Life for a rookie at swift

Discussion in 'Swift' started by gnnt12345, Aug 12, 2014.

  1. inkeper

    inkeper Road Train Member

    1,440
    1,059
    Jan 30, 2011
    Texas
    0
    Just log it as it happens, too many edits will eventually draw attention to you. Just stay on each status for at least 5 minutes to have it graphed and flagged on its own. Go to on duty when you arrive for the live, stay on duty no more than 15 minutes with a flag for pickup or delivery, then go off duty until done. Go back on duty to do finish macros for at least 5 minutes and then let it put you driving. No need to over think it. I think in the last 2 years I have only used edit 4 or 5 times. I agree that drop and hook is on duty the whole time.

    Edit...if you get held up at the gate on a D/H, then go to off duty until you get in.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Eckoh

    Eckoh Medium Load Member

    317
    205
    Aug 26, 2014
    0
    my mentor does edits all the time.... hes never got a violation either. bu what he edits is normal 15 min for a pre trip.
     
  4. inkeper

    inkeper Road Train Member

    1,440
    1,059
    Jan 30, 2011
    Texas
    0
    I'm not saying that edits are a violation, but too many might draw attention to you and result in more audits than you might get otherwise.
     
    Eckoh and scottied67 Thank this.
  5. scottied67

    scottied67 Road Train Member

    10,786
    12,491
    Mar 14, 2010
    california norte
    0
    Every time you do an edit there will be an [E] over on the side indicating the log was edited. If you have a whole bunch of those down the side it might raise questions especially if the edits consistently favor your HOS. While you are allowed to edit (it is similar to using whiteout on paper logs) there is a fine line between legitimate editing and log falsification. I was at the Castaic CA weigh station and got pulled in and they had me fax my logs right to their machine so they could review. This was back when Swift was reallly anal about proper loggging, they even wanted us to show 30 minutes for pretrip, all time at customers On Duty even in the break room. The officer looked at my 30 minute pretrips non edited logs and was satisfied.

    Some little Elog tricks I learned over time:

    Sometimes might have the opporutunity to arrive 10 or more hours early to customer, send arrival and go park somewhere even several miles awqy at a truck stop if they don't allow you on the property. Oftentimes the arrival macro will go through 1.5 miles or more away from the customer.

    I got to one customer at 0300 for a 0530 appt, sent arrival and parked out on the street for 2 hours to complete the split break. Rolled in Sleeper and docked 4 hours then rolled back out on street 4 more hours Sleeper
    to complete the 10 hour break then sent E call.

    If you can get there only an hour or two early just go Off Duty when you get to the customer and do all your work be it drop and hook or docking for live load til just about 2 minutes before drop dead appt time and send in arrival which has to be done On Duty. Save your clocks.

    Drop and hooks: Like going into a Walmart DC they say drop the load in A and the Empties are in D or whatever. Most guys go over to A then bobtail to D. Me, I go straight to D and pick out a good empty and send Ecall right there go Off Duty then go drop in A come back and grab my emtpy. Most of the time some other Swifty is trying to hook to my emtpy then the system tells them the trailer is not available. So they move off and I back up and they come over all animated telling me the trailer is not available. I continue to hook up and leave.

    Or if I got there early I would just do all the work Off Duty then once off the property go On Duty send ecall or lcall then go walk the dog for 15 minutes On Duty then split out of there.
     
    HousTank and inkeper Thank this.
  6. Mendoza2317

    Mendoza2317 Bobtail Member

    1
    0
    May 28, 2018
    0
    I am a female and getting ready to go to trucking school to get my cdl and hit the road. By reading all these post if you enjoy driving like I do and not want to be home. Can it be considered to be paid to drive and travel not just a job but almost a vocation getting paid to travel and to pick up drop off loads and travel the states. But what does an average person make a month. I have not bills at all and I plan to place all my things in storage
     
  7. MysticHZ

    MysticHZ Road Train Member

    5,811
    5,551
    May 28, 2010
    0
    You'll travel ... but you're not going to see a whole lot ... a company has a lot of capital tied up in a truck ... you're going to be paid to generate revenue on that asset, not sit around and be a tourist.

    So most of what you see will be out the front of your windshield.

    Now that said, pay attention to what you see ... Geography, history, politics and geology ... you're going to cover the same ground over and over ... going east, going west, north, south, during the day, at night, sunrise, sunset, winter, spring summer and fall. Think about what you're seeing and things will come into focus that you never gave much thought to before.

    I have a more in depth understanding of the Civil War than I ever got from school and countless documentaries, just by observing while continuously going by all the major battlefields and noticing the pattern of where they were.

    I found out that the Great Lakes is not the largest body of water in North America, because after a year of going back and forth on I 80 I got curious about something I was seeing.

    The purpose of Obama Care was supposed to be to reign in medical cost ... but yet there has been almost a non stop hospital building boom all over the country since it's passage. Make of that what you will.

    Your driving career is going to be what you make of it. Just don't go into it thinking you're going to be a glorified tourist in the traditional sense ... if you do you'll be disappointed.
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2018
    Speed_Drums and JOHNQPUBLIC Thank this.
  8. 1nonly

    1nonly tease-y-ness

    3,130
    4,900
    Jul 2, 2008
    The burning sands of the SW
    0
    It can be a vacation at times, but the job comes first. You will drive where and when they tell you to, unlike a vacation. There will be days off, and that's your time to go play as you choose. I've explored pueblo ruins in Arizona, a wildlife refuge in Wyoming, and an air and space museum in Denver. I hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. I sampled food at local restaurants and roadside vendors. Those experiences are not the norm, however. Mostly, you will drive all day, deal with hassles at shippers/ receivers, and fight for a parking place when you are tired and need to sleep. Also, you will likely deal with some harassment from a few of the guys. The vast majority are good guys, though, so don't worry overmuch about that- just be prepared to deal with it when it does happen.

    Monthly wages vary greatly, so I can't tell you what you will take home. I've made as little as $1000 some months, especially in the beginning of my career, and as much as $3500. Wages have gone up since I quit driving (in 2012) so your numbers may be higher. But it takes time to rise to the top. Be prepared for small paychecks for the first several months.
     
  9. Luse

    Luse Medium Load Member

    509
    627
    Nov 8, 2010
    Middle of nowhere Montana
    0
    It depends above or below. Yes the Ogallala Aquifer is the largest boady of water in the us. But it's not like you are going boating on it.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.