No miles

....I dont really think I am high productive scottie?....but thank you...im staying in this area now because the weather all around me is crappy...id like to go east!...But weather has been relatively good here just cold....I dont chain or like snow but every year i play in it some....and i constantly keep up my stats mac 10 and 34...so maybe thats it?...I dont take every load either...i look for the one that appeals to me...sometimes i see it right away....sometimes i compromise with myself as to what to take...sometimes its a heavy one to finish out the week(like the one i took tuesday afternoon..loveland colorado to logan ut 43,000 sams load)I get 70% off of mac 30 and planned the rest.my dm has little or nothing to do with it I think.I dont know what the system or planners look for as far as a trucks stats go to assign loads...wish I did...but I think it is safety.....experience...maybe turndown rate on loads...maybe coz once i take a load its usually drive do my ten...drive....until i get there....I push to get stuff of me with too much time...and I always try to have hours available...

 

2011 - 126,826 miles, 314 days away from home, 44.85 weeks ... average 2,827 miles per week.
2012 - 125,838 miles, 304 days away from home, 43.42 weeks ... average 2,897 miles per week.

2011 inlcuded 2 days while I did my taxes, 3 days breakdown in Little Rock, 2 days lay over in in Turlock and 5 days layover in Willows.

2012, included 2 days while did my taxes, 3 days break down in Valdosta and 2 days in Phoenix getting my new truck.

Secret to getting loads - First, you have to know you can do it. Set a goal and expect to do it each week, let your DM that you expect it. I don't worry about length of trip, 1 3000 mile trip or 6 500 mile trip, I don't care. ... I have only a handful of restrictions - No Oregon, rest of the NW only with considerations. No New York City, No Boston ... beyond that I run anywhere. last have feel for the freight lanes ... this time of the year I will leverage being an O/O and refuse to go where there is no freight, so far this year I've looped through the NE 8 times.

 

There are some things that I am doing this year that I did not do last year, Friday afternoon delivery in a area that either freight is bad or very close to a large terminal, refused unless I have a back up for the weekend. Too many times last year I sat when I did not do that. East and NE during the winter, avoid at all costs. My DM knows that I only ask for a avg of 2800 miles per week. He agrees that this is not asking for much and that they are very easy days. He also knows, push comes to shove, I will push, and then he understands when I have to take a 34. He just looks at my hours. He also knows that if I have at least 8 to run in a day and will be picking up more for a few days in a row, like 9 or so, I will just decide to run and not take a break. Also he knows where by preference is, and that is where I can get some good MPG and not pay out the nose for fuel.

 

I have had an interesting few days down here in southern California. Weather website says the rest of the country seems to be getting hammered by snow and the safety messages on the qualcomm say to watch out for bad weather too.

Funny thing is that most of the load offers were for destinations to or through Colorado. The ones going to Arizona and Texas I adjusted the times on but were all pulled off. There was one that picked up 1500 today and delivers 0700 tomorrow, live load live unload 400 miles 38 miles mt. Adjust the time, they say doesn't meet the customer's needs lol. 34 hour break almost up, will see what big Friday brings.

 

Trying to adjust live load/unload times can be difficult.
It usually only works well with preloaded and drop times.

My next load is a preloaded that picks up at 2200, and delivers at 0200 - 28 hours later, and a live unload.
I didn't need to adjust the times, but who in their right mind wants to live unload at 0200?
Not me, for sure. And I hate running at night.

 

No one wants to but I have many times and I was always on my break so I logged deliver after 10 was up I wasn't going to get screwed over

run night is fun I do it everyday less idiots on road just gotta watch for drunks

 

I don't really mind the idiots, I just can't see far enough at night.

Well, unless I can use the high beams. Which isn't often enough.
Being in a Volvo doesn't help one bit. They have the worst low beams of any truck I have driven.
I HAVE to use the fog lights - sorry to drivers that hate that.

Night driving is more stressful to me, it gives me headaches. And in certain wee hours it seems that I am tending to fall asleep.
Dangerous for everyone.

It wasn't always this way. I used to love night driving.
Guess I am getting old, or something.
So I try to adjust my schedule to drive during the time of day that I am most... useful.

And just my luck. My next load picks up at 2200, and delivers at 0200 the next night.
Sigh

 

All works for me but always been a night person ya if u get tired that's not good I don't like sunrise I like to be parked if possible

 

When it is 1500 today live load, deliver solo driver 400 miles tomorrow 0700 live unload, I'm seeing that's more than 14 hours? The only way I figure the planner was thinking, have me drive over to the shipper 10 hours or more before the pickup, do the arrival 10+ hours ahead of time, go off duty and/or sleeper then creep in at appointment time off duty, get loaded and creep back out on the street off duty and wait til about 2230 or so and bang out the 400 miles for the live unload lol.

I had a load like this the other day, 56 miles empty, 658 loaded (679 in reality) but they wanted it there in 15 driving hours through California and Oregon (55 mph) and a little bit of Washington (60 mph on short stretches). I sent a mac 22 that I would be 2 hours late, they told me that is a service failure. They did reschedule the load, but I did arrive after all 1 hour and 7 minutes late from original appointment and got unloaded no problems.

My perspective, when Plus 1 first came out it was like we had to mac 22 every single load. Now it's like run run run don't stop, don't mac 22 or automatic service failure. If I adjust the times, they remove the loads, if I take it and mac 22 it, they threaten service failure left and right. The only loads I can for sure take are the ones with too much time then the next load delivers next pay period. I'm on a 2000 mile run right now delivers Tuesday morning, they offered me another load already but delivers Thursday next week. I turned that one down because I'd like to add 500 or 800 or even 1000 miles before Wednesday cutoff. They are refusing to remove the load I refused. I think someone is trying to get rid of me lol.

 

That, plus it likes to push the 70 right to the limit.
This past week has been like that. Running off recycled hours and I usually have to push it to within 3-10 minutes of running out of time on my 70.
A couple night ago I stopped with 4 minutes left, so I couldn't even log a post trip.