Advice for the Noobs...

Turn and burn as fast as you can. Get to the customer early and they may just take it early. Many times I have showed up 1 or 2 days early and the customer said; "your early. What the heck, go ahead and back into that dock over there and we will take it off for you."

This has worked about 75% of the time over the years for me. Its easy for a customer to say over the phone; "no we can't take you today," but if you show up they may feel obligated to take it off of you. A good sob story like; "I am really trying to get home for my kids birthday party, or my wife is sick, or having a baby," or whatever you can think of. Tugging on sympathy strings to get that load off early is worth it to me.

I mean after all thats why we are out here; To make as much money as we can as fast as we can. So dont goof off, get to it!

 

A good sob story? What about the guy with the good, but TRUE sob story who may be delayed because of another driver, who showed up a day or two early?

 

If the fella had an appointment the customer will take them. Otherwise its every man for himself.

The sooner you new guys realize that the sooner you guys will become successful at the trucking biz. I can't worry about the other guy and his appointment times.

I signed up for me and my families financial welfare. This "attitude" has served me well over the years and I am certain that other veterans use similar tactics (where do you think I learned it from? answer; top performing, highest earning, drivers in the company).

 

When you're a day early and I'm 2 hours early and you're in my dock... it causes a delay.

Not that I usually have this issue, being a flatbedder. I can only think of two docks I've bumped, both on the same load.

 

There's places that unload you, if you show up, there's places that could care less, with every trucking company, I believe you have to work your way through that mess. I cannot believe that a good driver who has been with a company two or more years has to deliver to the jugheads that take up to six hours to unload two coils, why would a good driver stay with you if you keep sending him to the scrap heap?

 

I'll get a mouthing by somebody for this,but I'll tell you how I'd run it.If I was running it ,it would be bovines ,so I would grab me a big meal and a shower and load my fridge(you can't really "pre load ,but say the barn loads em' and you won't need the shower right after).

I'd roll in talking trash on the radio to Supertrucker about him being a lightweight goober grabber that had better stay with me or I would talk to his GF all the way there and 'splain all the reasons that I was a better man than him.After I got him pissed,I'd let him roll first and set the pace at around 85 or whatever he was brave enough to run and let him front door about a mile ahead of me and everytime I could actually see him,I'd gouge him a bit on the radio to keep him rolling good...If I was lucky,it would be around Wamsutter before I lost him as a front door to a Wyoming Highway Patrolman.I would be so far ahead of the game by then that while I waited on the WHP to finish their duties with my running mate, I would stop for a picnic at the next service road,take a catnap,gouge my riders up and roll the rest of the way 5mph over running front door for Supertrucker and cruise in WAY ahead of time and tell the boys at the barn to"Get my crash helmets off of them and get em' off the wagon or I'll start eating em' one at a time".Course,that's just me.