
Conscious_Grass_853@reddit
It’s not common. Maybe if you run line haul. But I’ve always done P&D
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Ahhhh how much backing does line haul do usually?
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Dry van will still be great experience starting out, how much experience does line haul jobs usually ask for?
Conscious_Grass_853@reddit
Actually probably not much at all. But don’t be afraid of backing up. It gets easier with time
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Awesome! Are all LTL jobs this intensive?
CryptoSp4de@reddit
lol frequent backs. No matter what you’re going to have to back. It depends on what account you are on, but depending on the company the account will show if it percentage of drop and hook. Sometimes you’ll do live loads and live unloads. Don’t be scared of backing it’s not something you learn in cdl school it’s something you learn on the job.
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
How long did it take you to get used to backing after you started?
scottiethegoonie@reddit
It takes a week to think you'll never learn how to back. It takes one me to be "okay" at it It takes 3 months to think you're a pro. It takes 6 months to realize you're not a pro. It takes 1yr+ to be comfortable with most backs, but will still be caught off guard by difficult ones.
oasuke@reddit
After 3 months I thought I was good but I was actually still shit. After a year I thought I mastered it but I was still shit. I didn't get really good until I started a local job which had me backing 10x a day. Now I don't really even think about it.
WolfDigles@reddit
I got really comfortable after about 6 months. Just get out and look a lot. Don’t feel bad. Don’t feel rushed. If you have to leave and drive around the block to get into a tight spot, or you set up wrong. It’s fine. The yard guy might give you an attitude, fuck him. Do what you need to do to keep yourself and your license safe.
It gets easier. But don’t assume you know shit when you don’t. Take it slow. Get out and look even if you think you’re good, and you’ll be fine.
Fishdude909@reddit
Unless it’s 2am at a pilot in a busy city and your blocking the only exit from the pumps and there’s a line of 40 trucks trying to leave and another 20 trying to fuel up but can’t because of the backup… THEN FEEL BAD AND MOVE! Besides that take your time and do it right
WolfDigles@reddit
Ah yes. The legendary 40 trucks leaving the pilot at 2am scenario. The appropriate move in this situation is to set the breaks, gather your things, and go get a shower (to assert dominance).
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Thank you all for the wisdom 🦾
Prankishmanx21@reddit
The vast majority of the time when you back up you're going to be doing a 45, and usually you're going to be able to set it up for sight side. Not always but usually and a lot of these drop and hook facilities that large carriers operate out of have a lot of room to set up in. Like the other guy said, take your time, circle the block if you screw up the setup, take it slow and get out and look.
Pay attention to the positioning and angle of your wheels. Pay attention to how many times you turn the steering wheel when you go to set up. Pay attention to where your drives are in relation to the hole you're trying to get into. Eventually you'll notice a pattern and you'll be able to set up almost perfect every time. Every one of us out here was a rookie struggling to get it at one point in time. Eventually it'll become second nature. And just know that even then sometimes you'll have days where you just ain't got it.
Realdominicberetta@reddit
4 years in. I’m local and back into at least 6 docks a day. I still sweat in some places. You gotta treat everyday like it’s your first. it’s when you think you know it all that you start to fuck up
CryptoSp4de@reddit
I’ve been teaming with my wife for a year now and it took me 8 months for it to actually click in my brain how to exactly back. It depends on the person, but if you want to learn how to back you have to try and remember to get out and look as many times as you need to.
justaguynumber35765@reddit
Industry wide ....
Sure
I'm 103.1415% drop and hook and some guys are 100% humping freight. 🤷🏼♂️
Waisted-Desert@reddit
It depends on who you work for, but unless you get on a dedicated account it's not going to be 95% drop. Might be more like 60% with a large mega.
But as Ornery_Ads mentioned, just because you're dropping a trailer doesn't mean you're not backing it. About half the trailers at this DC are non-Walmart trailers and they're all drop and hook. You have to back the trailer you drop into the designated spot. https://maps.app.goo.gl/WH9327zqontkSLtv9
GazelleVisible4020@reddit
not necessarily, it depends on many things, usually if you get to work for a specific express account most likely these trailers are preloaded, if you start with a small trucking company it’s very likely they don’t have many trailers and then everything is live load/unload. If you get into an LTL account then trailers may be preloaded at the shipper but you have to make several stops to deliver a couple pallets here and there.
FreeAndRedeemed@reddit
You gotta back when dropping and hooking. From my experience with Schneider starting out, they were mostly drop and hook. It’s nice because most of their runs are short, and their trucks are slow, so not having to sit at the dock helps with getting more miles.
machinehead3413@reddit
My first job was with Averitt. That was 10 years ago and only for 3 months. If memory serves it was 50/50. Sometimes I’d sit for hours waiting to get unloaded/loaded. Got out as soon as I got all of my signing bonus.
