Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Hey chralb. Thanks for those questions to ask. Western Express got back to me.
Are chains required? NO
Are Western Pre-planned? YES BUT NONE FORCE DISPATCH
Pay for dead head/bob tail? YES
and lay over detention pay? $10 an hr/23 he's then $35 a day

 

That detention/layover pay is ridiculous. $10 per hr??? Millis is $20 an hr after 1.5hrs, and no cap. Ive gotten 19hrs of detention at 1 shipper lol.

 

Well, I tend to swing both ways on this. When I'm pinched for time which is more often than not with this electronic secretary, I'll take the quickest. When not, shortest is just fine with me.

I'm waiting for my first full year to end to take a look at things. But so far I'm quite pleased with what I'm paid. I honestly don't concern myself much with the difference between actual miles driven and paid dispatch miles.

My car is at the yard so I never drive the truck when on hometime. Like others have mentioned, I also "prefer" to park where there's facilities and normally theres a truck stop or rest area not too far away. But if not the shipper/reciever will do if allowed. Or anyplace close I can find. At this point I think the only real difference will be in the miles as dispatched.

But I can also say I've been on more than a few runs where I was paid more than drove. I figure it all comes out close enough in the end.

 

We are given a lot of latitude when it comes to routing. There are only 2 routes we are required to take when heading to the mid-west or for coast to coast runs and even then I have yet to hear of anyone being reprimanded for straying from them. Apart from those you can route yourself which may or may not lead to more miles traveled than listed on load info.

The personal conveyance allowance is very valuable to me so I would be hesitant to trade that perk for a hub mile gig. The extra expense in buying and paying to keep a car on the road or paying for taxis/Uber would likely exceed that which I lost being paid zip code miles vs hub.

 

$10 an hour from the first hour if paid every time you are delayed is not bad. Ours is supposed to be $20 an hour after the first two hours, but you don't always get the full amount you put in for.

 

Well with Western Express I doubt they will get it spot on as well. rofl

 

And oh, I think it's really sweet they turned off the pre pass units before getting the new one. From Santa Clara CA to Moriarty NM I got no signal at all and had to enter every scale. Got swapped in Moriarty to head to Reno and the same thing.

 

Fair points. I agree with both of those statements.

It's nice to be able to use the truck when needed, no arguement here. When your paid miles are off by 10% by choice, that's a different story. If JB has averaged 2% over 4 yrs then they obviously don't use HHG miles, thank god.

I too would choose the fastest route as opposed to the shortest most of the time. When time allows its a different story but it's nice to have the freedom to make that decision on your own.

Abilene has had a solid reputation for years. Wish they were strictly dry van still, but it is what it is.

 

I need to call Abilene Monday morning and check on my app. Just nervous about the training. Some days I don't feel like chatting just after waking up lol.

 

Lol, I understand. I was a trainer for years and I'm not a morning person either ;