DALLAS OC ...Turning into a Pumpkin!

I have not posted on here in a long while so here is the update:

I am now on a team dedicated account originating here in middle TN. I am not crazy about my co-driver, but we make due. Things are okay and the miles are good, but we are not driving this week due to lack of freight on the account. The customer is shut down this week. That hurts the paycheck, but it is nice to have the time with my family. I have been looking at other companies just to keep my options open, but in realty, I can not see another "better company" that would make me leave at this time. I have been researching and asking lease ops about how it is going and I am currently exploring that option, but not ready to jump at it by any means. I just really like the thought of more autonomy.

Mostly, due to the account, I get through West Memphis and Laredo OC's mostly, and occasionally Dallas OC.

I hope everyone else is doing fine and that you all have a blessed Holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas for all.

 

I am in the van division and have been with SNI 6 months now. Ask away and I will answer to the best of my knowledge and as honestly as I can.

 

BTW...we come through Katy about every couple of weeks on our way to Canton, MS.

 

On the team:

You are correct on the wheels rolling. We stop for about 30 minutes to switch drivers eat and pre/post trip. We do a twelve hour shift as follows:

we swap on the two o'clocks, give or take an hour. we do not drive 12 hours because that would be illegal. Within that twelve hour period will come delivery/pick-up, nature breaks, eating, and the like.Each end up driving about 10 to 10.5 hours. That is how we do it. Other teams may have a different set up. I like this way because both of us have both day time and night time driving.

This particular dedicated team opportunity came because of my locale. I began regional solo and was not liking the relationship of that DBL (freight manager) and how I was being dispatched. Through people I had met, and the Schneider jobs website, I saw they had openings on this account. I got the phone number for the DBL running the account and began talking with her, THEN I started talking to my regional DBL after I learned the team account had room for me. (notice the order I did this for future reference; I had been informed by other drivers that this was a more effective way to get moved) The team DBL had a driver that needed a partner, so she gave us each others phone number and we felt each other out that way. After some conversations on expectations, preferences, driving style, and things like that, we decided to give it a try together. I will not say that it is the ideal relationship, but we are doing it.

You are correct in that there needs to be a mutual trust for the others driving. We each observed the others driving from the passenger seat, of course this is not talked about, but is just a natural phenomenon for the situation to evaluate if you can sleep while the other is driving.

We do normally fuel at the OC's. I addressed your other OC questions in another thread.

Yes, for me, the OC's are clean relatively speaking. There maybe others that feel they are not, I am not sure. I guess it depends on your tolerance on things. In my opinion, they are cleaner than a lot of truck stops, but that is my opinion. I cannot speak for how you may feel.

 

Back on the road in the morning. I won't be able to post for a week if there are any questions for me.

 

Well after coming off a week with no freight (Thanksgiving week) and resulting in no pay check yesterday, I can honestly say that the DBL took care of us. We finished up yesterday with 7400 paid miles in six days. That should make my bank account smile next Friday. 3700 paid miles is the most I have had since starting this adventure. We were sent on a couple of small extra runs while waiting on our dedicated customer to provide more freight. That put us close on our HOS for the week, but it was a nice unexpected help. I only had 29 minutes left on my 70 hours when I pulled in at the house.

Another nice offering that happened on December first came from my DBL. She told me that she received an email from Green Bay stating that effective on that day, my per mile pay would increase by .02. That was a major surprise. I thought those increases only came after successfully getting two quarterly bonuses, and that I would not receive a pay increase for another 6 months.

I am still doing my investigations on going owner/op and maybe trying the lease option with Schneider. I like the fact that it is a walk away, but I still want to do more research and talk to more drivers doing this to see the feasibility. Please, no flaming on the subject. I have already read almost all the posts in this and other forums about pros or cons. I am merely stating the direction I am leaning more as a diary. However, any posts from current lease or owner/ops with Schneider are welcome to share their experiences.