Aggravating-Ad-6651@reddit
no and it will make you want to do another career
DickWoodReddit@reddit
I do dry van and probably 99% or higher is drop and hook. Ive done 3 live loads in 5 months working for Amazon. Everywhere is different.
Rebelmontana@reddit
my company I worked for is a mixed of drop and hook and live load/unload. Mega carriers in big distribution center would have mostly drop and hook. You gain experience and you will learn a lot when your out here
Naborsx21@reddit
People also talk mad shit about dry vans, but idk lmao it's not all that bad or worse Han anything else. Some people here will make you believe you'll be making minimum wage and never get any good employment.
Beneficial-Suspect92@reddit
No no no no absolutely not. Don’t believe that for a second
Realdominicberetta@reddit
Don’t be scared of backing. It’s gets easier with the reps.
ExpedientDemise@reddit
I drive the same trailer everywhere I go. I don't really have a typical job, though. I do a lot of backing.
synicalmatic@reddit
Lets just be real we all been there new you cant run hide just master your backing go to petro and ta they have big lots but just master your backing and get use to it. It takes about 6 months to feel confortable just use the trchnique they teach you about setting your self up backing. Good luck.. as far as frieght dry can is general freight u haul anything from booze toilet paper , water for sams , all kind of stuff , drop n hooks are places like procter gamble they have load ready you drop empty you take a full load to where ever . Reefers. Mainly food frozen food dairy ehatever u see at walmart in the fridge aisle. Or wat ever need frigeration you haul. That comes with late time because of live load and u lod it sucks. Get use to sleeping with a motor running in the beginning but youll be so tired you get use to it . Down fall i think for reefers you have to baby sit it. Make sure its at set temp. Anyways good luck on your adventure . Jus work a year get use to it then get your endorsement then youll know what you want to do.
RuneScape420Homie@reddit
No it’s not 95%. It’s like 80/20 if you work for a mega.
And yeah you back up everyday. And yes you have to back up.
Live loads usually take 1-2 hours , sometimes more sometimes less. Just depends.
Fast live load I’ve had was 8 minutes, longest has been 12 hours. Just depends.
Mean_Assumption1975@reddit
No way to really avoid backing a lot in the trucking industry. You can keep it to a minimal by sleeping at rest stops a lot and starting your runs early morning so you're shutting down early for easy parking. If you drive flatbed you don't have to hit very many docks. But you'll end up doing some weird ass zig zag shit on construction sites and backing into overhead doors a lot. You get used to it decently fast just take your time and don't get flustered. Your job is to get the freight from point A to point B and not to hit shit, that's all. If it takes you 10 get out and looks because you're uncomfortable blind backing into a space at the truck stop so what. There's gonna be other truckers sitting there watching you too. Thinking you're a dumb rookie. But once you've sat at the truck stop a few times and watched people parking you've seen it all anyways, no one cares. I get out and look way more then I even need to man. I'll be sitting there knowing I have plenty of space but I feel uncomfortable not being able to see whats going on very well so I just go check. No reason not to it only takes a second and it makes me feel better about where I'm at and less worried. So many stupid accidents at truck stops could have been avoided if more people would just jump out and walk around their truck right quick.
Being a cautious trucker protects or drivers license. You're the only person in the industry who's going to look out for your license so make sure you do it. It'll spare you a lot of issues that can happen in this career.
Mustbenice18@reddit (OP)
Thanks for this 🤝🏽
nexusprax@reddit
Uhm drop and hooks require you to back your current trailer in a dock or numbered parking spot. Then hook to the other trailer. Depends on the company I know Crete is 97% drop and hook for sure. Used to work there only hit a dock twice in 4 months
xDoomKitty@reddit
Nuh uh...... anytime I pull in to a customer i just drop the trailer in front of their door and hook anyone that tries to tell me otherwise!
EVOChi@reddit
You’re doing too much. I used to just drop my trailer at the Loves I slept at in the same city I was told to drop my trailer at.
ManxMammoth@reddit
Drop and hook requires backing, some places are insane but you get sent to normal areas for the most part. Even if you didn't have to worry about backing for your otr job you still have to back into truckstops.
ManxMammoth@reddit
And the 95% in my experience is more like 80%, I get mostly drop and hooks but still have to live unload or load several times a week. I think schneider must demand a lot of detention pay because it's usually done within an hour.
Ornery_Ads@reddit
Drop and hook doesn't mean you aren't backing...it just means your aren't (usually) waiting for a live load
JOliverScott@reddit
Depends on the carrier. If the carrier is more invested in customer partnerships then the likelihood of more drop and hook because they'll have trailers staged at frequented locations. If it's more brokered freight then don't expect any drop and hooks.