2200 miles a week as a newbie?

I won't have a problem because I won't let there be a problem (remember where I wrote about holding my tongue and avoiding confrontation?), still not looking forward to it though.

 

38? Man, im sorry! Lol

 

Just go with the flow, bend with the wind.....but, if you see vasoline in the trainers truck make sure you sleep with one eye open.

 

Yeah, that would suck to have to ride with a big fat horny dude!

 

I can't speak for Roehl's average miles or incentives for the "desk jockies". My two years at a mega was with Swift. I know for a fact that fleet average out of the Jurupa Valley terminal (LA) hovered around 1950 miles per week for the solo OTR fleet. I started out averaging 2500 miles per week out of the gate, but admit that with prior experience I had some edge.

Most of the "edge" I had was already being familiar with team driving and how to manage life on the road WELL. I never turned down a load, unless I didn't have the hours or had a home time request and the load offer took me in the opposite direction.

When I became a trainer at Swift I had a wide range of student motivations and experience, from CDL school graduates with a 10 hours behind the wheel to folks getting back behind the wheel with years of experience. Of all my trainees only one didn't make it, an older gentleman that had no concept of time commitments or geography.

Sad sack tales told in company terminals always have two parts to the sentence. Listen closely and it's often in the same breath, interrupted with "but".

"I'm not getting many miles, BUT..."

(...and here comes the excuse...)

"...I don't drive at night."

Etc. Etc.

As for "desk jockies" being motivated to keep you at 1500 miles, I call BS, at least from the incentives I saw in place for the OTR fleet at Swift. A key part of the bonus package for fleet managers and planners is average fleet miles.

Sure, there are times you pull into a terminal in the Midwest, and the local planners want you to cover some local deliveries. You play the game and get rewarded with higher pay for the short hauls AND get a long load outbound.

I always made a point of doing meet and greets with the planners and terminals whenever possible. Sometimes I was told it might be a day or two waiting for a long haul. So I'd ask, "Got any local loads you need delivered?"

After delivering a few local loads and making $250 for the day with stop pay I'd get back to the terminal and see the same drivers ##### in about how they can't catch a break, "But I don't do local deliveries." They were sitting there when I arrived yesterday, and tomorrow will still be sitting there when I pull out with a 1000 mile load by way of thanks from the planners.

Want to make money? Work.

 

Here's my record ... I run between 40 and 42 weeks a year. You can do the math.

2011/126,836 Miles 2012/125,838 Miles 2013/124,029 Miles 2014/128,381 Miles 2015/127,790 Miles

 

You did all that in a truck governed at 62 mph on e-logs running OTR? 3000 miles per week average is very impressive. Unless of course you are comparing apples and oranges.