I think it is ..........

I did this too , as for a new driver (me) starting out @34 cents a mile,. i run anything thay pass onto me, i didnt care if was 11 cents a mile or 35 cents, my last pay raise , i ran hard as i legal could, called in my hours that morn , if close too empty point while eating breakfast, and when i got empty or hour before my preplan was there, however my strangest one yet,preplan was no trl or load at all, i deadhead from va , truckstop, i dropped my trl there, and bobtail all the way over too that new trl place , i belive that was at fruehaulf place in ind, not sure but it was long bumpy ride ,even in a convental , my everything inside me hurted on that run, and thout cabovers were bad, bobtails were not made too go across countrey,Everett.

 

Maybe Wabash in Lafayette?

 

This coming week will reflect a little over 3,200 miles, but the week after will most likely be a little short because of the 34 hanging out with 07-379Pete in Laredo. (Nothing like that...he's married and I respect other people's commitments.)

 

Hey, I'm not commited...but, as soon as "they" catch Redd, I just know they'll be hot on my trail!

 

Well according too my desktop freind, that thing with all the buttons and gives me added up numbers, or as my brain as i call it, this pretty much confirm it,ill stay at my day job then, there is no way i can be on the road again, i know i have too start at starter pay @25 cents again, but after trainer pay on his side then 3 months on my own i be living off my savings for a year, till they knew i like too run hard and the mileage runs come in, i cannot wait a year for that, i have contracts too pay every month , like cable , rent, ect, and at 25 cents at 357 miles that wont even cover my rent $395 for my apt,let alone the reg bills like lights ,ect, i need too be running at $678 at the lest, a month and thats not buying food yet, so at 25 cents a mile not gonna happen, so i guess im stuck here in cyber land ,enjoy your storys and pass onto i allready know about trucking too someboby ,in hopes this helps someboby out, wish i knew about this site when i started out , it woulda help me out a lot, great site , thanks, so i guess im official retired now , unless someone offer me more then 35 cents a mile and thats not gonna happen anytime soon. Everett.

 

I am going to throw in my .02

Be enthusiastic, not pesamistic.

Which do you think is going to do you better? If you call your dispatcher and say "You arent giving me enough miles, I need more miles, im not making any money."

Or if you call them and say "Hey, I have XX hours avalable, and im ready to roll, I want to go truckin, I will take what ever you can give me and run with it"

Having the attitude of wanting to run will get them to run you, your DM certanly has enough lazy bums to deal with, be motivated, be a go getter, when they figure out you are willing to run, they will run the snot out of you and you will have to request time off.

Dont jump ship, you will have a really hard time ever getting another job.

 

Planners are people too....but maybe just barely! I'm not entirely sure how the system works but I gotta believe that accepting loads, no matter how distasteful the $$$, leads to bigger and better things. I don't turn down anything unless I don't have the hours available to get the job done. As a result, I'm getting more miles than I actually need to make ends meet plus overlap a little.

 

Luck of the draw in many cases.

Good dispatcher - Bad dispatcher.
Good planner - Bad planner.
Good freight area - Bad freight area.

Sometimes the "kiss ###" factor comes into play, but they know you are a "kiss ###" in the office.

 

Try this: Tell the DM you need more experience.. IE more road time. I did and started getting tagged for the Bend OR (305 miles, one of the longest in Swift HH) run 2 -3 times a week. The other drivers hated it due to the long pass over Mt Hood. But by willing to run it, my backhauls were a nice 250 run with 60 mile DH to get there. The 305 and DH paid minimum (.28/mile) but the 250 paid about .33/mile (sliding scale). That got me into the longer runs like Spokane or Medford (298 and 403), both of which are cake walks with good backhauls. He also started putting me on split reefers for the extra miles and drop pay.

The best was the triple runs. Take a heavy dry from Sumner-Portand, backhaul pallets, and return to Portland with a reefer, all within 11 hrs driving. That's 450 miles in one night all at .49/mile or $220 a night. He set up a simular run to Bellingham (120 miles) but the traffic stunk.

The point is, talk to him and see if maybe you can come up with creative solutions together.

 

unlike "big cat", i'm not a kiss az. I'll go the extra distance to be sure i get noticed, but i'm not going to babysit or give a planner a pat on the back just to get an extra load.

with that being said, you've GOT to make sure you send in an accurate Mac 10. If you never send one in, or its not accurate (and trust me, they know if its accurate or not) how are you going to ever get planned? If you CAN run a 500 mi run, unless they know you can, you'll end up getting a load they can put on you and feel comfortable you can deliver on time. Hence, you'll get a 200-300 mi run. If you got 9 hrs left to drive, let em know....otherwise they'll assume you only have 5 hrs to drive and plan you accordingly. AND THE PLANNER CAN BE MALE OR FEMALE.