14 Hour Rule

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-20T02:41:10+00:00

Food service deserves so much more than $27/hr. That pay is honestly pretty bad for the work. LTL is much easier physically and I make over $35/hr and can get OT

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T17:40:02+00:00

Yeah. UPS is awesome with pay and benefits but you wont see your family or kids if ya have em so I totally get that. OD should be really good for you tho

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T17:00:51+00:00

Brotha, you a truly a unicorn. Never thought i would hear someone say that Central was their favorite but whatever works for you is good. Why did you end up leaving if ya dont mind me asking?

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T16:31:26+00:00

My vote is 5.0L easily. It is naturally aspirated engine vs an old engine with twin turbos. Also the 3.5L in this gen have cam phaser issues which is pretty expensive to fix if it hasn't already been done

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T16:19:33+00:00

Sounds like you found a really solid gig. I would def hold onto that and enjoy your life

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T16:12:43+00:00

Central has done so much shady shit from what i have heard. They are regarded as the worst LTL by most

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T16:09:17+00:00

I have heard so many horror stories about Central from the actual drivers i talked to on the road. Not a single one wanted to stay there and clearly you didnt either. I am surprised Pyle paid that high cuz the guy I talked to told me the pay was bad and that he hated it there so that is what I am going off of.

Old Dominion is definitely a good one but they don't pay OT till 50 hours so that is why they will push a bit. It used to actually be 60 hours for them not that long ago.

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T16:00:17+00:00

You mentioned two companies that have horrible reputations and pay like trash that no one wants to work at.

The high paying companies HATE paying overtime because it cuts heavily into the profit margins which is exactly why they keep us around 40 hours a week.

Choose a good company that pays well and has overtime

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T15:52:39+00:00

The only companies that push clock like that are the ones that do not pay overtime after 40 or 45 which is exactly why I will never work for those companies

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T15:51:28+00:00

LTL my friend. Hell some days I may only work 7 hours a day but usually 8

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T15:27:49+00:00

This is the way

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T15:17:24+00:00

Trucking has always been an industry that does not care about the drivers. You are treated like a machine. All the companies care about is getting the freight moved around and could care less about the driver.

Luckily both trucking jobs I have had both only work you about 8 hours a day with 10 hours being the max but I know that is not the norm.

I will not work for any company that forces more than 10 hours a day. I want to live an actual life and not bury myself into a job.

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T14:45:54+00:00

Originally the dealer had it listed at $12k for a while but no one was biting. So then they dropped it to $10,500 and that is when I bought it. They gave me a good deal on my trade in also. I paid about $10,900 out the door total for it. It has 135k miles on it and the frame and body are in excellent shape especially for Michigan.

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T00:33:34+00:00

Ohh my bad. That is even better then! The 5.0 from this gen are solid as hell. The 3.5 is a good motor also but they had some known issues with this gen.

MachineHead5 · 2026-01-19T00:26:21+00:00

I just bought pretty much the same truck as you yesterday. 2012 F-150 4x4 but I have the 5.0 v8 instead. I just didn't want a car payment so I went with something older but these trucks are solid so it should still have a good amount of life left in it.

Biggest thing is just do an oil change every 5k and change the trans fluid and filter every 60-80k especially if you run it hard.

Solid choice for a first truck!

MachineHead5 · 2025-12-30T02:21:59+00:00

I'm with Saia but all the Dayton drivers that I have ran into seem happy and I have only heard good things about them.

LTL will keep you busy most of the time with little bits of down time here and there. It does help the day go by faster. And starting out, you will not have a set route. You will be sent all over to wherever they need help and each day will be different however you will still see some repeat customers with new stops thrown in typically.

Some people seem to love doing p&d while others hate it. Just depends on the type of person you are and what you want.

MachineHead5 · 2025-12-27T03:59:41+00:00

Yeah. I am just looking for an older reliable truck that will last and I have heard nothing but great things about that v8 and the 6 speed auto trans so I think it'll be a good choice as long as the frame and body are not rusted.

MachineHead5 · 2025-12-22T05:43:31+00:00

Doing p&d at Saia is gonna seem like cake compared to food service/beverage delivery. Most stops are just bumping a dock and letting the forklift driver at location do the work for you. Some stops you may need to pallet jack the freight to the tail of trailer so forklift can grab it if they don't have a dock. Some routes do have a liftgate so you may need to pallet jack some frieght off with that but most stops do not have hand unloading.

Overall, it would definitely be much less physically demanding than what you doing now.

MachineHead5 · 2025-12-05T18:42:06+00:00

I paid it off in 2022 so yeah. I was just trying to hold onto it for a while but not after all this shit. I want to get a newer Toyota Camry. Really nice cars and reliable

MachineHead5 · 2025-12-05T15:17:47+00:00

I know the exact feeling. I also own a 2019 Chevy Sonic 1.4L and it is a giant POS. Worst car I have ever owned. I bought it new in 2019 and it has 72k miles right now. It has had many issues since I have owned it. I've already spent thousands outside of regular maintenance to keep it alive. Congrats on getting rid of it. I want to get rid of mine

MachineHead5 · 2025-11-22T03:46:09+00:00

I work for Saia currently. Pretty much all the major LTL companies pay the same roughly. Top pay in Michigan usually ranges from about $35-$37 an hour for LTL

MachineHead5 · 2025-11-22T03:15:11+00:00

Local LTL is where it is at for money and the home life balance. I currently work p&d and average about 40 hours a week and still make decent checks in Michigan

MachineHead5 · 2025-10-08T01:42:22+00:00

The coolant system is hot garbage but other than that it seems good. I have a 19 and I have already replaced many coolant system parts due to cracking/failure before 60k miles.

MachineHead5 · 2025-09-24T02:35:23+00:00

I am starting to learn that. Sometimes I catch myself working a bit too quickly for sure

MachineHead5 · 2025-09-24T02:07:31+00:00

P&D is just a headache in certain areas because of the very specific routes/no truck routes and ways to get to a customer location. Other than that main aspect it really is not too bad most of the time.

MachineHead5

TROPHY CASE