I've put my time in, who pays the most and who runs with faster trucks

Check with local companies. I finally paid enough dues to get away from big company BS. My truck shows 85 and I'd bet money it goes well over. I run 5mph over unless in a town or whatever. Never checked mpg but I can get 600 miles on half tank @ 77-79000#. And that's running the mountains in VA and NC. If I go north I get almost 700 miles.

 

I agree,, whatever that means?

 

Maybe obeying the law but creating a hazard . All studies done on speed limiters and split speed limits concluded trucks going slower than the traffic flow increased the rate of accidents because of the increased number of interactions (passing by other vehicles ) . While conserving their own fuel the increase the fuel consumption of other vehicles that have to brake and accelerate to work around the slower vehicles .
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/columns/article_cfd8ab32-389c-5a98-9f30-823531062131.html

http://fleetowner.com/regulations/nhtsa-speed-limiters-0104/
So carriers like Prime are putting economy above safety . I guarantee they use the same FSC formula while getting better mileage . Somebody should tip Prime's shippers off that Prime is using industry average mpg figures to give an inflated FSC . Actual Prime mpg figures would result in a lower FSC.

 

yes,but there is a difference between a baby bottle and a big truck

 

I believe the biggest factor in making money in this industry is keeping the driver's side door closed. My company cut our trucks from 67-68 to 65 and on my 620 mile run everynight, it only cost me an extra 6-7 minutes round trip. If 6-7 minutes is that big of a deal, you're in the wrong industry. Most folks lose way more time than that sitting at docks (I don't have to do that), truckstop fuel islands (don't do that either), and truckstop restaurants or game rooms (don't do that either). Even having a 70 mph truck wouldn't save me a significant amount of time.

As far as running miles you're not getting paid for, it is what it is. Drivers have been getting shafted for decades by AT LEAST 10%. Try getting on with a company that pays hub miles or one like mine that has set runs with set mileages. We get paid for detour miles as well if we have to go off route.

Unless you buy your own truck, you're going to be stuck running how someone else wants you to, that's just a fact of life. Just try to find a company that fits how you want to run where you can make enough money to survive. For me, I'll put up with a slower truck to make the kind of money I make and having the home time I have (everyday).

 

SlowPoke, there's the #1 misconception right there, that "it's all about time" - sometimes it's about ease of driving and being able to use the left lane in 70% of the nation without pissing EVERYONE off. Sometimes it's about being able to run up before a hill so you can get to the top without having to be at 25 with the flashers on, a huge danger to everyone else around you.

Nothing irritates me more than people who just assume everyone who wants to be able to run faster wants to do so to save time.

 

For me it has nothing to do with gaining or losing time. My truck is not governed, and I have no idea what the top speed is, but it simply is more comfortable being able to drive with the flow of traffic and not be stuck doing 65 when everyone else is doing 70-75.

 

What is this you speak of ??? My truck goes 65mph at the bottom of the hill, and 65mph at the top. Same in-between....... it's not that these companies are slowing down their trucks, it is that they buy trucks with the nuts cut out of them. If a JB truck could do 62mph all the way up then it would not be a problem.

As for the O/P, why not try to find a company that has bigger HP motors? a goverened truck is not bad when it can maintain the same speed up a hill (now I'm not talking a mountain) as it does on flat land. My speedometer tops out at 100mph but the fastest it has ever been is 95mph ONCE across I-80. Most of the time, it is set between 60-65mph for fuel mileage. But i do have to admit, it is nice to be able to buzz buy some guy who can not work his cruise control correctly.