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

Yeah, I'm not seeing the problem here.

If I have to run out my full 11 in order to make on-time delivery, I can do that. I have, I will, and it's not a problem.

But if I ain't gotta, I'm not gonna.

That's the way I have run my entire time at Abilene, and it has never been a problem with my DM. I guess I should be very thankful that I have the same DM they assigned me when I started.

 

It’s amazing how dm’s working for the same company can be so different. My dm at my company is the only one of the four that I could work with/for. If he ever leaves, I’ll be right out the door soon after.

 

But I’m also sure some drivers were you probably think the same about your DM.

 

Ya, I don’t see the problem if you are making your delivery schedule... as long as you are not jacking up your next driving day... I like getting on site, when possible, so that I can drop without starting my next day... sure I can get there in time but if I screw up my next day I could see a DM not liking that...

I totally agree that we are the ones managing our trucks, but then we can’t complain if we are waiting for a load if we made the drop on time but jacked up our next day of driving.

And yes, personalities come into play as well. I wish I had a few more minutes to dig into what he was saying and meaning.

Well... speaking of starting ones day... I have huge rolls of paper just waiting to see me.

Stay Safe!

 

And I have yet to see that 9 hours a day concept actually match up with reality... I get the concept but in my mind, 70 hours is 70 hours... run hard and take a break or use the rolling clock... whatever works for you and doesn’t jack up the frieght.

 

True, but if the choice is between spending the night in a construction area or a not so decent place and a rest area or t/s and starting my clock, I’m picking the latter. Besides, who the heck wants to be “working” a 16-17 hour day on that day where you have to be up to be unloaded at 7 am, then have to wait until 1,2 or 3 hours after you send in your empty call for a load?
And as to we can’t complain about sitting around waiting on a load? The heck you say!?!? Planners should do a better job of planning. Instead of the, “Oh, I have 15 trucks in this area empty and getting empty, let me start looking.” It should be at least started the day before. Yes, there are some time sensitive loads that can’t be done that way, and we all know when there are quite a few trucks in the same location it’s FCFS, but there are a lot of places we drop and hook that can be preplanned. And in harder places like FL where every Monday is a ####e storm, well, Sunday should be spent getting preplans. Just my opinion, which I’m sure isn’t the popular one. Efficiency-work smarter, not harder. Or in this case, not longer.

You don’t constantly turn your body clock around. For most folks, that’s a real pain. Especially as you age (well for some of us). I can’t do that anymore. If I can’t do it between the hours of 5 am - 8 pm, then it don’t get done! Never late on a delivery. Hardly ever ran over 10 hours a day. Still made 5500-6000 miles per pay period and plenty of $. Not JB $$, but then again, I didn’t train and went home every 2 weeks. Now I work more and make less. Go figure! Different strokes for different folks.

 

Ok, take the load I’m going to pick up... 300 MT and 350 LD... that’s a full days drive.

If I shut down at 9 hours then I’m under this load for another day... starting my clock and ruining another full days run... there is plenty of time on this load but I don’t want to sit under it and ruin another day... so I’ll run the “whole day” and be ready to drop in 11 hours... if they will take me early. If not, I’m calling AMX and asking to drop on the yard and roll with another load... again, not wanting to jack up either today or tomorrow.

But ya, I guess I could sit on this load and stop at 9 hours... but I’d rather run the full day and drop the load and be ready for the next load...

And if they know I’ll drop within my 11 then they are probably more likely to know what options they have for me instead of juggling loads because they don’t know when I’ll drop to be free to grab the next load in line.

I guess I would be the DM that Drivers hate.

LOL

 

I understand both sides,If I dont run atleast 500 a day i'll feel like I haven't done anything.

But than somedays I'll get up,and I'm just not feeling it.

 

Just to clarify... I’m not saying anyone’s way is right or wrong... we all work with our own unique situations and preferences... matching them up with a DM with similar processes is the magic, if possible... lol

Stay Safe