Diary of a Gainey driver

Discussion in 'Superservice' started by longbedGTs, Aug 13, 2008.

  1. longbedGTs

    longbedGTs Heavy Load Member

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    May 8, 2007
    Texas
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    Week 12 was a little better than last week, but not by much. Freight is slowing down even in the NE...where so much of Gaineys freight is. I wonder if the Wachovia lawsuit is causing customers to bail?

    This week started with coming off the reset in MD. After delivering the 1 stop load in Cinci, I was again left with the option of waiting for a load at the consignee, or rack up some OOR miles and head to a truck stop. The nearest was about 15 minutes away, so off I went.

    It wasnt an hour after I arrived that I got an offer. It was a preloaded trailer of doors or something. Whatever it was, it was very light at only 8k lbs. This was an open delivery time load bound for northern NC, so I could get a break from the NE for a while(yeah right!). After running hard to get there in the early morning hoping for a nice selection at the days freight, I got a load that was a multiple pickup load bound for the St.Louis, MO area.

    The first stop was south of Durham, NC with a 130 mile pd d/h. After arriving at the customer, I find out that about 10 pallets of individual boxes will be broken down and floor stacked! There goes a day of good miles! The second stop wasnt much better, although it was loaded quicker. It was also floor stacked. I might mention that NEITHER stop bothered to secure the freight or offer anything to secure it with.

    What can I do? I have a few load locks and straps! I dont carry around a huge piece of cardboard(which I think would have held it fine with 2 straps). I shot a message to dispatch letting them know the deal. Their response? "be careful in del the ld". I secured it as best as I could and headed for MO.

    It was a drop and so I ran it out asap. I wonder if the inside of the trailer is a mess of fallen boxes... The consignee didnt have any MTs, so I would have to hunt for one. Turns out, I wouldnt have to. One noteworthy item about the trip was that I finally got a preplan the previous day.

    It was a preloaded trailer that picked up in central IL, so disp said I could bobtail to the shipper. This was a DC to DC load, so it had an open delivery time on both ends. I wish I could get these more often!

    Week 12-2231 pd, 2383 act
     
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  3. baseballswthrt

    baseballswthrt Light Load Member

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    Apr 27, 2008
    Newport News, VA
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    Thanks for the update! We really do like to know how it is!
     
    longbedGTs Thanks this.
  4. moonshadow

    moonshadow Light Load Member

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    Mar 29, 2008
    Denver
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    I just found your thread and thorougly enjoyed reading it.

    Thanks for the great information and for taking the time to write your weekly adventures
     
  5. longbedGTs

    longbedGTs Heavy Load Member

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    May 8, 2007
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    Thanks for the thanks! :biggrin_25526:
    I hope this thread will come in handy to someone considering moving to Gainey since theres not much else...other than posts by those who have quit or have been fired.
     
  6. longbedGTs

    longbedGTs Heavy Load Member

    974
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    May 8, 2007
    Texas
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    Week 13 started good, but ended in a bust just like last week.

    After delivering the DC to DC load(Walgreens in Bethlehem, PA), I again was left without a preplan. I started to head to the nearest truck stop when I got the beep. Of course, I was headed the wrong direction, so I got turned around. This load was to pick up on Long Island, NY which means Ill get to give more of my money to the "wonderful" state of New York. My patience is wearing thin with not having EZ Pass.

    This load was paper towels bound for a Family Dollar DC in NC. I get to the shipper with no problem and after a couple hour wait, Im loaded and bound for NC. I might mention that I spent around $180 in tolls coming from PA to Long Island to NC. I had to take out one cash advance before leaving PA...and I had to take another after leaving the NY/NJ toll roads. That was the straw that broke the camels back. I msg my DM and told him I wanted OFF the NYC board. Gaineys punishment for not running NYC is a 2 cents paycut for ALL miles. Yet another scam, but what can I do except quit? Im not ready for that just yet.

