Delivery times

I ran for outfit that hauled loads for the entertainment industry.Sets,props,lighting and wardrobe among other things.Broadway shows and music tours.Now,I did this back in the late 1980's but the pay was great.What I made back then won't equate to todays dollars but as an o/o it was fine.$1600 a week pay to the truck.They paid for fuel and maintenance,also truck washes.Hotel discounts were great or free to cast and crew or me.Food and shower could be found free at most major venues.Some weeks the mileage would be 700 or over 2500.If I needed a co-driver to do a direct shot to a theater,they would fly one in,if I couldn't run it legal.There was also a 10 cents per mile bonus at the end of the tour.The least amount of miles I did for a single tour was 16,000.You also don't unload a thing.Union shops do it all at each destination,I just dropped the trailer at the venue.As far as hours,every day was different depending on the next cities destination.Sometimes 150 miles,sometimes 1400.My night would start about 11.30pm.Back the trailer in,if I wasn't already at the dock,and go back to sleep until 1.30am until the trailer was loaded.There were times when they couldn't get a co-driver out,I ran way over hours,but the load to the theater opening was more important than my beauty sleep.If the transportation company couldn't get the load to the theater on time for opening there were alot of liability issues.They would get the load to an airport and air freight it out.It was a great job but you stay on the road at least three months and sometimes six depending on the the tour.I got out of it after awhile only after my wife said I wouldn't have a wife if I stayed.Still,not a bad way to earn a living.

 

79 cent restart?

I like that!

And then, there were the *Ghost Riders* who shared drivin' duties -- that only existed on paper.
I always named my ghosts
Richard Cranium (Dick Head)
and he always helped me git'er done.

YuP!
That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, too.
I bet YOU understand where I'm comin' from and probably where I'm goin' (with this).

HeY!
Me TOO!
And I was actually paid those better bucks to THINK.
Imagine that!

Are you factoring in the FUN and challenge aspects?
Man-0-Man!
I've met Pam Anderson when she was doin' Baywatch and worked with the Hawaiian Tropic Girls.
Rough job!
Not to mention well-known watercraft and motorcycle racers on a regular basis.

YuP!
The company had a few mottos --
*Your Big truck can be ANY color you want it to be --- as long as it's white.
*Thou shalt NOT be seen in a dirty Big truck -- ESPECIALLY the "painted" (other than white) show trucks.
*Throw money at the problem.
MAKE it HAPPEN!

YeAH!
And some of the places they expected us to say were, .... well,..... like the time in Sandy Eggo, California, we were holed up in a four or five star hotel with a view of the beaches. My supervisor had the Governor's Suite. And even my private room had gold fixtures and a stocked wet-bar.
But the BEST part was the valet parking. Even our box vans wouldn't fit in or under the parking structure, so we were parked right outside the main entry.
Very convenient.

To some, that might seem bad, -- but when you're an O/O on salary, and factor in the less wear and tear on the Big truck, as well as less road-use taxes, it think the mileage is quite acceptable.

Same here.
And I've chalked up many air-miles as a result of being dispatched for just such an assignment.

Ahhhhhh, .... yes!
Perks.
Gotta love those perks.

That's right!
In fact if y'all don't have a union card -- they WON'T LET you touch a thing. That's a BIG No-No!
I know.

Rarely a dull moment.

One look at me, and that'll drive the lack of beauty sleep effects home.

And the kicker is, I rarely ever heard those drivers cryin' that they wanna go home. We ALL knew what the job was when we took it -- and as for me, that's WHY I took it.

Not a bad way at all, IMO.
But I well understand that a gig like that ISN'T for EVERY driver -- for various reasons.

But, after a photo session in Key West -- with the Hawaiian Tropics Girls, and I signed up for more tours.
That event became a 20"x30" poster.
Signed by them all.

Like I said before ---- it's a rough life.
But SMOEbody has to do it.
Right?

