Running with JCT

Whew! It's been a rough few days. Yesterday, I got up at 04:00 and headed to Sapulpa. On the way, I stopped in Tonkawa for some fuel and met up with Soule_Man. We've talked everyday as he learns the JCT procedures, but that was the first time that we met. I didn't have any time to spare since I was planning on taking a split sleeper option in Sapulpa then make my delivery in Ft. Smith at 10:30 last night. Soule needed a little bit of help on his Love's card to make Diamond Status, so I fueled up about 100 gallons on his card and he bought me a fruit cup. He's a pretty cool guy and a great addition to the JCT family.

Then I got into Sapulpa and met up with CapeBuffalo. He was in his first day of (dis)orientation, and, having finished all of his modules at home, was hanging around waiting for truck selection. We spent some time getting to know each other and looking over the bull pen to see what was available. He ended up selecting a 2012 Cascadia. Later, I spent a couple of hours in the training room answering questions from him and a couple of other interested drivers. I'm hoping that today was more productive for him than yesterday. The new orientation is having some growing pains. I anticipate a lot of phone calls during his first couple of weeks of driving. I don't know how the other drivers are going to get by on their own. Guess they'll be bugging their DMs.

After a short nap, I headed over to Ft. Smith to deliver these pears. Found the place and loaded without incident, got a midnight wash-out, and headed down to Waldron, AR to get some chicken bound for Tolleson, AZ. This load delivers at 4am, and I don't think that I can make it without the split sleeper option. I was stuck at the shipper overnight, and left as soon as the elogs struck 10.

Today was all business, stopping only to scale, fuel, and take the mandatory 30. I pulled into Santa Rosa, NM, 651 miles later with 3 minutes left on the clock. Tomorrow is 589 miles, leaving at 09:30 and minimal stops to maintain my 2 hour cushion.

I was planning on stopping in Tucumcari tonight. That would have left me a more challenging task for tomorrow, so as soon as I saw that I could make it, I reset my sights to here. To help out I stopped my audiobook and threw on some Led Zeppelin. There's something special about driving late night through the desert. There are fewer four-wheelers and the truck drivers are more professional.

It looks like I turned in 2,844 for last week. I ran a lot more than that, but that's the way the trips fell. I'll be empty and available Thursday morning with 1,246 miles in the can, so next week should be very nice.

I'd like to remind you that if you have read through this thread and decide that you think that JCT and you would be a good fit, or if you just want to ask me some general questions, send me a PM or check out my profile for my email address. I'm never too busy to respond. Thanks!

 

Got my settlement info this morning. Tomorrow's settlement is for a trip from Salinas to N. Platte for 1,605 miles, and for Lexington, NE to Oakland for 1,501 miles. That's a pretty good 3,106 mile week. I was charged for 501.7 gallons of fuel, so my settlement MPG was only 6.19. Considering that I got somewhat over 7 MPG, I'm estimating that I took something like a $250 beating on this settlement. The bottom line is $1,115, or $.36 CPM, OUCH! Lol.

That happens from time to time. If I wanted to equalize my check, (I've seen drivers who say they do this!) I would have had to skip the 60 gallons of cheap fuel that I put on in Fernley on the way to Oakland. Then I could have bought some of that $4.30/gallon crude in Corning or wherever. That's just bad business. I'm content to know that I earned about $1,350 or so for the week and that some of that money will be deferred.

No pre-plan out of Phoenix yet. I guess they're waiting to see if I'm going to be able to deliver this on time. No biggie. I'm hoping for a Casa Grande to Seattle type run next so that I can slip by the house. And a tailwind. Lots and lots of tailwinds!

 

I got a swap in Winslow. Now headed to Casa Grande.

 

I've seen that with other companies too. What's your fuel surcharge? We're at $.44/mile this week. Does your company pay all road taxes, permits, plates, tolls, etc? Maybe JCT is getting a decent discount and not passing it through so that they can pay for everything else that a lot of other companies don't.