    I get the load to NC and find I am close to the 11 hr driving rule. I also find its a drop which isnt bad since I was expecting a live unload...being that it was a set appointment time.

    While en route to NC, I was given a preplan bound for Michigan. The pickup was just an hour away, but I was nearly out of hours and it was rush hour. I had 1.25 hrs to go 50 miles. It would be close, but if I could get loaded before then, I could use my 10 hr break as part of a 34hr restart which I always try to do.

    I get through traffic to the shipper and have just hit 11hrs. While en route, I noticed a pull off area about a block from the shipper. I would get loaded, and use this area for my 34 hr brk. There was a Shell station within walking distance, so I was ok. I took my peaceful break and was left with a fresh 70 once again.

    The load was partical board shelving, so it was pretty light at about 10K lbs. I run some back roads in Ohio which made for a nice change of the usual cars and interstate. Much less traffic on these back roads. I get to Michigan and stop off at the Monroe, MI Pilot for fuel and plan to take my 10 there since it was just a couple minutes from my destination. Wait! This Pilot is smaller than a pen tip and is packed to the brim...so I guess I wont be spending the night here! Thats ok because theres a T/A nearby, so I skip over there and find a spot(in the stupid Idleaire territory). Delivery is a live unload, but takes only 10 minutes.

    Remember my mention of the batteries on my truck discharging? Well, its gotten to the point where the low voltage warning beeper would go off sometimes 3 times a night(during my 10 hr brk). I needed to get this taken care of before it strands me. Plus, my being woken up 3 times a night by the beeper wasnt helping either. I also have an air leak and the truck is close to needing a service, so Ill get that all done and just settle for losing a day of miles. I cant run miles without a running truck, right? Better to get everything done at once to avoid multiple trips to the shop. I d/h across Michigan to our home terminal in Grand Rapids.

    I was hoping to get the maintainence done and settle for losing a day of miles. It turns out, that would be too good to be true. Being that I emptied out on a Thursday, and was down all day Friday due to the truck being serviced, I was ready to go on Saturday...which isnt a good day to get a load. Rememer my mention of most of Gaineys customers operating on the M-F week? Well, I get a load offer which picks up about a 1/2 hour away, but its not due to pick up until Monday but the routing for this trip was the same which I took to get to the terminal(I96), so I got those miles paid. The load has 2 stops, both in the Baltimore, MD area, but Ill get $60 for that, so Im ok with it.

    Week 13-2124pd miles, 2260 act miles, 20 OOR miles-Friday=179 miles and none on Saturday. My 'week' starts&ends on Sunday morning.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2008
    super10, reniffk and Drive-a-Mack Thank this.
  7. super10

    super10 Light Load Member

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    Aug 19, 2008
    Riverside, CA
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    Thanks again for these posts. It should give some of the newcomers a glimpse of what they can expect when it starts to get real! I enjoy every dispatch, please keep them coming.
     
  8. longbedGTs

    longbedGTs Heavy Load Member

    974
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    May 8, 2007
    Texas
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    Im glad to share! I firmly believe that every job is what you make of it, and everybody might not have the same experience as I am. There have been good days and bad days, but I just take it in stride and press on. As the saying goes "good things come to those who wait"...well, honestly sometimes I think the wait might not be worth it, but as I always remind myself; things can ALWAYS be worse.

    Are you still considering Gainey? Do they even hire from California? We had a terminal in Rancho Cucamongo, but there was a message sent out a few weeks ago informing us it will be relocated to Ontario, CA.
    Im sure I dont need to worry about that place, as I feel my days of seeing the west are over with this company. Teams get all the freight going west, AFAIK.
     
  9. longbedGTs

    longbedGTs Heavy Load Member

    974
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    May 8, 2007
    Texas
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    Month 3 recap:

    Its been a very slow month
    • 8878-paid miles​
    • 9721-actual miles​
    • 160-approx OOR miles​
    • 855-avg length of haul​
    On a 1-10 scale, Gainey gets a 7 for Month 3. Ive learned to overlook the difference in pd-act miles, but they still need EZ Pass and need to work on their scheduling of loads p/u and del/ times. They still always seem to have too much time on them. Some have been close though...too close for my liking.
     
