Stevens Transport Aviary . . cont'

I really do not believe pre-plans exist. It is more reactionary of lets plug a truck in here to fill this gap yadda yadda. Best thing I have found is to blow up the phones (dont be obnoxious) and get ahold of the planner for the region you are in the day before you dump and the morning of and ask how you can help them out. If your sitting that long waiting on a load assignment you need to be on the phone with your DM. Also Emailing the planners is very effective as well. If you are alliance and having these issues and your Dm is'nt helping pick up the phone and call Archie. Sometimes it does take patience, but persistence and a willing and able attitude go a long long way. As you establish your rep it goes a long way. Run hard take only your 10 hour breaks and communicate via QC as much as possible. Ask your Dm after your empty if there is a soft plan on you and if they can pull the trigger on it. Another thing you can do is call the repower board before you start your clock and ask Greg if he has anything he needs help with in your area as well and if he doesent let him know your willing if something does come up. Trucks do break all the time,.

 

Sometimes having that extra in your tank ends up paying out big on a short run. If the fuel is absorbed into previous runs and you get say a short hop all of that run is profit as your not putting anything in the tank for fuel. It does all balance out in the end. If I can buy fuel for 20 cents below what FSC is for that week you dont think im gonna fill those tanks with every drop I can and make some money on that down the line? I have learned to take a break even or slightly negative week so that the following week I can have a huge payout off of what I have purchased. This running the tanks down to the bottom crap is bad on your fuel filters because you start sucking the trash off the bottom of the tanks and leads to more frequent fuel filter changes and decreased fuel economy. Bite the bullet now and then. If you do run out of fuel guess where all your profit for that week went by having to have a service truck come bail you out not to mention the embarassment of making those calls to get it arranged

 

OK, time for the 'end of holidays' talk.
During the holidays, especially around Christmas, much of the fleet is on hometime.
but we still have freight to move, so we're desperate. It's not uncommon to tell a driver without proper hours to 'go pick it up and we'll repower it later."
Later never comes.
Who are we going to repower the load to? Much of the fleet is on hometime.
So you're going to be stuck with that load.
Not a problem, if we can't repower it, we'll just re schedule it. Not your problem, it's OUR problem (our, being inside operations)
So run it the best you can, even if that means ending up in Bitterroot MT waiting for midnight and your hours to come back.
Every hour you're running, you're making money.
But starting today and thru next monday, most of the fleet is coming back on line.
So we will have lot's of drivers...but the loads drop.
People are now trying to figure out how to drop those holiday pounds, not whether to buy another ham or more candy.
So be prepared. The first couple weeks of January tend to be slow. The meat plants aren't shipping as much, Hershey isn't shipping and Kraft slows down.
So it's not unusual to see lower miles in January.
Plan for it. if you end up with good miles, count your blessings.
For you contractors, now is the time to up your contribution to your Home Time account. Add $15 per week. Don't touch it. Treat it like a Christmas Club fund. Next year when it gets slow, there's another $750 sitting there to get you thru the slow times.
For you company drivers, start putting away a few dollars for a rainy day. Same numbers.
Now is the time to go back to basic training.
Run your loads hard and get them there soon. Often we can get receivers to take the load a day early. But if not, you're a good candidate to use for a repower.
First rule of repowers: Look for a truck in the area that's running ahead on their load.
Don't be afraid to go anywhere. A three drop load that includes the Bronx can have some good miles on it.
And this whole NYC thing is an overrated fantasy of some crusty old drivers.
NYC is easier to drive in and out of than several other cities I can think.
The drivers I see getting the best miles overall tend to say the same thing to me: "I prefer heading (east, west, etc) but just keep me moving."
They will take almost anything and run it hard.
Be aware of your hours, distance, drop times, (can anyone say TRIP PLAN?) and ask for that repower early. If you ask for a repower early, I'm likely to find a better repower than one that I have to just keep moving to the final.
Tomorrow's Lesson: I don't want to go to Cali...

 

I trained every student to use the fuel gauge for one thing: to see if you have ANY fuel. I didn't care if it read full or 1/16 of a tank...we stuck the tanks every morning and every night. And guess what?! In the 4 years I was with Stevens I never ran out of fuel.

 

As a person who has been on the new years weight loss bandwagon in the past, while meat and candy may slow down for a minute, i assume produce, seafood and chicken would see a bump, as well as nursery items prepping for spring.

 

It's still a bit early for nursery. That starts in late March.
It'll be a bit slow in January...always is.

 

Well back to the road again, been chomping at the bit for a few days now. Drives me nuts to sit

 

Sitting on the yard going thru my Or2 class. Listening to everyone ##### about how their friends already have their own trucks with different companies. That scares me lol

 

Must be swiftards. Do you really feel competent enough to go solo at 3 weeks?