EPES TRANSPORT-Greensboro, NC

Hey Dinky, reading your posts sounds like an exact diary of my mileage and general bs. I haven't requested a time to be back home specifically but once and it just happened to be while my dm was on jury duty. The dm I had covering for him was pretty much an idiot I thought and I stayed on him like glue til I got home when I wanted too. I hope I don't have to go thru any of that crap EVER again. One week I will have preplans before I get a load delivered pretty much all week. Then the next week it seems like the load planner falls off the turnip truck and acts like it is his/her first day on the job and I beg for another load after delivery on every load all week. I can't understand why a driver that wants to run and has a good record getting loads pu/del on time or early has such a hard time getting loads. Then telling other drivers we are really busy and have plenty of work? Don't get me wrong, I like Epes and think I made a great choice going to work with them but I tend to take things too personally and wonder what I'm doing wrong and why I can't get good, pretty consistent mileage weeks. I know every now and again you're gonna have an off week, maybe two but mine are more like every now and again I get a pretty good week -2700 or so and then it's back to 1800 - 2100. I always express my gratitude for good runs and don't say much about the short runs. You know, take what they give you and hope for the best. FlyingM has said before that you can take the short runs and still have a good week and that's true, but only if they send them too you one right after the other.
I just got back in late yesterday afternoon, my preplan is a whopping 270 mile run that delivers at 0430 Monday morning and I have to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. Sounds like a great start to a holiday week huh? haha

 

well guys i just got my short one this week......it happens to all of us.....i'll have 1958 in when i deliver monday 9am.....part of that was a function of staying out and having to run my recap....day 8 gained 0 hours and had to sit 12 hours waiting on the appointment then the load after that i had 727 but 2 days to get there.....all things considered though they did plan around my recap pretty well and i was able to run around hours gained.......if i'm lucky i get something good right out monday from the cons and still can salvage a 25-26 week....but won't hold my breath for it till it happens considering the holiday.

pops, wouldn't have been 2 weeks or so ago that happened would it? that temp dm we had when ours was out truly did have NO clue did they? i only made 1700 that week and they really did have NO concept of communication or followup skills at all......

home for a longish weekend.....got in thursday night late and really don't have to leave until sunday night late if i don't want to....but need full hours to run monday so i'll go midafternoon sunday and be there ready to go monday morning......looked at the sat map and it looks like a few choices of places to park either at the cons or on along the short little deadend street they're on so hope i don't get up there and find out it isn't as promising for parking as it looked lol.....that's happened too....and if i'm already there won't be dealing with pittsburgh traffic at 9am.....and pops made a good point too and goes to why you should always get to the cons and park if you can.....at least your clock is stopped and you can get your break or at lest 2/8 until you get the next run....that's the only real way to make the miles with the elog....you've got to make the trips back up to each other whenever possible....and yeah the short trips add up but only if they fall right......the best way is if you can get 2 of them in over the same day.....doesn't always happen like that but about half the time it works out......you just have to run the clock down as far as you can run it as often as you can

got 6 ranges in the box.....only about 1/3 full and 3507lbs.......no problems climbing the mountain with that one lol

feels good to be home after almost 2 weeks out and for more than just a 34......actually got to watch the race last night as it happened lol and tonight too.....instead of having to watch it recorded a week later after i'd already heard who won.....

promised the wife i'd slave over the grill today in the 103 degree heat.....not really looking forward to that but going to put it off till later in the day.....

 

oh my god....I actually got a 573 mile run! I told DM to keep me out this weekend and I FINALLY got a worthwhile run! From Port Wentworth, Ga. to Woodbridge, Va.....you guessed it...IKEA RUN! S hit, might as well call me Mr. Ikea since last week I was literally an employee of theirs! lol So, to make my hours work, I drove from Port Wentworth and stayed at the Chester yard, by 3 am my 10 would be up and I could log pretrip and be there by 0445 for a 0500 appointment. Well, as soon as I log to "on duty" I get a message on my quallcomm...."Good Morning, Sir. It's 3 A.M.".....I laughed my ### off and replied back, literally, "No it's not, I'm on the West Coast, it just turned Midnight!" lol next thing I know, I get a call....saying, why are you sitting still, you need to get to your appointment. I told Clint, I was waiting on my 15 to be up for pretrip and I'll be on time....I'm never late, I run EARLY!!!!!!!! And when I say EARLY...I mean, my day starts around 2 am, usually...if I can work it that way....he said ok. Then asked why I said I was on the WC when he "dinged" my truck and found out I was at the Chester yard? I just said, well that was an unusual message, I can tell time.....figured I'd wake you up too and give you an unusual message back. haha So I get there at 0450....deliver and get a WHOLE whoping run from NJ to CT! WHOO-HOO, yeay go me....more empty miles that loaded.....but when I came to pick up....they said my load wouldn't be ready until 4 this afternoon....I'll be outta hours.....said I could chill here and take my break and pick up whenever I feel like it....load delivers at 0630.....that's easy for a 147 mile run....So I call dispatch to explain what the whole situation is, since it'd be alot to type out....and this idiot tell me it's a 5 hour run! I said, if it takes you 5 hours to drive 147 miles, you must have old people passing you all the time! lol He said, well, you're up in the Northeast, it'll take that long. I'm sure you guys know, by now, the company is routing us up 1 north to 287 to 87 OVER to 95...NO MORE GW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAY!! That in itself will save a s hitload of time.....especially, since it'll be sunday morning around 0200-0230 in the morning.....so here I sit, planning my next smoking session, my mom got me a gas/charcoal/smoker grill for my birthday, last month(May) and the wife says if she hears that "S" word again, she'll throw up. She loves what I cook tho....I guess Venezuelans don't smoke that much meat.....but they'll eat the h ell out of it! lol

 

Now I know what you mean about falling off the turnip truck. I get a load this morning going from NJ out to North Vernon. Awesome run, but I told dispatch I only had 13 hours left on my 70 and won't get but 8 hours back until Tues. The reply......run slow and go with it, that's all we have. So, now I'm almost outta food, have NO clean clothes and got royally screwed by dispatch. I don't mind helping out, but if it means I can't eat, shave, or have clean clothes, they might as well forget me helping out on the weekends for now! Then to top it all off, they route me in such a long ways, with the hours I got and get back, I won't make it til Weds. If that's the case, I hope someone better be ready to pay my mortgage, cause Lord knows 1200 miles isn't gonna cover it! haha So, I call dispatch going down the road and tell them I can get to the con in under 60-70 miles less, if they give me fuel stops (which I know we have!) along 78 instead of 80...the guys response is....."I don't know how to reset that. Just go with what you have now." Wow! So, I guess I'll hafta call night dispatch and hopefully someone knows how to re-route me in the direction my GPS said is quicker. Well see.......

 

Route is suggested. But they ask you fuel at truckstop with best notice fleet price. You would be surprised the difference between pump price and fleet price! If fuel solutions don't line up the way you want to run, you ask for different stops. Then they ask which way you are going. So they can select cheapist fuel on that route. So not bad.

 

How can you be that short on hours with so little miles? Also who told you you have to log 15 min on pre trip? I think you are on duty a lot more then you need to be.

 

Almost what I said. But the price negotiated can vary. 25 from one ta (or who ever) to the same chain 30 miles away (in same state even) .so they want you to get the best price on the route you chose. .25 time 200 gal is 50 bucks! So I can't blame them! 50 ×700 trucks . 35000 a day , yeah it makes cents .