Running for FedEx Expedite

You're right, didn't think about that. Oh, well, have about 15 - 20 movies that I have wanted to watch again, but haven't started to. I'll just pack those along.

 

Update time... I'm home again, the team thing didn't work out, as I can't sleep in a moving truck. Not that we got many team loads! And the money wasn't as expected.

Got along fine with my co-driver, we enjoyed our time together, but can't (won't) drive if I haven't slept.

I have some negatives to share, but will have to do it later. Need to job search again.

 

on what happened. I answered a ad on craigslist for a driving job. The one item in the ad that really interested me was the statement "three weeks out, one week home". The poster emailed me back with hios phone #, and I gave him a call. He is the owner of the truck, but had it 'managed' by a guy in MI., so couldn't give give me specifics. Gave me the other guy's #.

Called him, and we talked for a bit. Reason they were looking for a driver in my area was that the other driver was looking to re-locate down here from MI. He gave me the gross money to the truck #s from last Sept. till the end of Jan. My pay would be 18% of that (more on that in a bit), which came to a little under $700 per week average. What I didn't ask was how many miles were run for those amounts. The reason I didn't was that when I expedited years ago, loads paid a set $1.25 per mile for a straight truck, and I thought the same system was in place.

Since the co-driver was wanting to attend one of his son's concerts on Fri. Feb. 26, it was decided to pick me up in Statesville NC on Sat, the 27th.

We met that morning and soon had our 1st load. I stayed with it for a little over 3 weeks. I made a whopping $1363, about $55. dollars a day.

Within a week, I knew I couldn't do the team thing, as I found I could not sleep in a moving truck. But that wasn't too big a problem, as we hardly got any team runs! Even our longest run, IL to CA, could have been done by a solo driver.

Expedited freight isn't, any more. All we were hauling was LTL. And the best rate we got was $1.20 a mile, and as as low as $.79 per mile. Figuring out cpm, my co-driver and I drove for about $.19 per mile for that time period.

A couple of hints for newbies.

Make sure you can do the team thing, as just about all companies want teams in the trucks nowadays.

DO NOT sign on with a owner who uses a middle man. That's why our pay was a split of 36% instead of the usual 40%. The middle man takes his cut 1st.

If you have to sign a contract, make sure every thing is clarified. My contract stated that I had to give 10 'days' notice if I were quitting, or be charhed $100. per day for any days less than that. In my case, my co-driver and I were planning on being back to Charlotte around the weekend of Mar. 20-21. That would have been 3 weeks out, for me. So I gave my notice on Mar 17. I figured we'd finish the week, and since my co-driver planned to be off, the truck wouldn't lose any revenue for that week, and there would be time to find a new co-driver. The owner amd manager didn't see it that way, and expected the 10 days to be 'in service days'

I left the truck on the 23rd, anyway. When my final settlement came, the manager was charging me $500. for leaving 5 days early, the cost of fuel ($290.) to come to Charlotte to pick me up , and $50. for a background check. Since my final pay amounted to a little less than $250., he shows me with a negative balance. I took the contract to my attorney, just in case said manager wants to try and collect, but attorney said he won't be able to, as nothing in the contract addresses those items except the early leaving days.

One other thing, running for FedEx. They do not do 'directional dispatching', so you cannot request home time. You just have to wait for a load going near home when you are ready for some time off.

So, I'm going back to the trucking I know, and have orientation on Monday. That will be the last time I go the expedited route.

Good luck to all you who are out there doing it.

 

Look at expeditersonline dot com, there is a classified section where you can find a small number of 'Driver Wanted' ads.

Also, call the expediter companies themselves. Most do some recruiting for their fleet owners.

My co-driver left right after I did, and is now running a van for a different owner. So far, he's been doing much better.