 

When I was a young man back in the mid 80's I played cowboy at my job. Had my CDL but wasn't restricted by the book because I was local and routinely ran my little truck just as long as I pleased. "I HAD TOO" to make decent coinage on percentage. Was a lot of fun, whip out two weeks work in any seven day period. Pull onto the shoulder for a cat-nap if I thought I was going to nod off. 20 minute snooze to get me the rest of the way to the house so I could grab 4-5 hours of real sleep, check the clock and the calander and do it again. Went 7 years without a vacation and only one sick day, and one day off a week. Nice house, 2 new cars, pretty wife, a kid on the way, and nothing bad ever happened period.

Would have been nicer, thinking about it, if I could have made that money in an 8-10 hour shift though.

Fast forward to today: I'm a little older and my wants and needs as well as my views have changed substantially. Now I realize I was working for not much more than minimum wage, burning the candle at both ends, and I shoulda left that cheesy work-a-thon and made the same money for doing much less. What's the point in the money if you're really to tired ta spend it and enjoy it?

Now, I have a decent job, decent pay, good benefits and don't have to cheat or play cowboy. The company doesn't want me too and I don't want too either. They apparently charge plenty, or atleast enough, so that there is enough to go around.

I hear alot of guys whinning about the Mexicans or foreigners coming up and doing our jobs for cheaper than what they are worth.

To me, having to cheat on the rules is just another version of the same thing. I'm a "good ol'boy" and I "gitter done" I do whatever it takes.

Sure you do "Hoss" you're peddling your labor cheaper than the law allows.

If what the company wants won't fit in the book, that is their problem and they need to work it out with less dinking at the dock.

Hoss, it's alot like bragging you work over-time every week for your base wages.

Oh except that would be silly??? well to some it would be, I know I wouldn't work over without over-time pay.

The book gives you 11 hours. If you're giving the company an extra one, good for you and your feather in your cap. Maybe they will up the hours so we all have to follow that example? Me, I'd prefer they cut the hours down and hire more drivers. I know I'll get the same pay as I do now because I won't work for any less.

I suppose I could be driven out of the market (under-bid), seems there is always somebody somewhere willing to do more for less or cut corners to keep what they've got instead of forcing the burden where it belongs.

Economy in the toilet and nearly every company still hiring drivers while they cry there is a shortage. I wish somebody would have a big meeting and let the heads know there isn't any shortage of labor they just aren't as yet, willing to pay enough to make it worth-while. Which is why there is so much turn-over in the industry. Up the pay to 70k or 80k and you'll have all the professionals you need. Start at 30k??? and you see what we got going and hopefully why...

 

OK let me clarify a few things im6under...ahhh there was NO company mandating that a driver ran illegal...had my own authority own name on the truck.....we were outlaw grain haulers ahh yes that says it all......they are a breed all their own they are their own man and they are not driven by company mandates they have slid off their saddels an onto a Bostrum air ride seat with all the bells and whistels......these men could never work in a cage...they have come from the open range and farm fields of America they are self employed self made men and it is NOT that the load is mandated there beyond a reasonable time frame it is that if you can get one more load that week by hustlein' along then that is the gravy.....You have apparentley never spent hours on end in a grain line in St. Louis....you have never spent 4+ hours digging off a load of hot fishmeal that you brought up from the gulf to a feed mill.............it is a hot sweaty dirty job for which somebody has to do more than drop and hook or open the doors and back up to a dock and sleep. and by the way there is nothing in my mid-west town that will bring in an income of 85,000 profit 175,000 gross.....no 8-10 hr shift exist here that pays that kinda money.....its not about $/hr kinda job its about seein whats on the other side of "the Far Blue Mountains" the Sacketts series and if thats what makes the man happy then let him do it. Its a challenge that they have to meet every day.......
Cheeting on the rules...I deleted the rest of my thoughts friend but if you are going to be a legal begal then you must do so even in your 4-wheeler every aspect and every law.

 

Same here, --- except that I ran the lower 48 States, and I've been to all of them.

Not for me!
Those were some of the best times I had in my life --- along with the work.

I know the feelin', amigo.
I'm older than you are.

My wages were capable of being well above the accepted "standard" pay --- but there were other perks, ............ such as customers who slip a $50 or $100 bill in your shirt pocket just for rollin' a motorcycle down the ramps -- off the trailer for them.
Down hill -- all the way.
When was the last time y'all have heard of a grocery warehouse doin' that?