  10. Drive-a-Mack

    Drive-a-Mack Light Load Member

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    Aug 13, 2007
    Eugene, OR via Lincoln, NE
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    ..thanks for posting ur weekly dispatches, loads & miles.. could u clarify ur abbrv's for MT, LDD, OOR & any others u use for us novices that arent familiar with those frieght/mileage terms.. thanks for keeping us posted & hope things will pickup for u soon!
     
  11. evertruckerr

    evertruckerr Heavy Load Member

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    Oct 14, 2007
    Phoenix, AZ
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    I'll jump in and help out with this one.

    MT= empty. As in an empty call (when you have delivered a load and have let dispatch know that you are empty and ready for another load)

    LDD= Loaded (I think, I wasn't able to find the particular reference to this abbreviation, not that I looked all that hard). I'm sure Longbed will be around to correct me if I'm wrong on this one.

    d/h = Drop and Hook. This means that you pull into a customer and drop your current trailer, either loaded or empty and pull out a different trailer without having to wait around to have your current trailer loaded or unloaded while you wait. A great tool to save time that is utilized by all of the larger companies.

    OOR = Out of Route. Miles driven without authorization. I believe Longbed used this term when he drives additional miles due to personal use, extra mileage as a result of wrong turns and extra miles driven while going back and forth between delivery points and truckstops while waiting for his next load. This term is often used by trucking companies to refer to any unpaid miles related to any trip. When a driver runs for a company that pays mileage based on HHG miles (short miles) like Gainey does, those OOR (unpaid, sorry to rub it in Longbed) miles will often run between 10 and 15%. Companies that pay on the more realistic practical mile basis usually run closer to 3-5% area.

    DM = Driver Manager

    QC = QualComm. The primary communication device used by the majority of company truckdrivers. A satellite based beeping thing that will become the bane of your existence, but indispensable at the same time.

    HOS = Hours of Service. Nuf said.

    New Joisey = A cute way of saying Sh@! Hole

    BE Mile = Beginning Empty Mileage
    EE Mile = Ending Empty Mileage
    BL Mile = Beginning Loaded Mileage
    EL Mile = Ending Loaded Mileage

    RTG = Ready to Go (I had to think about that one for awhile)

    JIT = Just In Time. An industry term used to refer to loads that are just that. Delivered just in time to be put into production. This has become a practice that many large companies have adopted to significantly reduce inventory costs, and in effect, have turned trucks into moving warehouses. If you are late it can bring an entire production line to a screeching halt, therefore resulting in the many "priority" loads that Longbed refers to in which he must continually call his DM to ensure everyone that he will in fact show up on time as opposeded to treating him like a human being that can be counted on to preform as promised without being treated like a stupid truck driver. A fact of truck driver life, "no respect".

    DC = Distribution Center or Washington DC, depending on, well, you know.

    WTF = How did I get myself into this situation. WTF

    SOOL = S out of Luck. That's what someone says when they are forced out of a good place that pays practical miles and forced to be content with an HHG carrier. Sorry Longbed, couldn't resist. I commend you for your continued upbeat outlook on your situation, regardless of the circumstances. It takes a strong man to accept reality in times like these.

    On a final note, I think it would be wise of you to reconsider your decision to take yourself off of the NYC thing. The 2cpm hit you are taking comes up to $40-$60 per week. Over a years time you are throwing away 2-3 thousand dollars a year due to a lower cpm thing and the occasional $100 LI, NYC pay. I realize it is a pain to come up with cash up front for the tolls, but as long as Gainey is good about reimbursement you aren't actually out any money (until you voluntarily give up 2cpm that is). Just a thought.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2008
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