driving truck home for hometime ??

Maybe you have to leave the truck at a terminal if you take off for a long time ?

I met a guy that works for Swift a few weeks back , he had just dropped his trailer in the next town over
( about 35 miles ) and drove the truck home but it was just for the weekend .
He said they try to get him a load to drop off close to home & 1 close by to pick up on the way out.

 

I'm a student with no trucking experience and hope someone can explain the point of a company making you empty your personal belongings from the very truck you're going to take home for a few days and then assign you a new one when you return. Is it to be sure you don't use it for your own personal "side jobs" and are able to check the odometer when you're done with it? Otherwise, I don't understand the reasoning and hope can help me learn. Thank you.

 

They make you empty the truck when you leave it at the terminal, if you're planning more than a few days off. Supposedly, it's to keep the truck moving, but in reality, it is to keep you from taking long bouts of time off. At least that was my experience when I first started out. Any big starter company will have a satellite communication device as well as elogs, so you're not going to be doing any "side jobs". Every company's policy is different regarding distances from the terminal and taking home trucks. If you leave your truck at the terminal, you're expected to provide your own transportation to and from work. Most terminals have large car parking lots to store your vehicle.

 

I can figure that one out...If you are the owner of the truck, you want it to make money for you. If it is sitting in someone's driveway it's not making a dime for you. A couple of days...maybe tolerable, but more than a few days...then get someone else to get those wheels turning and making you money. If it's an inconvenience to you, it's no money lost to the owner of the truck. This is exactly why some companies slip-seat for their local drivers. (The truck goes with Fred during the day and Barney at night.) When that truck is moving it makes them money....waiting for Fred to come back the next morning makes them nothing and requires that they find an additional truck for Barney to use during his night shift that would sit idle during the day. 2 trucks for the same amount of $$ that one truck makes. Follow the money trail to understand how a company works.

 

slip seating does nothing but cost the company in truth. then no one takes care of it just like the trailers pass it on

 

Makes sense to me! Thank you both VERY much!