Pepsi

Yep needs to be 53 footer

 

Wait a minute.
The Pepsi job is a local small truck deliver to stores type deal? What is the hourly rate? You may be able to make a good wage out of it. Or are you really wanting to go on the road? The Pepsi job will be demanding physically but the otr job will be the opposite most likely. We are mostly overweight with health issues. I guess it's more a question of would you like diabetes and heart disease or a sore back and arthritis ....lol

I wouldn't worry all that much about the experience. You do that Pepsi job for a few years you will be excellent at city driving. It's not like the experience is good for nothing. Lots of smaller outfits will still take you. Probably even Estes, Saia and the like. They may start you with local pickup and delivery. I don't believe they'd put you in the same boat as a brand new driver.

 

Take the Pepsi job and never look back.

 

In your shoes I would take the Pepsi job. The road is always there. You will make decent money probably even move up and that's the kind of job people do for 30 years. At the very least you could move to a sysco type company delivering food. Those guys work very hard but make very good money. Same deal, city work smaller truck usually a shorter trailer...Lots of lifting. Home daily. If you go to a mega company you would be away from home quite a lot and you would probably come in at about 40 to 60k. Get to see your wife and kids growing up and if you want to go trucking all over later you can do that too.

 

I will add to this, OP you really need to weigh your options here. It's not necessarily all about the pay. When I finished school back in May of last year I skipped going OTR, regional or dedicated because my wife was pregnant. I've been paying the price since then. I've gotten on with a few sketchy outfits, and it always went down hill becasue I was adamant about staying local. Now, however, I'm on the verge of going into a regional or dedicated position, so I can rack up some miles and move on and get some legitimate experience on paper. I also got offered a job a Pepsi a few months ago, but as stated the experience works differently. "Usually" if you work for a company like Pepsi running the side loaded trailers for say 6 months, a company might only give you 3 months of experience "on paper." At least that's what happened to a buddy of mine who ran for Dr Pepper before getting on with OD. It is however still solid delivery experience, which is a plus if you plan to get on with an LTL outfit. There were a couple of reasons I declined the job, A. becasue they only ran automatics, B. I wanted legitimate experienced and C. It was just a "floater" position so nothing was promised until you finally got a permanent route, form what I was told by the DM there. I can't bank of "if's" I need to know I'm getting at least 40 hours a week.

You can make some decent money at a place like Pepsi, but you will absolutely work your tail off for it, so be prepared for long hours, and a lot of moving around. It's no uncommon to see those guys still running at 7pm or later around here. You really need to think about what you want out of your driving career. Are you wanting to drive mainly? If so, Pepsi isn't ideal becasue you'll be outside the cab of the truck, performing manual labor most of the day. Same thing with Coke, Dr Pepper, PFG, Mclane, etc. Those jobs require driving, but most of it will be labor, but you usually get compensated pretty well.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck, but don't make the mistake I did and take the first thing that pops up local, just for the simple fact that it's local. Really think about what you want as far as your future goals are concerned with trucking, then make the appropriate moves from the get go that will take you to that goal the quickest. Whether that be local, OTR, regional or dedicated. I was just like you, my wife was 8 months pregnant with our first child and there was no way in hell I was leaving. I thought I had it all figured out and I was confident I'd land a LEGIT local gig if I tried hard enough. Reality check and 11 months later, it's been a #### show my friend. I've gotten jobs, but with my limited experience I could only get on with sketchy outfits, that's just the way it is around here. Now here I am, with a wife and 9 month old and I'm right there on the edge of the cliff about jump and go regional or dedicated. Do I want to? Absolutely not, but at this point, if I want to have a SUCCESSFUL career driving a rig and get on with the LEGIT companies where I live, I'm going to have to do it for at least 6 months to a year, to add to my current experience. I can't stress it enough, THINK.IT.THROUGH. and don't stress on the "now," think long term. Good luck friend.

Dave

 

Take the pepsi gig, never complain, keep on friendly terms with mgmt. A few months in, "hey boss, whats up with the bulk drivers? Think id like a piece of that." Any luck your bumping docks at 65k and still haven't even renewed your cdl...