Tell Me About the Home Run Program

I'd like to hear too.

I'm always curious about those "More home time!, More Money!, More Miles!" claims.

As little as I know, fleets have fixed costs on equipment and like to see them going down the road . . . All the time.

 

it's slip-seat where 3 drivers share 2 trucks. those 2 trucks are moving 7 days a week, while one of the 3 drivers is always on a 7-day break. great program assuming you're not financially strapped since it is a lot of time off.

 

The home run program works by having three drivers share two trucks. Two drivers are out and running while the third is at home. There are a couple of different companies that run this type of program. At SNI you can chose a two week out one week home, a one week out one week home, and possibly a couple other configurations.

The home time is great, but since your only working two thirds of the time you are only making 2/3's of the median driver's income. Mickeyrat ran the program when he started out. He'll be by in a while to chime in.

 

I'm a recent hire doing the 3 weeks on/1 off program. I'm only on my second time out, but the first time I was back when I asked to be and home for the whole week. It's technically supposed to be a slipseat gig but I'm not sharing the truck with anyone yet. I've been very happy with the setup so far, we'll see how it plays out into the future.

 

Shhh, maybe they wont notice. Can not have a happy driver, someone may find out.

 

Knight, Roehl, Marten, and several others offer a 7 on 7 off, or 14 on 7 off program, or something along those lines. If you are semi retired or a single guy with no kids to support it's a great program. Yes, you won't make as much money as other drivers, but you will have to spend fewer days a year sleeping in a tin box in a parking lot. You have to decide what is more important to you, money or quality of life? That's a decision for each individual; Some guys would go crazy with that much off time, for other guys even 7 on 7 off is not enough off time lol, it's an individual thing.

You could always try both too. Do the 7 on 7 off for a year, then do hardcore otr for a couple years, then go back to 7 on 7 off. Trucking has it's downsides, but the flexibility of getting to choose your own schedule and how many days you work (within fmsca guidelines of course lol) is one of the great things about it.

 

Some of those tin boxs out there are nicer then some houses. =) just sayin!

 

having fixed time its easier to have the rotation of 7 off spread between 2 pay periods . I ran the 6 days on 3 days off. was a lot harder for pay that way. this home run program would be spread over three weeks of pay periods. So you first section would be either 3 or 4 days one one check. A full seven days on one check and either 3 or 4 to finish off your time out. Mark out these days on a calender so you can actually see what I am trying to explain(sometimes I'm not sure it makes sense in the reading) They are good about rotating you back cuz the next driver has to go out himself.

That said, you better hope the other members of your set are neat and considerate of the other two.


There is a driver that posts here , 48Packard. he is a former SNi driver that ran this I believe. He can give a better assessment.

 

I'm currently in a home run pod (helped me be able to continue physical therapy when I came back from my arm injury). I stay out 14 days and I'm home 7 days. My dbl is good about getting me home. Usually out on a Wednesday and home on a Wednesday but sometimes I don't get home until Thursday. That's usually an issue where there is so much freight that the planners don't want the drivers to go home. For example, once I had a load home to the DSM OC that delivered in Shelby, IA but the planners wouldn't let them have me go home from there. They sent me to Nebraska to pick up a load on that Thursday delivering in Iowa on that Friday. They had me go get that load but Cory, the guy that runs our OC, overrode the planners and had the dbl covering for mine put it in as a relay at the OC to get me home. That was an abnormality but I mentioned it just so you know that it can happen every once and a while. If your not getting routed toward home when you are due home make sure you let your dbl know. That's what I do. Like I said it is usually an issue with there being a lot of loads needing to be picked up in the area you are that in that day. I like having the more consistent time at home that this schedule gives me but I'm sure I could make more money running an 11-3 schedule. Also, I'm a Midwest regional driver out of the Des Moines OC so I do not know how pods work in other areas but I would think they would be very similar.

Before I started doing this I was running a 5-2 schedule. I parked my truck at our drop lot here in Cedar Rapids and went home for a day and a half or two days on the weekend depending on the load I had. The miles were not always the best but that's because they have to keep you closer to the house than someone who will be out for 11+ days. When I came back from my arm injury I went back to a 5-2 schedule until I was offered a spot on the home run pod. I had enough motion/function back in my arm that I was able to return to work but my doctor wanted me to continue physical therapy when my work schedule allowed. I decided to give it a shot and it worked out well for me so I've continued doing the home run pod even after I was done with therapy. There are a couple of drawbacks for me when it comes to running in a pod. First, it is a slip seat program where 3 drivers share 2 trucks so every time you go home you have to clean out your truck and every time you come back out you have to move back into a truck. Second, my pod is based out of the Des Moines OC so I have to commute from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines and vice versa. SNI doesn't pay gas or mileage if you have to commute in your pov. Finally, one of the drivers in my pod is a smoker and I'm not. I really miss not having to clean my truck out every time I go home and only having to drive 15ish minutes depending on traffic to get home instead of cleaning out the truck and driving 2 hours to get home. However, I do like the more consistent time at home like you get with a 5-2 schedule coupled with more miles like an 11-3 schedule. You have to look at the pros and cons in your situation and see what will work for you.

As far as pay goes running this schedule your weeks vary given that you are out on a Wednesday or Thursday and back in on a Wednesday or Thursday. Your week in and your week out can be decent if you get a long mileage load out of the house or have to get routed a good distance back to the house. If not that your paycheck can seem a little small. However if your dbl is good at giving you lots of miles and you don't kill your 70 right out of the gate your full week paycheck can be really good.

I'm sorry that this is a long post but I figured I would share my thoughts/experiences as a pod driver. I'm not sure how long I will keep doing this. I REALLY REALLY want to move back to South Jersey where I am originally from but I'm not sure about having to drive in the Northeast all the time. I've also thought about maybe going IC sometime down the road.