I am motivated by fuel bonuses. It takes awhile to get used to not standing on it, but it is also less stressfull.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

I hope you are right. Is there anyone who can show me an actual report about fuel efficiency and a bonus? Cold hard facts will do the trick.

Do one yourself. Check your fuel mileage at 70 and check it at 62.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

From what I have heard, my truck will only do 65.

Wow, you guys have been busy making 7 new pages in a week. I guess I should have checked in earlier.

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On Chaining up: TMC does not allow drivers with less than one year of experience to chain up, so if chain laws are active you are waiting it out. Last winter I did chain up three times, Once because the snow was just starting and the storm was going to last for 3 days, and two other Fridays because I didn't want to wait all weekend.

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Speed, fuel and the TMC percentage plan: TMC trucks are governed to 65 mph except for a very few long time drivers. The conventional wisdom is that for every mile of speed over 55 that the fuel economy decreases by a tenth of a mile per gallon. So lets say that at 55 you could get 6.5 mpg, at 60mph you would only get 6.0 mpg, at 65 mph you would only get 5.5 mpg, and 70 mph would only get you 5.0 mpg. So that means that if any company lets you run at 70mph you would cost them about ten percent more in fuel than running at 65. Now TMC rewards you with points towards your pay rate for good fuel economy. Improving your fuel economy from 5.5 mpg to 6.0 mpg will earn you twenty extra points. That can be enough to bump you up the last two percentage rates so instead of earning 30% of the revenue to the truck you can earn 32%. If you deliver $3500 worth of loads in a week your pay at 30% is $1050, and your pay at 32% is $1120 So if you have enough time to run at 60mph instead of 65 you can earn an extra $70 per week. Now you have to have all your other ducks in a row to get that high a percentage rate but it is possible. Those extra fuel economy points may only be worth half that many dollars in some cases.

The problem with the simple math of how much more time you spend running at 65 than 70 is that you assume that you could always deliver as soon as you get to your destination. In reality there are very few 24 hour receivers. So lets say you get loaded at noon and have 400 miles to go to deliver. At 65 mph that 400 miles you will spend 6.25 hours driving so the earliest you can arrive is well after they close at 5pm. Driving 60 mph in this case adds about half an hour to your trip and you will still be waiting there when they open the gates at 7am with more than a ten hour break. Even with a 75 mph truck you could not have gotten there to get unloaded the same day. Now in some cases you will have to hustle and the 30 minutes does count if you are short on logbook time. I agree that driving slow is boring, but it is also boring to be sitting with nothing to do once you get somewhere. If I have enough time I drive slower, but if I am pressed for time I run at 65.
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TMC trucks are equiped with cruise control, and the Smartcruise feature which is a part of Eaton's Vorad system. The Vorad tracks the speed of the vehicle ahead of you and adjusts your cruise speed to maintain the distance between you and the vehicle ahead.
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TMC expects that nobody starting orientation has actually driven a 13 speed so they spend some time teaching it to you. Don't worry.
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Sorry I don't know much about the Breakfast situation in Columbia. In Des Moines there is a breakfast available at the Baymont Inn that costs $3.18 per day. It includes cereal, toast, make your own waffles, sausage, grits, yogurt, milk, juice, coffee, etc.
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Good luck guys.

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The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

-- J R R Tolkien

Now TMC rewards you with points towards your pay rate for good fuel economy. Improving your fuel economy from 5.5 mpg to 6.0 mpg will earn you twenty extra points. That can be enough to bump you up the last two percentage rates so instead of earning 30% of the revenue to the truck you can earn 32%.

So will starting off at 6.0 mpg earn you the extra tewnty points? I guess what I am asking is this: is the bonus there for someone who always maintains 6.0 mpg, or does it increase with improved mpg?

Plan on getting fired then if that is what you plan on doing, just about every company out there has a rule that says that if you tamper with their equipment in any way you will be fired on the spot, no questions asked. And Obviously you are new to the industry, so I would advise you that in this industry you DONT want to get fired because that WILL follow you to wherever you go and no matter where you got fired from, IT DOES make a difference to whoever you send an application to. If you are bored or get bored driving less than 70, then being a company driver is probally not for you. When you see what it costs you to put 250 gallons in a tank and then compare that to what the company is paying you and what they are paying in taxes and maintenance on that truck, you will understand how a governored truck is necessary.

Timmy,
I am like Barack Obama. Even if I wanted to UN-govern the truck, I would not have the votes in congress. I mean I would not be able to take away your guns. I said it wrong again. What I meant is that there is no way in hell I could figure out a way to bypass the governor. Even if I wanted to.

TMC trucks are equiped with cruise control, and the Smartcruise feature which is a part of Eaton's Vorad system. The Vorad tracks the speed of the vehicle ahead of you and adjusts your cruise speed to maintain the distance between you and the vehicle ahead.
I generally like the sound of this, but what happens if you are passing another vehicle?

this explains how the eaton-Vorad System works in that situation(It doesnt adjust your speed when passing, just lets you know something is there):


Eaton's new VORAD Blindspotter uses a small radar sensor to detect objects within a 120-degree arc along the right-hand side of a vehicle.

The sensor is connected to a display module mounted inside the cab within the driver's line of sight to the right-hand mirror. If an object is within the blind spot, the module displays a red light to alert the driver. If the driver actuates the right turn signal while an object is in the blindspot, the module also activates an audible alarm.

The system does not require relative motion between the object and the vehicle to work, and will detect objects in rain, snow, fog and total darkness. Although it is primarily designed to detect objects in the right-hand blind spot, the sensor may be mounted anywhere around the perimeter of the vehicle.