And, riding snowmobiles and personal watercraft and motorcycles at special events. That was part of the assignment. All new stuff. Top of the line.
Have fun.
Git 'er done.

Staying with a Boat Show at the Cow Palace (of all places) in San Francisco -- for 14 days. Parked with a rent-a-car, with rooms in a very nice motel, and close to Fisherman's Wharf and the prison on the island -- just to visit, of course.
All the while being paid at LEAST as much as a driver would running "good" miles -- for sittin' and explorin' different cities.

O/O's LOVED the job -- and their Big trucks lasted longer. Even 10 year-old trucks looked like new and ran even better.
One O/O had a "White Cat" under the hood of his older Pete. On a run from Denver to Salt Lick City, there weren't too many Big trucks that could stay with him -- even if they were empty and he wasn't.

I don't know whether to say 'congratulations' or 'I'm sorry'.

And therein lies the solution.
Raise the dad-burned freight rates!
That's why I prefer the smaller 'nitch' companies.
I don't remember too many million dollar plus loads drivin' for Schneider -- but they were common at the second company I drove for. And NO Shakle-N-Bake loads.

I think they have good reason to "whine".
I live in California and I'm SEEIN' what it's doin', and it ain't pretty.

Don't misunderstand me here. I didn't HAVE to drive as I've described. I was a willing to go for it, and did.

Now I'm confused.
Did you just to a 180?

Would those be the same "laws" that LIMIT my earning potential, based on "rules" that don't always work? And often screw things up?

Normally -- I'd agree.
But not ALL companies are "normal". For some, failure is NOT an option.
We covered our dispatchers' buttoxes --and in return, they covered ours. Big time!

Unless one receives perks as overtime pay -- and the perks are worth it.
Did I mention that when we were workin' with the Hawaiian Tropics Girls I was a single guy?
And groupie chicks at the watercraft demos who'd like a tad more seat time -- which we could easily provide after-hours and/or after-our's.
Shux Howdy --- some of the warehouse workers HAD to fly to Hawaii for a week and the Bahamas for two weeks -- then Key West, Florida for another week -- for that portion of the photo shoot.
All expenses paid -- to mostly sit around. I don't recall them whinin' about overtime pay either.
And when the photo shoot was over, they had the option of stickin' 'round for a few days to 'relax', or goin' home.

Good.
I'd call that job security for those of us who do what we LOVE to do. And do it WITH love.

How smart is a "book"?

I'd like to have an Eagle feather.

Maybe.
And MAYbe ALL drivers will have enough common sense to know their OWN limitations, rather than having to look up the answer in a gubmint inspired, 79 cent book -- available at most Big truck truck stops.

. That seems kinda selfish.

I agree.
Although cutting corners at the expense of safety is un-excusable.

There's a business reason for that.

I hate to burst your bubble, but, they already are aware of that.

And that "turn-over" in the industry is also generating a profit for them, too. If things don't seem to make any sense, follow the Money Trail.

There are truckin' companies that realize a larger profit for their investors by keeping their Big truck seats filled with cheaper, newBee labor.
Chew 'em up and spit 'em out.
Plenty more where they came from --- attitudes.

What it all boils down to is, one person's floor can be another person's ceiling. Whatever floats your boat and keeps you happy is what'cha oughta do.
As long as y'all are doin' it SAFELY.
IMO

 

