My new adventure with Gordon Trucking

I wish! But like I said, the average only includes time the truck is actually moving, so if I'm stuck in traffic somewhere and moving little to none at all, that isn't included in the average. Kinda like government accounting....you can make the numbers read any way ya like!

 

If it is taking you an hour for drop and hook there is something wrong. I ran 3,459 miles with ozark a few weeks back and our average load is 4-500 mile range.

 

An hour for drop-and-hook with Gordon at a large Wal-Mart DC is quite normal, as long as a live load appointment in many cases. When I drove for a USPS contractor we were allowed a half hour to get through the gate, bump the dock and drop, run around the building and hook the outbound and back out the gate. I 'made' my own 10-minute breaks by doing it in 15-20.

That was at the DC in Sharonville, in Cincy. Then back to Bloomington, IN. 3 hours to get there, 3 hours back and a hissy-fit if you're 5 minutes late. You get a 'bad-boy' 5500 write up.

I was interested in Ozark because you have that terminal in Evansville (near?) and allow pets. I drove down one afternoon to check Ozark out.

 

I find it increasingly difficult to believe you have as much experience as you claim. You cannot run 10hours/day and just roll on -- to run on recap you must average 8.75hours/day or less (61.25 hours/week). You can average 70 hours per week if you utilize the optional reset provision.


If it consistently takes more than 30minutes to check in, drop, & hook -- you need to focus on doing your job and work to develop a system to let you efficiently tackle the process. You really ought to be able to do it in under 15 -- and that includes a thorough pti. Sauntering around, stretching, and watching other people work doesn't actually count as "work" in the real (non-unionized) world.

And it shouldn't take more than 3-5 minutes on duty to check in & bump a dock for a live load before hitting the sleeper or break room.

PTI? Log it as you do it. There is no requirement for pti time -- logging 30 minutes a day is just silly. A thorough tractor pti takes maybe 10 minutes and really only needs to be done once a week. A cursory lights/tire/fluid check (<5 min) is sufficient for a daily inspection to ensure you are satisfied the tractor is still in safe operating condition. Another 2-3 minutes suffices for a lights/tire/air check of the trailer. Add another minute or two for a brake inspection.

Fuel? Unless you have a hazmat load or are in a state requiring driver attendence, you can click the handle down and fuel while you then do a pti. Even a mid-day fuel stop shouldn't take more than 7-8minutes for 175 gallons (comfortable 1200 mile range). Why are you taking 30?

And you may have averaged 45 mph, but you also hamstrung yourself with the 5/5 deal so you only had "stinker" loads keeping you within a day or two of home. When your average length of haul exceeds 1000 miles, it isn't difficult to average 60+ outside of the mountains -- even at a 63mph cruising speed (provided you don't stop for 30 minutes every 4 hours).

We get it that you didn't like Gordon's pay system, and that you don't like OTR pay in general. Your own Gordon thread is a priceless training manual for how to fail as an otr driver (wait until the last minute to do anything, take breaks often, chat it up with any & everybody you meet, argue with dispatch, refuse loads, don't drive at night, stay within a short zone of your home, scoff at the work required to achieve performance bonuses, & ram your trailer into ####).

That isn't going to be true for everyone. Joseph here is doing well, but rather than congratulate him and perhaps learn from his experience you cry foul and say it can't be done?!

 

Let's say their trucks go 62. If they keep the hammer to the floor they will probably average 57. Now lets say they are good at conserving their hours and keep their line 4 to an hour a day. that leaves 63 hours out of the 70 in 7 days. That works out to 3591 miles. So it is possible. The 50 mile per hour is more about time management and trip planning for arriving at customers on time.

the hour a day is possible. 15 minutes for pre/post trip, 15 for the shipper, 15 for fuel, 15 for receiver.

 

....and with more and more rules, a little good luck doesn't hurt either! Glad things are going well for ya, Joseph.

 

The point was not 10 hrs/7 days. The new HOS limits you to 70 hours, down from 82 if you ran out of your 70 and reset. Now you have to wait a full 7 days to reset.

You could 'focus' until the cows come home and still take an hour with trucks in front of you, waiting for W-M to accept your load number, waiting for W-M to check you out and paper work. An hour is about average.

Don't know where you get 30... 48Packard suggested 15 PTI and 15 fuel for 30. That's how I log it and I have 3-ring, loose-leaf logs. Since I slip-seat, I may pre-trip for an hour or more, checking EVERYTHING and take over to shop as needed and then get my Transportation Director to okay my $18/hr breakdown time for flat repair, etc. Doesn't go on my log. Log stays at 15 minutes, PTI.

That's an argument that pertains to another thread--you can make it there. You know which one. Bring it over if you want. : )

Hey, I gotta go! I do some volunteer work in Bloomington Monday afternoons!

 

BTW, I'm a long-time computer guy, just got tired of rebooting machines and the view is better out the windshield than the flat screen. Cisco certified, Microsoft certified, Novell certified, where wages start where truck driving wages long peter off and go way up from there. Had the driving experience from years before. Working part-time trucking and full-time on my property now. Lots of dry wall, carpentry, furring 2x4s out to 2x6 and insulating with R-18. Hey, gardening and birds, too. 3 feeders. The best entertainment investment is $25 in bird seed a month. 2 beautiful dogs and 1, well--not so beautiful geriatric deaf and blind shih-tzu.

But FYI, I enjoyed driving for Gordon, liked sleeping in a different state every night and thought the pay a bad joke. Still do. To use a 'cheerleader' thread to mislead rookies and wannabe's that they'll run 3,000 miles a week if they sign up with Gordon is unconscionable in my mind. I'd like to see some truth in cheerleading in that respect.

Gotta go, don't wanna be late. Got worms to feed! (Really... )

 

Yes, there is a lot of time spent waiting in trucking, but even in a day cab time spent waiting is not counted against your 70.

And why on earth does it take you an hour to pti a truck? Are you changing the oil on a cold morning? Using a bicycle pump to top off the air in the tires?

No where does Joseph say that anyone who signs up with Gordon can expect 3000 miles/week. He says he can do it & if you work hard and manage your time, you can do it too. Not everyone wants to sleep at shippers. Not everyone wants to drive 11 hours in a 11.5 hour window. That's a choice, and it has consequences.