Picking operating hours (not HOS)

LOL at these prima donna drivers. It's trucking, not a 9-5 office job. You go when you have legal hours and a load. Yeah, flip flopping sleep schedules can be rough but again, that's how transportation is. Ask a trans-atlantic airline pilot how it feels to fly all night and cross six time zones. You think United Airlines would have any tolerance for a pilot who refused to work at night?

I usually start my day at 6 or 7 AM but other times if the load situation requires it at midnight and run until noon then shut down. Besides, this isn't the 80's. If you're on elogs you're literally sleeping more than driving anyways.

 

Most companies won't let you choose. If there is a load and you are in the area and have to run all night to deliver. Guess what? You are running all night.

You can refuse the load and, if they don't fire you, you will be given crap loads.

I use to run nights when I was otr. Loved it. No traffic, parking in the morning when I shut down.

 

I wouldn't count on dictating to the company when you will or will not run if you're new and unproven. Once you have some time in at a company, along with a stellar record of on time deliveries, and not tearing things up, then and only then can you make such demands. And usually, if it's not a crap company, they'll work with you

 

I agree completely there certainly those folks out who just can't get out of their own way and inevitably try a

I agree completely there's certainly those folks out there that can't get out of their own way and they'll always try and blame it on someone else.
Thats not me and there is no lack of understanding on my part that there's a degree of bs in this industry that's just part of the job. ( nature of the business )
But , when that sandwich bag of manuer that you get handed to with the keys to the truck starts to turn into a hefty trash bag that's when I start speaking up.

 

It's does have a lot to do with customer base.

 

You don't choose. It chooses you.

Let's say its 4 am here in Little Rock, I got a Cold Storage load for you coming out of Memphis going to Chicago by 6 am tomorrow. You have to take off after meal at 5 be in memphis by 8 to load, might be 4 pm finished loading, and you are off to Chicago right then. You are going to get up there sometime in the night after midnight.

Then rest until delivery at 6 am, pick it up and get loaded right away next morning. go go go.

If you get lazy and lay around the truckstop with your left door open thinking you got tons of free time, angry dispatcher will fire you and ensure you hae a life time for free time. Your time does not really belong to you. That truck WILL drive a minimum miles each day and you WILL be on time for delivery anywhere in the USA at anytime day or night. Any weather too.

 

Pull a dry van and you will miss most of the crazy delivery times in the early morning. Food and produce and fozen food is 24/7 operation basically. Some company like Sysco only take delivery like 1 am because they use the same loading dock to load their own trucks because their trucks pull out like 5am and come back at 3pm.

Food just can't sit around, look at beef. You go to meat packing plant they are still killing and packing the beef while you're their waiting for the load. Then once you get to grocery store DC then unload your truck and lots of time will send that beef out the same day to the store.

Dry vans just work about the same hours most days and it cheaper freight. Nobody needs toilet paper shipped over night. Dry vans don't have to deal with pallets and lumpers. The take the freight they way it is most times

 

Dry Van is not bad. But for me personally with my mindset, I need a little something to think on. The vans to me is boring after a while. Im happy to haul em, but frankly Ive learned over the years that slamming the door on this or that bores me. Now if you got into tanking, flatbedding or reefer work adding problems or creative solutions to the work needed, then I can be a little more eh, entertained in the work.

Also dry van can go into reefer or flatbed in certain loading configurations when weather or temperature is or is not necessary.

 

I liked pulling reefer for long runs you can load in Idaho and take french all the way to Ohio or any place. Those runs are nice because once loaded you can basically set your own hours for 3 or 4 days till delivery. I would not to short haul reefer. Look at company like K&B they pay good but basically setup for overnight short runs pulling reefer with the pressure of not having any time to sleep or rest. Because the load can't be late. A little look I to the bad side of pulling a reefer and company that had driver sit all day awake without a load then think you should drive all night