Dedicated

You always have miles, but you drive on the same roads every single day.

 

Pros would be that you know the route, there is no trip planning, you know where to go, you know where to go to get around problems, you know what scales you have where, you can't really get lost, there's a lot less to worry about. You have consistent miles, depending on the dedicated run you may never have to wait for a load.

Cons, it's boring, you likely can't make more money by running harder, etc.

 

I love dedicated routes, it allows us to plan our week around the customer.

What I got tired of it is the routine of having one, I know this sounds opposite of what I just said but it gets boring driving the same roads every time.

 

Pro, u know your route, every truckstop, rest area, dot scale etc etc

Gets boring really fast. Samething everyday, every week. Everytime I get offer a dedicated position, I decline. I like having surprises with otr

 

I drove a dedicated route in a class B truck for almost 2 years. It got so that if I was late several of the wait staff at the petro in Jackson Mississippi would get on to me. I also knew several of the DOT guys in the coops along the route. You know the best times to fuel and where. You also know when to hit rush hour or sleep on a few minutes. You also get to know the shippers and receivers and you seem to get in the docks and out quicker. You also know how hard to push it in the case of being early or late. You know where the best coffee is. Even things like banks, you know where they are. You can generally depend on your paycheck being the same. All of these things are a plus. However dedicated routes have a horrible downside, the boredom can become mind numbing. Greyhound bus drivers and LTL's have this same problem. Once you get a route and off the local boards you might stay on that route for years. I know a guy that just recently retired from Greyhound after almost 40 years. He drove from Atlanta to I believe Jackson Mississippi and back for over 25 years. I am amazed he could do it for that kind of time.

 

See the whole country over and over again, fighting for parking everywhere and getting paid less as a company driver.

See the same stuff regularly and get paid more, yes more!!!Always have a safe haven to park. Be home more, possibly everyday!

Even though they see the same stuff every time,I think most Wal-Mart and FedEx drivers are pretty happy running their predictable routes making $70000 and going home every week. Wouldn't you agree?

 

dedicated routes that are 2200 miles each way are not boring

 

I have a semi-dedicated route around Chicago. We service about 20 different customers and never know which one we will be going to tomorrow morning or even the next stop! So we have familiar routes but not so redundant routine. Some customers I have not seen for weeks or months!

Mikeee

 

Antbody know if Prime has Dedicated in Virginia or North Carolina