Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

T/A near downtown Nashville, TN.

I'm in direct view of the Nashville downtown skyline and the stadium here at the T/A. I like the wifi towers they have here. They are much higher than the ones at Loves and Fly . T/A uses Interstate Wifi services and Loves and Fly J/Pilot use Wandering Wifi. I think the T/A might have a better service.


Trying to set a daily mileage record (legally and safely) is more difficult than it seems...

The total mileage, loaded and empty, on this last run was 2257.3 according to my Rand McNally. Great mileage. I was going to push for a new daily mileage record the other day but when I checked my drive hours remaining versus the distance I had left to beat my last record, I realized that the stars were not going to align and give me a new record.

My most recent record was 655 miles in one shift. Parked legally, within my hours legally and in a place Swift mgmt. would approve. That was a few months ago. This one I documented with a picture of my total miles that I promptly sent to the sole remaining Swift driver that I went to class with. Him and I challenged each other not long after we started driving.

The other day I think I made it to about 635('ish) miles when I realized that I just wouldn't make it if I pushed for the next rest area. Plus there was the unknown variable that there might not be parking there. If that was the case I didn't have an out. Which is part of the problem of trying to make a daily mileage record. There are so many variables involved.

The push for a record would really have to be done using electronic logs for obvious reasons of keeping things kosher. And, using a company truck governed at 62-65 plays a part as well.

Ideally you have to begin early in the morning, I would say at 0400 or 0300. That way you can be assured that you will most likely find parking when your 11 runs up. The best days are those days when you don't have a pickup or drop, just pretrip and start running. Take that mandatory 1/2 break sometime after your 6th hour of on-duty and you are good to go.

The other variable is estimating accurately where you will shut down. The last time I hit 655 miles I shut down with about 10 minutes or less of my 11 hour expiring. I knew up ahead that there was a scenic pullout off the side of the road and based on the other rest areas I passed, I could reasonably determine that there would be parking. The rest areas I passed were not full and had plenty of parking so I could deduce, with some accuracy, that the pullout might have space. It did. Luckily.

The key is also not to drink or eat too much early on in the day so a bathroom break would be required. Of course there are ways around this but for safety's sake and the sake of a comfortable bladder, it's best to keep fluids to a minimum.

I find that running out west or maybe somewhere in the Midwest that is not too populated or prone to traffic is the best area for making a run for a mileage record. I prefer out west running in states like Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, etc. As long as I stay out of the population centers and away from traffic it works out well.

I think when I hit the 630+ the other day I was running between Butte, Montana on I-90, cutting across 280 in Montana through that far northeast corner of Wyoming and I ended the drive somewhere further east of Sturgis in Wasta, SD. If that's the correct day with the 630+ miles. It's hard to tell on my computer because on the 8 day summary the mileage will run into the next day's mileage if I drive after midnight, such as I did that evening.

I ran into some problems that night with a lot of deer and wildlife in the road. I think it was on 280 (near the Crow Reservation in MT) heading east southeast that I started seeing a lot of deer. I had a couple of close calls and had to slow down a few times. That slowed my progress a little. Plus the weight and hills didn't help completely. Which brings me to another variable...weight.

The lighter loads are much easier for running for a new record. This last load was just shy of 19,000 lbs. That helped quite a bit but since my truck is neutered, I still lost speed going up some of the grades and hills. If you have a heavy load it's probably best to wait to beat records unless the terrain is relatively flat.

The final factor is weather. Any kind of inclimate weather will slow you down. This time of year is the best for running records. Pretty soon it won't even be worth trying.

So I guess my record for now is at 655, set a couple of months ago. I know I hit higher, I thought something like 662, but that might have been when I was in training with an owner/lease operator truck. Plus, if you run teams, it's easier to get a little higher miles since you can stop at the tail end of your driveable hours and switch drivers. That will get you out of a questionable area pretty quickly.

I wouldn't try and run that many miles in a day if I didn't have plenty of hours on my 70. Typically and ideally I like to run between 8-9 hours a day, everyday to keep my recap hours coming back strong. That doesn't usually happen but it would be ideal. Since I had a fresh 70 this week I figured it wouldn't be bad to run my 11 out for one day.

Guess I'm going to have to wait until next spring before I can run for another daily mileage record.

 

Good point. As long as the wildlife can be avoided. That's true about the minimal traffic though. I may have to wait and try to make another run for it when I 'm out there.

 

Not sure if I'm coming back to Swift yet after vacation.

I called recruiting today to ask about the sign on bonus. It's in effect right now ($750 on the first check) but he didn't know how long it was going to continue. He couldn't answer any of my other questions and deferred the questions to my DM. He sounded less than enthusiastic for a recruiter. Wish I could remember who hired me to begin with so I could speak to her.

I called benefits and asked when my benefits expire. She told me they expire on the date Swift puts in my termination. This could be a problem as I have to get a new DOT physical next week (before my trip, after I clean my truck out) and I need a couple more vaccinations. The shots are expensive without insurance so I need to get them while I'm still covered.

I called HR and asked if I could take 30 days leave of absence and then extend it. She said I couldn't. Only time anyone can take longer than 30 days is if their situation falls under the FMLA - Family Medical Leave Act. So barring me getting pregnant, looks like that won't work.

So I'm faced with what to do this Sunday when my hometime is scheduled. I guess I could clean out my truck completely, start my "home time" and get my vaccinations and DOT physical knocked out. Then I would have to drive back up to Richmond (not something I'm looking forward to), turn my keys in, hand in my termination notice and be on my way.

I'm really on the fence right now whether I should come back to Swift. The one part of me wants to come back because I'm familiar with the system. There is almost always freight and I would like to have that continuity with one company to clean up my work history. But the other side of me wants to go somewhere else, see if I can make more money and cut my ties.

I know there are those that hate Swift for various reasons. I know there are a lot of ex-Swifties that have found greener pastures. But my experience overall has not been bad. Maybe I'm ignorant because this is my first company. But I know of some that left Swift only to return later. I've heard and read the horror stories of others at other companies and that scares me. What if I change companies only to be miserable at a new company? I don't want to hop around from company to company. If I change companies I want to be at the next one for at least 5 years. And I want to make money and be comfortable. It's all the unknowns which make it difficult to switch. I've got a lot to think about. Maybe I just need to research more on this forum and think about it while I'm on vacation.

 

I was thinking that might be a possibility too. I've been talking to other drivers about companies that I might be interested in. So many opinions out there.

 

Still waiting on a load to get to my hometime. Every preplan they are sending me is either going in the wrong direction with nothing behind it or it is terminating one state away and a day too late. Unbelievable.
This seems to happen every single time when I'm planned out of Memphis. Every time.

What's more annoying is getting that handout a while back where Swift states they are taking even greater strides to get us home on time. There is a great divide between what the corporate powers that be state and what is actually practiced. There is a disconnect. I've talked to my DM already about this and he is working on it with no success.

And despite my mac 9's turning down these loads for hometime, they keep sending them over and over again.

And Swift wants to retain drivers? This will not help in my opinion.