Hi there

I have a very general question about trucking that I hope someone will be kind enough to answer... Can you tell me how much time a company gives you to complete a run? If you pick up a load in Florida and have to drive it to Chicago, for example, what kind of requirement does your company give you about when you have to arrive?

If you need or want to stop sometime during the delivery (to visit friends or family members, do some sightseeing) could you stop for a day or two? Would that be something you could negotiate with your company before you took the assignment?

I realize that you get paid by the mile, so taking time off means that you get paid much less for the job, but if it were a necessity to stop, or if you chose to, would you be able to? Is there any scenario in which a one or two day stop somewhere would be possible?

Thank you!!

you would usually be dispatched at whatever miles per hour your company says, then that'll equal to or about how many hours, including your 10 hour DOT required break(s).


i would not go "sight seeing" or visiting any friends or relatives unless you ask in advance for dispatch to figure in that time, but then, its your job to drive, not visit anyone.

if you're getting paid by the miles, you get paid by that mile whether or not you stop. now, hourly pay, would affect your pay somewhat, at some companies. if it were neccessary to stop say for repairs, or an emergency doctor/hospital visit you should be able to do this, again, call your dispatcher and let him/her know what you're up to. you can not stop for a day or two unless you're layed up in the hospital, or your run is so far ahead of schedulle (rarely happens though), so you don't want to mess around with the truck/trailer/freight. you can and will be fired.................

Most companies don't let you stop for any amount of time to visit relatives with a loaded trailer. if you ask them ahead of time they may have a safe zone to park it,like company lot warehouse etc. I have parked my truck and trailer at a near truckstop and had family meet me there to visit them on my 10 hr break or over the weekend. i lock the truck up and go, never far from the truck stop in case I had to get back there in a hurry. I have eaten and then come back and sleep and never tell anyone.

First company I worked for, made a delivery appointment for us. LOTS of time for stops. After we made a delivery to some state, we had to wait from 24 hours to once 4 days until they found a load for us. LOTS of time for sightseeing!
Then I worked for a company where WE had to say how much time we need to drive there. But it had to be reasonable, not like couple of days extra for sightseeing.
Now I work for a company where we have a schedule. So there is no time to sit somewhere and waste time. But it is not a rush, there is always enough time for a shower at a truck stop and food.

As with so many things, this situation changes with experience. When you are first starting out, usually there is no stops along the way, just the goal of getting the load from point A to point B. Remember that you are an unknown quantity to the dispatcher, and his goal and priority os to get the load from where is is to where it needs to be, usually in the shortest time possible so they can maximize the financial return on the truck and trailer you are using.

But as time goes on, and your dispatcher learns you and your ways, this can change. Once he know how you run, and the chances of you being on time and you have a working relationship with him, then it becomes possible to set up things like that more easily.

Case in point: A couple of weeks ago I had a load to the Fargo ND area, with a delivery time set for 6 pm on Monday evening. I picked up the load Sunday, headed in, and delivered it at 11 am Monday morning, which is not uncommon for me. I have an aunt that lives (actually hides in Fargo, cause no one really "lives" there) and I had called her ahead of time and made arrangements for dinner. I parked at the truckstop, and she came over picked me up and we went to dinner. I juggled my logbook to ensure that I got in a break and headed for my next pickup in Omaha, then delivered in Chicago again a few hours ahead of time.

Now, my dispatcher knows how I run, so when I told him I would be stopping, there was no worry that I would not make my next load. But that comes from the 3.5 years we have worked together, and that is what you don't have when you are new.

When I have time in my schedule, I occasionally stop and see museums or things I want to take a look at, but only if I have time available. I'm not out there on a sightseeing cruise for my own pleasure, and the work takes priority. And sometimes we swap loads among drivers for similar reasons. I had a load scheduled for the Carolina's a while back, and we swapped it to a friend of mine that has relatives there so he could make the visit. And my dispatcher "created" a day in the schedule for him to visit, but again, that is more likely to happen when you have been someplace for a while and have a relationship with the person setting the schedule.

Driving is a job! Like most jobs there is sometimes a little wiggle room for personal stuff, but it's still a job like any other job in many ways. If you're a machinist in the lathe section of a machine shop, you're not getting paid to hang out and talk with your buddy over in the mill section on company time.

I agree about asking for special stuff when just starting out. During that first year, run freight, put up miles, get there on time and etc. Let 'em know they can trust you to get the job done. Maybe then you might be able to ask a favor now and then.

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