Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

Monday is getting closer! I will be leaving Sunday Night for the Central Ref school in Conley GA! So excited.

 

Ok. Americold screwed the pooch!! My preload turned into a live and I was running to get there on time! I only had two hours when they started loading it so I had to go back to the t/s and do some thinking. After talkin to my lady for a while and really looking at things and then speaking with my rep over at ATBS (a helpful conversation actually!) I've come to a few conclusions. The main one is I'm an idiot sometimes. First off I missed two checks because with a deductible coming out my week costs around $1,000 fixed!! Ouch. So missing a while is very bad. Point number two, I came by the house for the night the week after I left... And the week after that, and probably this week as well. It's not that I'm asking for it. But if I have time on a load and my best friend promising supper and a warm bed... Well, she wins over miles every time!! Lol. So my apologies to the universe, my DM, and any of the newbies who can't sort normal driver grief from the actual truth! It is not that bad and 2,500 is a slow week for me, I just seem to have two or three in a row some months. I'll make a part two on what I learned today with some useful numbers. I broke 8.0 mpg on a 500 mile trip today going 64 miles an hour!!! Turning off the AC was the last little oomph I think I needed, and maybe better concentration on my shifting. Oh, last thing here, the half of Kentucky I am in is in a different time zone than the one I'm going to tonight! Great job KY!! I waited til the last minute, drove 7 hours with one break, and showed up promptly one hour late!! My bad. Lol. This one is on me so if there's no detention and I'm late for my next load it's kinda all my fault! Doh! First screwup in at least 24 hrs. Be back with some reasons I hate money either after I eat supper or when I get to my next load. Stay safe y'all (and use your cruise control, I cursed somebody on the way down here in a red freightliner! Might've been a student)

 

Best of luck.

 

frost I know it always seems like its always you with me but I have to ask why did you lease, it seems like company driver might of suited you better for a little longer with hometime and all that. Just curious just seems that taking time off and what you are saying maybe company driver was better for you. I was company for 3 years cause I knew I wanted hometime and solo is hard and I know people do it but company worked for me

 

I don't remember how it breaks down but it seems to me and I probably am wrong but at 2500 miles wouldn't you make more money as a company driver I didn't lease I don't remember the breaking point

 

Yes and no. I'm too exhausted to mess with numbers. I've never had a significant other with breast cancer. I kind of underestimated it because everybody said "with the medicine they have these days..." Lol. Apparently I'm an easy sell. I jumped on it because I had to sit still for at least four days to get a company truck. I was not in any way about to sit still because I just couldn't do it. Yes I jumped the gun. Yes, I would do it different if I could go back. NO, company is not a better fit for me. When I was just in six months, school wasn't quite paid for and I really didn't know what was involved, it fit better. Now?! There's no way I would go back even if they let me. I'm running mediocre miles, yes but I'm running them poorly on top of that so things will get better. Every check I've had since February has been missing $150 that I did not plan on in my worst case planning. Things happen. I've never had more than I could handle and I seriously doubt I'm gonna get it out here. I bump along and learn as I go. It sucks running solo when you don't know what you're doing but every time you learn something new and you can see $60 here and $60 there... Well, I love it. It's the challenge that has me in this anyway. I forget that on lean weeks. No, you can't go home much and make any money. But you can go home and just get by. After I almost lost my girl, I don't really care how long it takes me to get where I'm going. I'll still get there and luckily, she'll be waiting when I'm through. I'll show y'all where I've been getting it wrong tomorrow. I basically got a $300 raise this week tho. Stupid deductible is gone and I've got my fuel economy back in the green. Thinking my tag line should say "bipolar trucker."

 

I run a company spec freightliner (cheap fixed cost) and my break even vs. company is about 2300 miles (varies with fuel price, mpg, etc.)
Realistically breaking even is going under though, because as a lease op you always have to be ready for that out of left field expense, like a gallon of oil or coolant, light bulb, whatever. 2500 and i'm definitely doing better than company, but not meeting my personal goals.

 

That reminds me, I found it a little amusing when O/O sent me the usual message about how much I'd have made as an O/O I figured the same miles at my .41 cpm and that I would make more than what they figured. Now I just have to see what I kind of miles I get. First week was a little weak but it was also kind of a strange situation. My second week I know looks decent at over 2500 miles and my third is shaping up alright. One thing for sure, the planners I'm working with know how to squeeze loads together when the opportunity arises. (To quote Chevy Chase in Modern Problems) I Like It!

 

If you're running 2500 miles/wk you won't net .41/mi

 

Yep...I didn't mean to imply anything other than the failure of this recruitment tactic in my situation. It certainly doesn't mean I make more than a successful O/O, though it does mean I do better than one that can't make good miles. I'll likely never see 3000 miles in Regional. That's why I'm still looking for a good lease opportunity and I'm looking into other options as well. Regional work is just allowing me a bit of a comfort zone in order to extend my search and not rush in to anything. I couldn't wait very long with my previous pay. All options are open and my eyes are open as well.