Beware of WEL companies

You THINK you can do long distance loads, but if I asked your DM - what would he say?

Last year I did a run out to LA with another driver - call him Bob. Bob was a newer driver, but thought he was an effective driver because he ran on the 10 and burned out his 70. Bob was driving hard, but wasn't driving smart. On the way out to LA, the first day we stayed mostly together but I was parked about 15-20 minutes before Bob. On the second day Bob started 30 minutes before me but I was parked for more than an hour before Bob rolled in. I got nervous at the rapidly filling lot and uncoupled so I could save a spot for him. Third day, I had him lead through the mountains so I wouldn't out run him again and could help him if we needed to chain. Day 4 I lost him in the first 30 miles and despite taking an hour long nap still made it to the truck stop ahead of Bob. Day 5 I again made him lead until we got to LA as we weren't going to a 'truck friendly' area and he was a little apprehensive. Offload and he goes to the hotel for 2 days while I head to some friends. On the day we leave, I supervise the reloading of the trailers between 2200 and midnight. At midnight, he wants to roll and I'm "why?, it's not going to change the end time of the load", but he wants to 'run hard so he can get another load before the weekend'. I help him get out of the lot and go to bed for 6 hours. I took a nice midday nap and then called it an early night, and as I rolled in to the truck stop I saw Bob's truck. We talk about our plans for the next day and he's planing on running early, and I'm going to start at 0500ish. I catch Bob as we're approaching Denver. We both stop at the Loves on the east side of town - me because I need to pee, Bob because he's out of hours. I run another 100 miles up the road. Same story the next day - Bob runs on his 10 while I take a 12 hour break and I'm shut down further up the road. On the last day I get up early because once this load is done I'm going home, but have a relaxed trip and was dropped before Bob rolls in.

When all was said and done, we drove the same number of miles with the same loads. I left six hours behind Bob, finished 30 minutes earlier while using less fuel and having more time on my 11/14/70. By the time we were done, his 11 and 14 were at a point that there was nothing he could move on until the next morning, and by that point it would make more sense to finish a 34. Bob drove hard - not smart. In short - it's not just picking up and delivering on time, it's about using your time efficiently and effectively to set yourself up for success.

There are times a driver needs to put on his big boy pants and push things to the limit, and there are times when it makes more sense to take it easy.

I had a load into Dallas, I'd originally set my eta to delivery for the morning of Day 3, but midday on Day 2 I realized I could get in and make delivery that night and then rush over to the yard to shut down. Instinctively, I wanted to push and deliver that night. The smarter plan was to lay up short and deliver in the morning. Why? In part, because I was dealing with a short 70 - pushing in would mean having to drive from delivery to s/l parking whereas if I layed up I wouldn't burn any time on non-productive miles. Secondly, I would have pushed my 14 to the max, which is stressful and tiring. Shutting down early allowed me to be better rested for whatever came next. Finally, there was a good chance I could pick up at the same place I was delivering into - but only if I had hours to run. If I left, the chances of reloading dropped dramatically. You haven't stayed anyplace long enough to really understand their freight trends.

As a final thought - length of haul is a bad metric to determine income. Some of my highest paid days were also my shortest mileage days. When I was helping out on a dedicated account, the other road driver wanted the Indy run - 600 miles and took the full 14, paid out $330. Me, I wanted to do 4 Kenosha runs - 480 miles, d/h on each end. Took just under 12 hours total, paid out at $360.

 

I agree but that wasn't my point.

 

I know. My comment was with tongue firmly in cheek.

 

Well I would say that is a good resolution with the help of that attorney. Congrats on getting your money.

 

Longhaul van freight is sort of a relic from a bygone era. It just doesn't happen for the most part. That freight goes on the rails. Some refrigerated freight goes on rails too.

Trucking is mostly a "load it today deliver it tomorrow" or a two day transit type business. Most population centers east of the Mississippi that freight tends to be all shipped inside that general area with 1 or 2 day transits. On the west coast most of your general freight is up and down the coast with similar time frames. That's just how it is.

Now if you want to haul produce there's something that has a lot of long haul cross country opportunity. There's other things in reefer world too. But can you be trusted to do that job? It involves somewhat more than just driving. Tanker world has long hauls but you've got your work history so jacked. It sounds like you've been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole with companies you've worked at. Without being able to run a 600 mile load in a 2 day transit you'll never get an occasional long runs. Those go to drivers who get the job done with no fuss.

 

It also matters when you run too. If you have a load going through Nashville or Atlanta for instance, you'll have to plan to avoid the rush hour traffic. Maybe you start earlier, maybe you start later, maybe you begin split break during rush hour. It all depends.