After 30 years of hauling everything that you could think of using flatbeds, reefers, vans and furniture vans from coast to coast and top to bottom. Spend two and half years running freight from the states to Canada. Was a O/O from 1982 to 1985.
One day I woke up tired, overweight, high blood pressure and just plain tired of living and I wanted out of trucking. Spend one year and six months as a shop foreman behind a desk, liked it but driving a truck paid better. I decided to go back to trucking but I was going to truck on my terms not a company or dispatcher terms. Some of the rules I had to live by was no 24 hours straight driving, no driving 10 hours and then unloading my freight, no running a illegal log because some dispatcher is not smart enough to set up a load, when I go home I go home for 48 hours not for 6 hours and let the company call that my weekend off and I don't drive between 01:00 and 05:00 because I feel better and have a better outlook on life when I sleep during these time. When I hired on at my next driving job I made it very clear that these was rules I was going to live by and if they did not like it then don't hire me. I worked for that company for 9 years and I have now been working for my present company for 8 years. Same rules for the second company as the first.
The results of these rules was that I made more money by being rested and covering more miles in a good mood. Now I laughed at these drivers that are in a bad mood and screaming and cussing on the radio because of a back up in traffic.
When I got home I was a nice guy to my family and felt like doing things with my wife and kids instead of sleeping all of the time.
I now look forward to going back to work every week and enjoying the life of a truck driver. I don't worry about the log book because I run legal and I have a OBC.
If you drivers think you are being a hero by running day and night then you are wrong. Yes, your company or broker will pat you on the back and say good boy but when you get into that bad accident you will be on your own because the trucking company or broker will feed you to the wolfs. Yes it so heroic to say you have been up for 3 days straight but you will pay the price someday by either being in poor health or killing some innocent four wheeler or driver.
I was just reading the internet today about a driver that ran over a four wheeler and killed a 18 year old girl and the driver is now looking at up to 40 years in jail because he was trying to be a hero. As I was taught in the Army in 1971 was that a good hero is a dead hero because a wanna be hero will get more people killed then anybody else.
The question is are you man enough to tell your boss you are not running illegal or not? Try getting more rest and you will see you will feel better, enjoy life more and make more money. Or you can keep on being used by your broker or company to make them more money while you think your being a hero. Ask your company or broker if they will keep on paying you when you lose your CDL to tickets and see how hard they will laugh.
I got my last ticket in a truck in 1981. The boss man needed a load delivered from Indiana to L.A. from Sat. at noon to 08:00 on Monday morning. I got the load there on time but I good 2 tickets on my way to L.A. but when I give those tickets to my boss to pay he just laughed and ask me if he looked like a fool. The only fool in that room was me for getting the tickets for this ungrateful boss and I have not been any other boss's fool since.
Remember when your on the CB whining about the tickets you got and the lost sleep and the boss has no respect for you then you know I am laughing my butt off because some driver hasn't learn his lesson yet.
If life sucks then just remember its your life and what are going to do about it.

 

Well I figured I was p'ing in cherios when I posted that but still figured it needed said.

No hard feelings on my part.

I did haul grain, hay, beets and beans in northern utah and southern idaho so I know a little bit about shoveling the load off.

I also know the shareholders want to keep you very poor. Not poor enough you'll revolt, just poor enough you'll never get ahead. (more for them)

I think guys are cheating the book to pound out more miles for more money instead of demanding fair compensation.

If you were on a flat salary would you be nearly as compelled to pound out the miles or would you be complaining about grocery warehouse delays???

heck you'd have a tennis court strung up between rigs hoping they didn't get to you until next tuesday...

but you're being paid by the mile and they do this for a reason. It's not because they couldn't pay you more, its because now they don't have to.

Labor is a cost of doing business just like diesel. You don't think they're charging the same now as they were last year do ya?

rant rant rant.... difference of opinion I suppose...

 

I don't eat Cheery-0's so my bowl is still clean.
Besides, what'cha had to say was said very well.

None on my part either.

You've got me there.
Those are loads I've never hauled.
But I hauled cotton seed once.
And I stayed at the Holiday Hotel last night.

I doubt most investors even pay any attention to the workers who make the investor's dividend checks possible.

They say, the squeaking wheel gets the grease -- but in Big truck truckin', the squeaking wheel gets replaced.

When I ran on a flat salary, it was a local gig --- delivering mostly to grocery warehouses, and the main reason why I left the employ of that company and found something more to my liking.

And they don't HAVE to raise the freight rates either. Do they?

If so, they've obviously not raised the rates enough -- or we wouldn't be seeing some of the larger truckin' companies goin' under or cutting back drastically.

Differences of opinions is a good thang.
And I think you handled your "rant rant rant", pretty well well well.

 

ROFLMAO!!!

 

Uh-Oh!
Don't tell me YOU were in the adjoining room, were you?
I heard someone bangin' on the wall.
If that WAS you ---- I'd appreciate it if you'd remain mum 'bout what'cha probably heard.
What goes ON in the Holiday Hotel
STAYS in the Holiday Hotel ----- right?

You're a good poster in MY book.