Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

Somebody asked before about scheduling your time... It really depends on the loads you have. If I'm just running on any given day, I plan on knocking out 8 hours of driving because I know that way I'll never run out of hours! Plus I have a very good idea of whether or not I can make my next load when I'm only recapping 8 hrs a day. If there are a couple of days sitting then you just have to pay better attention and realize you can really run for a few days without screwing up your recap. If I am on a fresh 70 and they offer a 2,000 mile load that delivers in 3 and 1/2 to 4 days I'm running 8 on .5 off, 2 on, ten off until I get where I'm going. If you only use rest stops for a pit stop and you run it'll look like you never stopped! But I need my trips to look nice to make me work that hard. If there is no way you can make it, there is no reason to run your clock dry... I think knowing what's possible is easy but you have to make sure your DM knows what's going on and trusts you to do a good job. I screwed up royally the other day and I just got another load headed in a different direction. That happened because I don't make mistakes like that most of the time. Everybody runs differently and some people would rather have a day off here and there to be a tourist. I'm only out here to get paid so when I run out of hours or have to sit around somewhere with no fishing and no beer, something's not right in my world! Oh, I plan for around 4 hrs at the receiver to cover them being slow and the truck wash being full, 2 hrs if it's a drop n hook. Also don't try to calculate at 65mph, you're never gonna get that kind of average speed. Shoot for 50mph, it's closer to real time, especially if you run into the unexpected. Good luck y'all!

 

New driver with a new DM? I smell trouble.

 

AMERO is rochelle? Thats a d&h location, IIRC. I don't know where ameced is, so I probably haven't been there

 

Cedar Rapids, IA.

So can I call these places and ask if this specific load is D/H or not? Whether it be a 01 or 99. I thought it was up to the DM to find out at your 99 if you can drop, or is that only if youre early?

 

if you have a phone number you have the authority to make a call. The first time I ever did this I was trying to bump an appt earlier and When I told them I drive for central they said "you guys just drop here anyway." Be proactive and save yourself the trouble of waiting on some DM to do it for you. YOU are the one who will make more money because of these phone calls, so no one has more incentive to do it than you.

 

Ok great. I figured as much. but wasn't sure if that made it kook like you were going behind your DMS back or not.

 

You'll find when your DM has a real fleet they prefer less contact to more. Ever see a busy DM in the war room? The fun never ends for these guys. One less phone call is one thing off their to do list.

 

Unloader - the radio is yours...I sent you a PM.

 

My experience with sitting waiting to be loaded or unloaded...I just started communicating (bugging) my DM...in a nice but matter-of-fact way. I do agree that one less phone call is better for them to get other hot issues taken care of...but then again, I got to the point where I wasn't sitting too long or if I did, it was made up for with the next few loads.

Not that the DM's are there to babysit you, because they really don't want to do that - however, good communication and doing what you say you would do goes a long ways. I busted buns at times to get done what I needed to get done and was mostly awarded for getting the job done. Yes, I did sit at times to where no one could do anything about it, but usually, I was able to keep rolling...just my viewpoint.

 

I got screwed a few times with loads like that. I picked up a load and went to deliver it and was still sitting there when my original load showed up with the other driver, and they unloaded and left before I did. I was there over 8 hours and no detention pay because the load was late. I agree with the check with your DM policy.
As a DM myself I know that we are judged by how well we move freight and how many miles our drivers run, even if that means screwing over another DM's driver to do it. It is unethical and makes people hate you, but the temptation is there, unfortunately.