How do I ETA like a missile?

I check the weather on the entire route while loading. I give nothing out to dispatch in way of information until loaded and rolling.

Perfect weather, 35 mph against pay miles plus 20% for ground comes up with a approx total of hours and minutes needed to get there to reciever.

I always say when deadheading "It will get there when it gets there." Particular when leaving NYC Hunts Point in the morning rush.

Finally but not least, I always run west where possible. When they put on say 3000 miles of Onions from Yakima WA to Downtown Boston Produce Market in Chelsea I know I can put away 6 days to get there, I can do it in 5 but why tell dispatcher stuff like that. You keep quiet about that. Tell them you will see them in Boston in 6 days and take off times a wasting already.

Teams are more critical. I have with my wife left with a drop hooked load from Avenel NJ to LA Ca, which is right about 2935 or so on the ground. 52 hours. Dispatch in both NJ and CA asked us we are late by 10 minutes are we going to make it on time?

Most people can barely get across town to visit the doctor on time and here we are faced with 10 minutes late already and not even out of the company yard. (We did not dawdle either, we were dropped and hooked instantly having arrvied from CA)

So... trip planning.

Skipped a fuel stop in Memphis and bet the truck can consistently do 2150 miles. She arrived in Holbrook AZ with about 6 gallons total left, we were ready to poach reefer tank at that point. (Medicine high dollar load, temp 60 which was pretty much what it was that season in 2001 so there is a 100 gallons back there ready)\

We arrived in LA Ca about 20 minutes early give or take depending on which staffer you talked to. Since we had a 63 mph governed truck, we told FFE to be quiet about those incessant are we there yet? Are we late messages etc. If they REALLY wanted us to get up and ROLL COAL, they needed to open that truck up unlimited governor. But Companies do not work that way. Whatever that load was. We're over it. Next trailer back to NJ Avenel asap.

I hate having to gamble with running out of fuel. And I don't particularly do well when harrassed over 10 stupid minutes. Its not the end of the world. They can wait 10 #### minutes. //semi rant.

This run was done back in the 2001 time period with completely different HOS version without the required 30 minute do nothing break and so on. Among other changes.

Get going yer late.

20 years from now I like to see dispatcher pick up a exwalmart scan gun cast off and BIP a robot tractor trailer to see if it will be in LA 10 minutes late. No human drivers involved. Therefore no one to blame when late. HA....

 

Good question. In my line of work, most shipper and receivers are open Monday-Friday from 0600 to 1600. So 1 day would be 1 business day. 10 hours. A half a day would be 5 hours.

How I would suggest you deal with that would be to base it according to your customer's day. If they're 24/7, that changes the game.

 

Whats the curfew? Is that a town or city ordinance that you cant run a truck in that town past a certain time?

 

I have a very simple way to figure out ETA. Let say you drive 550 miles a day. Their are 24 hours in a day. So 550/24 is 22.91 MPH average speed. Let just say it 23 MPH. So if you loaded at 2 pm and have 550 miles to delivery you need 24 hours to make it. Let say you have 2,265 miles till delivery. 2265/23mph is 98.47 hours. Remember this is not log book hour, this in a day to cover everything sleeping and shower and bathroom breaks and eating traffic jams. Let say you loaded at 2pm you know you need 98.47 hour to make delivery. 24 hours and is 1 day. 4 days would be 96 hours, and it will be 2pm. you need 98.46. So you need 2.5 more hours, 2pm plus 2.5 hours. Your ETA will be 4:30 pm 4 days later.

Now if you want the local time also just add the time zone change to 4:30 pm. So if you load in California and going to North Carolina add 3 hours to the 4:30. 7:30 pm is local ETA. If you going from North Carolina to CA 4:30- 3 hours. You will be in California at 1:30 pm local time

If you find 500 miles a day is more real number 500/24 is 20.84 average so say 21 MPH. If you like driving 600 miles a day 600/24 is 25 is you starting point. You can pick your own miles. If the company say we dispatch all trucks at 550 miles a day you can double check dispatch pretty easy to see if they are giving you enough time.

 

I'd just divide the mileage by 50 mph and add an hour for breaks and restroom breaks. Worked well.

 

I have a couple of techniques for coming up with a good ETA. The day of the week, where you're running, weather conditions, major cities, time of the day, loading times are all key to providing an accurate ETA. You always look at your route when you trip plan. If you have a murderer's row of major cities, give yourself as much time as possible because one of them is going to slow you down. If you're running in winter weather, you plan at about 30-35 mph. You ain't going to drive out of control in those conditions. Mountains, see winter weather. On normal days, I plan for 60 mph plus 30 min break.

 

Am I the only one that caught this? Op please tell me you dont block a fuel lane doing a 30min break.