I can remember driving for companies that we had to write down our mileage on entering each state. That was a pain! I kept a tape recorder, and every state "Arkansas 234500", "Oklahoma 234800", and so on.
Another reason every trip of mine is in MS Streets & Trips. I just reconcile the mileage after the trip. The difference between software miles and odometer miles is negligible.
Thank you for explaining that Injun. I do get a list of fuel prices on the QC for all the Swift terminals every evening. The price swings from state to state can be significant. As a rookie lease operator, this kind of information will be a lifesaver come tax time for me. As a lease operator I have the freedom to use my own fuel stops and route of my choice (and peril lol). My basic plan is to look at the miles of the trip and try to purchase enough fuel to complete that trip and still have 1/8 of a tank left over, as well as trying to purchase less than or equal to what Swift fuel optimizer says I need for that trip. On my first big trip (1300+ miles) I went ahead and got 100 gallons to start out with knowing I would need more down the road. Right away the fuel gauge showed 3/4 tank, I was like, "Cool". But just 50 miles down the road it was showing 1/2 I was like, "Uhoh". I think the diesel 'fizz' makes the floats think there is more than there is. So that just messed up my mojo and I ended up purchasing way too much fuel for that load and it cost me about $2.02 cpg just for that load (but another factor was that I had run 68 miles per hour one day and put down 703 miles, so that didn't help either lol). Of course it averages out as I can use the excess fuel for subsequent trips. Anyway, the truck that I have is a repo from another lease operator. When I went in to check the maintenance records one of the things that I recall was that onroad had to go out and give this guy fuel twice as he had run out of it. That speaks volumes to his business acumen or lack thereof. So I was wondering if there are any other places for us to fuel at with the comdata card other than the typical places Swift sent me to as a company driver? Pilot Flying J Love's Petro T/A AM Best Conoco Any others? Pretty soon it won't matter for me as I will be aspiring to pay cash money for my fuel to cut out Comdata's little fees and keep the cash price at the pump for myself. Another trick I have is trying to always shut down at the fuel stop of my choice for the 10 hour break and combining the pretrip and fueling event in one 15 minute shot. That was a rare accomplishment as a company driver. Doing that 4 or 5 times in a week saves 1 - 1.25 hours on the 70. At 60 miles per hour that could potentially equate to $55.20-$69 extra in a week if one needed that extra hour at the end of their 7 days.
Your tank equalizer and fuel sending unit did that. There is nowhere near enough fizz to account for 1/4 tank. I'm going to think on your fueling practice for a while and comment later.
I didn't know that, I mean I still don't know that lol. Seriously?That sucks. *Highjack Alert* Here's another from my bag of tricks (probably not the first to think of it), but Swift wants 15 minutes logged for the drop and 15 minutes logged for the hook. The way I try to do it all in 15 minutes in real time and logged time, they can't argue it. \\\ Get to the place for the drop hook, sometimes they will not let you empty/loaded call on their property. Oh well. Drop the trailer (either empty or loaded), go to the 'hook' trailer and back up to it and hop out, plug in pigtail only, (this sends a GPS signal that the tractor is hooked to the trailer at that moment in time which is all Swift needs to know; they don't know your 5th wheel is or is not clicked in, landing gear, air lines etc) hop back in truck and send empty or loaded call, (ideally within 15 minutes or less of dropping the other trailer) then get back out and hook up air lines, crank up landing gear, close/lock/verify seal, slide tandems if need be, anyway, meanwhile the empty/loaded call is cooking during all this time. By the time you get back in to take off Empty/Loaded call received and updated message arrives. Update logbook and bounce! Meanwhile all the other Swifties outside the gate are all over the CB "Hey Swift send your Empty Loaded Call". I just say "Oh I'll do it later on, byeeee".
I recently took what was called a mandatory log class....I had no violations ...but some questionable entries...lol. The girl that did the review was the most imformative person I have ever talked to at Swift...she gave me real answers to my logging questions and now i feel comfy with what logging is all about....just don't raise any red flags and the chance of getting a log audit are slim.
Got a link for that? I looked it up real quick and didn't see a free version. How do you figure up your fuel mileage doing it that way for one? You should also figure how much time you spend stopping. Paying cash will also probably cost you more than those fees that comdata gets you for. Swift gets some good discounts and payin cash won't get it cheaper than runnign it thru them.
figering you fuel mileage is one concern... another for me is you have to log atleast 15 min eveytme you fuel... that would have cut into my hours while i was at swift and running a dedicated account... i always heard people saying they couldn't buy fuel today because it is the end of the period so they will wait till tomorrow and maybe pay more.. i don't get this mentality either... does anyone here thats a L/O purchase fuel in oregon?? i am curious the only time i payed cash for fuel is if i needed it and they didn't take the company card.. yes i payed more but it is cheaper than onroad coming out to fuel me after i ran out...
Would the cash paying customer not receive the same discounts? I see two prices at the pumps-- fuel card price and cash price usually about $0.07 cheaper. My guess (I don't know this for sure) is that Swift gets the 7 cents off price. Again, not sure how much of that savings Swift shares with the lease operator if at all. I see a Comdata charge of $0.34 every time I swipe it for fuel. So paying cash right there eliminates that fee.
