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

If he is going from Columbus to Atl and then FL he is not going to sit for the weekend. Sometimes the swing by the house method doesn't work. I live in Baltimore, 3 miles off of 95, and there was a month that I ran the northeast and waved at the house each time I went by. In orientation they say to put your home time in 7 days in advance. Bill likes to have it in 10-14 days as it gives him time to make sure it gets logged in. I sat for 26 hours Fri and today. 10 hour break and then a driver that stole my load and will be given a few choice words from me Mon. Look people, when you are assigned a load assignment number and trailer, don't just pick up any HP load that is going to the same place. It took me, Don, Walter and 2 HP people to get it straightened out. Not counting me bobtailing back and forth between 2 of the HP plants and the yard all morning and then burning my clock.

 

sorry but I can't go with the "recruiter said" story. I know Sally is a straight shooter and wouldn't say that as she used to do the orientations and knows this biz. It is the nature of the beast in this industry that freight flys all over and matching a driver to get by the house every other load is impossible unless they are regional. Orientation is not paid, that is why it is kept to just 2 days.

 

Next weekend is a whole week away. Has he put in his time off macro? If not do it now. If he delivers in FL Mon night Tue morning he could be back in Richmond Thur or even Wytheville for a Gatorade load. I hate to say this but if you start looking at this negatively from the outset you will only get yourself frustrated. He has to be proactive in his runs to make it in OTR hauling. For example, I try to be home every other weekend. I have to be home once every 4-6 weeks for a Dr's appt as I am on blood thinners. When I left out the beginning of this month I didn't put in for home time and chanced I would run a northeast load last weekend and just go home. Didn't work out that way, I went to OK as that was the way the freight dice went. I was able to take a 10 hour at home Wed night. I could have stopped by the house Thur night for a few hours but was on a critical run and didn't. I also could have stopped home Fri night for a 10 hour but need to keep moving b/c of the short week getting home by this Fri morning. I didn't know that some ##### was going to steal my trailer and I had to wait around. Some things work in your favor others don't. My saying is "well God must not have wanted me to be in a certain area at a certain time" and I go with that.

 

What Uturn says is absolutely true, mommy6. If you go back to when I first started and also the fm issues I had, your hubby might've quit then. I chose to stick it out. Now my miles have improved, I've seen more snow than I ever care to see ever again, and been some crazy places. Your hubby needs to snag a few phone numbers from other Abilene drivers so they can assist him in the transition to the "Abilene way of thinking". Generally you have to beg and plead for a 34, and sometimes even if you really need one, you still won't be allowed to take one.

Like Uturn, my day yesterday was useless. Got into Richmond with a 2 stop for HP. Both places were warehouses that only a day cab should go. Battery Brooke ( by the yard), and battery dantzler (by route 10). Higgins said do it anyway, they're waiting for you. No one there when I got there. So dropped it on our yard. Had a preplan for a Destin FL along with 6 others. After much running back and forth found out they got all the coolers on 5 trucks and cxld the other 2. So, called Higgins and he said, (and I quote) "you could take a lumber liquidators load to AL or a HP load to MN but I'd rather you take the HP load so I'm going to put you on that." Gee, thanks for giving me the illusion of an option!!!! So, it's back up into the cold and fun stuff. So far it looks like it's just going to be cold, but who knows. At least there are a couple other drivers headed that way too so I'm not alone in my misery!!!

 

May biggest fear is that if he does a month out or two month it wpuld be expected of him every time. He talking about doing the summer on the road so I could be with him. That woukd be great bc am a clean alochied bc that all I do every day. He going to talj yo a believe walter tomorrow to see if he can by the house. He going to Atlanta then to oldmar fla with bh load. He will be at both early so would tbey take time them or does he have to wait to his time.

 

BH loads are critical and have a set early appt time. For the additional drops they will unload you as soon as you get there unless they are out on routes. For ALL loads, you can be early but not good to be late.

 

So tomorrow night when he get to the place in altanta he can have them unload him so he doesnt have to wait to four am. He should be in ga by 10 pm tomorrow. Yes it a bh load with two stops then after there he goes to oldnar fla to the bh place he will also be early there too. Where would he go from there? He asking his dispatcher for a swing by the house. He new to the company and any informatin will help him and put my mind a ease. Be careful out there

 

He will have to wait for AM. It is the distributors that we deliver to so first stops are always really early. Coming out of FL is always tricky. We normally get broker loads out of GA or SC as not much comes out of FL. If he has Walter I'm sure that he'll get worked home.