Does running hard make any difference?

Run as hard as you feel comfortable with. Every trucking company and every driver is different. If I have a long load I like to run my clock out. If its one of these Friday afternoon, deliver Monday morning loads, depending on the distance. I might run it hard if I'll also have time to get in a 34 or I'll just use the weekend to take it easy and find some interesting places along the way to stop and rest, maybe find a place to get in a game of golf. No one can tell you how to run your truck, it's your life, your job, find your pace and enjoy yourself. Life is way to short.

 

Satmantoo, good post. I like to run on my recap, but if I get a chance for a 3,500 mile total on a weekly settlement, I'll run the hours to get there and reset at some boring location. (there are some good stops, just not that many) I like to reset at home, myself. I only do it for the money, so when I'm out, all I want to do is drive. Besides, I like the driving, I'm a pretty good driver, and I'm really crappy at sitting around.

And, as for driving your own rig, your own choices? Right on with that. I bought a truck for that reason. I drive where I want, agree to the loads I pull, and get there on time, both ends so the planners can figure me as a good choice. If I had to go back to company work, especially forced dispatch, I'd quit driving.

 

I wouldn't know, I got my driving experience from an major oilfield service company. Then just recently went to work for a small but experienced flatbed fleet operating mainly in the northwest. If I was in your situation I would find a small operation to get my experience. I personally don't like mega carriers.

 

IMO, running hard is running the maximum amount of miles the rules allow every day.if you have a 65 mph truck, that's 715 miles a day. As soon as it's time to drive, you go. Full go all the time. There's nothing wrong with that. Every Deskjockey loves a hard charger. But then traffic delays, slow shippers and bad weather and other problems will give a hard charger ulcers.

If you can avoid the heavy traffic areas, the accidents, the bad weather, you can still make the same amount of money without the stress, right? Do you sit in a 3 hour backup or do you go 25 miles out of route and bypass the traffic fiasco? Do you try to push straight through a blizzard or do you run up to it, park and let it blow over you, then take off? Running into a storm, whiteout and the snowplows are losing is completely different than coming out after the storm has passed and the snowplows can make headway. How much time did you lose? 12 hours? But if you hammer through a monster storm and not wind up in a ditch, how much time did you lose running 10-15 mph for 10 hours? Odds are, you will be less than 200 miles ahead of the guy that shut down.

"But why would you come out before the roads are perfectly clear, Six?"

Snow storms come in waves. If you're in a blizzard, you can bet your bottom dollar that the next one is 1.5 days behind. You need to get in and get out before the next one hits. Well, you could sit in a truckstop and only drive when the roads are perfectly clear, but then you won't make any money.
If you don't want to chain up, you'd better watch the weather like a hawk. Chain law lifts, you hammer out and down and as far away as you can. In certain sections, like Snoqualmie, you may only have a couple hours window. In the States you can't pull an OSOW during chain law, so you have to get the timing right.

Like I said, every dispatcher likes a hard charger. But I would hope that the newer drivers learn to be smarter. Seems like the industry is catering to slackers. Slacker trucks, APUs, TVs, ELOGs,all you can eat buffets, Wendy's and Carl Jr, self check out registers, dumbed down HOS rules, and my favorite...the Dumb and Dumber program. They actually thought the Dumb and Dumber program would give them the equivalent of the hard charger, but a hard charger will still make more money.

 

Once you get the hang of it it'll be quite easy to guess if you have the time.if you have the hrs to make delivery and come up with excuses why u can't be at the customer on time then yes be ready to talk to a very unhappy dispatcher and maybe even his boss if the dispatcher is getting nowhere in the conversation.in this industry it doesn't matter the company,its very important to make on time delivery and safely of course.there's going to be times you'll get a load and no way on gods green earth you can make it on time.all you have to do is tell your dispatcher.a lot of times they already know you won't make it on time and will find you a swap.meaning you meet a driver at usually a truck stop you both swap loads.chances are it'll be a team that you swap loads with.
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dispatch will also help in fivjringu

dispatch and logs would be more then willing to help you with figuring out if you have the hours.it all may seem overwhelming but really it's not.it becomes routine.