One month update.

Just a little update for those wondering about working at Gordon. Im not counting my first week on the job because that was taken up by orientation and picking up my truck in Lathrop. For the last three weeks Im averaging 3036 per week,if you add in my current week my four week average might actually increase by a few miles. I took the advice of one of the other posters and commited to being out for a month, I think a month is more than enough time to get a workable average for miles.

Im not sure if staying out for the longer period had any affect on my miles or not. Next time Im going to go for three weeks out followed by a two week stretch so I can get a real good idea how often taking time off affects my miles. Also I have managed to make it thru without a 34 hour restart. It has been 18 years since I had to work with an 8 day clock,I always had at least one day off which gave me a reset every week. Best advice is just keep a steady pace thru the week,rushing to get in early wont always pay off and may mean your going to be sitting over night for your next load. Also for you new people,keeping a steady even pace will help you with safety as well as giving you a chance to learn how to manage your hours.

There has been alot of sitting which I thought would hurt my miles,most of this sitting was waiting over night to get loaded. I was happy to see that I can get good miles without killing myself everyday. I spent years putting in 18 hour days so the break has been nice. Gordon gave me credit for 240 months of experience which in the reefer division puts me at .40 cpm (.38 non reefer),so despite making much less than I was I will be able to get by. Nice to actually be doing better than what my recruiter (Dave Lowry) told me I should expect.

I have been running for the OTR TC fleet and have really had some nice runs but have not had to go east of IL. Most of the time has been spent running back and forth from the midwest. My current trip started in Clackamas (after siting all day for a "short service") then to Pasco for a live load (4000 lbs) headed to Monroe,WI. Reloaded in Madison WI for Russellville AR. Home time is set for the 18th so Im sure they will be working me towards the coast. By the time I get in for time off it will have been six weeks so Im going to take 4 days off and come back out on the 22nd.

The loads so far have been running 50/50 drop and hook versus live load,unload. I have noticed that some of the preloaded drop and hooks take longer than the faster live loads. Some of the places are real slow and its pretty common to spend an hour at a preloaded drop and hook customer. On the other hand the DM's are pretty good about letting you drop at one of the yards if your running ahead of schedule and there is a facility close by your reciever. Key word here is communication. Another big tip is keep off duty whenever possible,of course you want to follow company policy but managing your available work time properly is important if you want to get those miles.

 

Governed speed for the trucks running in the CA based regional fleet is 55 all others are 63 on cruise.

Yes on the e-logs they are tied in with the qualcom on board computer package.

Bobtail when you need to,they allow 30 minutes of off duty driving each day which allows you to take advantage of the personal conveyance clause found in the DOT regs. Nice to have for those times you want to get out from under your wagon and go eat or shop. Of course you need to be sure your within company policy if your dropping a trailer. Most of the time I use this when Im at a terminal or drop yard.

 

Got a PM from a driver thats moving over to Gordon from another company. Rather than answer his questions on the PM side I thought I would do it here knowing others probably have the same questions.

Routing is suggested by the computer,with that said all I can say is its all about common sense and experience. My goal is less than 2% out of route miles if Im routing different than the computer. Once again common sense and experience are what you need to use.


Heres a good example, on my trip from Madison WI to Russellville AR the computer suggested running the backroads of northeast AR. Being heavy and knowing that route has congestion I opted to stay on the big roads I-55,40 around Memphis. Mileage via computer routing with the empty move from Monroe WI was 862. Running all big roads put me in at 886, just shy of 3% out of route. When I figured my miles for last week I had 3195 dispatched miles and 3229 actual miles which is just a hair over 1% so it all works out if you look at the big picture.


The company does not have the navigation feature activated on the qualcomm. The company knows that there are alot of drivers that are relying on non truck specific GPS units which opens everyone up to a huge amount of liability. My opinion on this is what a lousy way to save a buck,I will leave it there. The company does allow use of your own GPS,once again common sense and experience are your best friends. I highly recomend a unit that has truck specific routing. More than a few people have had major issues with non truck specific GPS units. On a side note I remember back in the day when all we had was a worn out truck atlas and we used pay phones to get directions,dont know how we ever did it,but I digress.


As far as home time and getting there when promised I will have to let you know in a week or so. My first home time request is for 10/18 at RC,we will see how they do. Im in OK now headed for PHX so at least Im headed in the right direction. Having been out over six weeks Im going to take four days off,have been told I should not have trouble keeping my truck but once again we shall see.


Equipment wise I see more and more new cascadias all the time. The chances are pretty good you will end up in a new or near new truck. There are still alot of older trucks running around out there but they are slowly being taken out of service.


Thats about all I have,hope it helps.