868 mile load 4 days to get it there?

You know, i dropped off in Maryland on Memorial Day. My reload was a preloaded trailer in Palmyra, PA. It was scheduled for that following Wednesday for pickup. I called and that trailer was ready. Hooked up to it and dropped off the next day as it was a drop. That led to a 3500+mile week. Point being, taking initiative is everything in this industry. You cant always rely on dispatch to do everything. Sometimes you have to see if a load can be dropped off. Now grocery warehouses, Walmart, etc, anything with strict appt times is a different story. If they have a window to drop it, then most of the time they will take it early.

 

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Look at you man! That's how you work right there

 

I cosign to the play dumb lol sometimes I tell them the broker told me to deliver early

 

I’d definitely put in for layover time, the worst that can happen is they say no, and maybe they won’t.

 

The problem is when the customer has already given your company the answer, then 10 drivers call and ask the same darn question. All of a sudden the guy who is supposed to be making sure trucks get loaded is spending is entire day answering the same darn question. How long would you work with a company whose employees don't follow instructions?

If you sit, even under a load, then you SHOULD be eligible for layover. I've never had a problem getting it when the reason I'm sitting is on my carrier.

Before you start asking for lay offs and furloughs ask yourself this - what about health insurance? Also, when will they bring me back? June of 2019 was a horrible month for me, but had my company decided to lay me off, then bring me back in July it would have been worse - even considering unemployment.

Something else to consider, and I don't know the answer to this. Could your driver manager have tried to get you the longest load he could in the mistaken belief that long loads are better?

I have been "helping out" with a dedicated account for the last 6 months. The drivers on the account are paid a daily rate, because I am 'temporary' I am still on mileage pay. For the first two months dispatch did his best to give me the "long" loads in an attempt to make sure I was making enough money. I tried gently twice, then assertively once, then finally forcefully once to tell him it's not about length of haul, it's about total revenue.

I get paid on a sliding scale. Base rate is 52 cpm. Loads less than 200 miles in an extra 5 cpm, less than 150 an extra 15 cpm, less than 100 is an extra 50 cpm, and less than 50 is straight mileage plus $35. The "long run" is 158 paid miles loaded, plus 158 dead head back or $172.22 and takes 7 hours to do. Dispatch tried to avoid giving me the short runs which are 18 loaded and 18 dead head, or $53.72. Each one takes 1.5 hours to do. I can do 4 of the short runs in the time it takes to do the long run. A little more physical work, but same amount of time and I make an extra $30. Optimal for me are the loads between 50 and 100 miles - stack em, pack em, and rack em. What kills me are the loads that are 108 miles, or 158 miles, or 201 miles - just over the cutoff for the next tier. After the first two weeks I knew which loads were the most profitable for me and which were not. Dispatch told me two week ago that the other mileage driver just clued in (nice guy, good driver, but just does what he's told and doesn't look for the big picture)

Even without short haul pay, stacking several short loads together can beat a long load with lots of time on it. Or taking a short load can get you to a long load. Too many in this industry are focused on one load. It's not about the load you are on, it's about what's next.

I don't know how your pay is structured, and I don't know your company's freight lanes, and I don't know how you let dispatch know when you'll be ready for the next load. You need to do some data analysis and figure out what it going to make YOU more money and then have a conversation or two with your manager.