Are they serious?

brsims · May 21, 2012

Crusty said: ↑

Miles are good as they can be. Keeping busy. Shippers and recievers tend to be off the beaten path. Allot of secondary road driving. Been staying staying mid-atlantic east to west region. Short miles per trip. Don't think we've done a trip over 400 miles in the two weeks. Not exactly OTR. About equal live load/unload and drop and hook. Longest delay was at Frito lay in Wooster, OH. About 3 hours.
Truck broke down leaving there. Something to do with the DEF system. Truck would not re-generate. Towed to Freightliner in Canton, OH. They took the shotgun approach. Just kept replacing parts. Had to get a motel. After 36 hours I guess they got it.
Trainer had been out 24 days at this point and was due 4 days off. Instead of dead heading us the just HAD to do another trip which was of course BS. So he was almost two days late getting his leave. We finished up yesterday near the Somerset, KY. terminal. Had my wife drive 5 hours to pick me up. No way was I going to spend 4 to 5 days in a motel.
One thing more of interest. At orientation, I was told that pickup and delivery times are figured with a specific formula to insure reasonable driving times. YET; my trainer told me there are UPS runs that you have to drive straight thru stopping for fuel only!!! I'll be refusing those trips. I WILL let my permanent dispatcher know this up front. WHY is UPS farming out freight? My guess is their own drivers won't do it. AND it's clearly cheaper. No wonder mandatory breaks is on the books. Can't happen soon enough for me.
Point of interest #2. They are constantly sending messages on idle time. Their standard is 30%. Ours is 65%. What can I say. Install APUs! Problem solved.
Click to expand...

Crusty, I've run a few UPS and FedEx loads, and yeah they do suck. Run like all get out show up, run like all get out to deliver. I hate'em, but when your under forced dispatch what can you do? Turn down too much freight, and you'll find yourself out of a job.

And getting a job when you're experienced is not as easy these days. Larger carriers want students to burn out, and the good smaller carriers don't hire as often because they're drivers stick around.

Hope everything works out for you, and welcome back to the wonderful world of trucking...such as it is.

Crusty · May 21, 2012

Hey brsims. Thanks for input. No, I won't turn any loads down. If it's gotta go; it's gotta go. If the co. don't make money; I don't make money. I'll just do my computation and let them know if it's gonna be tight. Of course they probably know that already. I guess it will depend on what kind of relationship I have with my disp.

Yeah, burnout. Looking back I remember almost staying in a state of panic on those 'hot loads'. I have learned very simply; just don't waste time. Work efficiently as possible. The truck is only going to go so fast. I try to keep a good supply of snacks and use rest areas for quick breaks. And by all means stay away from truck stops except for fuel.

91B20H8 · Dec 4, 2012

Have they made you a newbietrainer yet Crusty?

Rich635mustang · Aug 18, 2013

brsims said: ↑

Did that with Western Express last year. Submitted full application, including the lack of recent verifiable experience. I did apply for a student position, figuring a few weeks out with a trainer couldn't be all that bad.

Anyway, I arrived in Nashville for orientation, passed the physical and drug test with flying colors (and I didn't even study beforehand!), made it through orientation and load securement with zero problems. The last day of load securement, nobody seemed to know if I was a student, or experienced. I was asked if I could run a couple of tractors back and forth between Nashville, TN and the yard in SW PA. I was also offered a dedicated run for wallboard in SW PA.

Just before I get a truck assigned, I got pulled aside with two other people, and told that I didn't have enough recent experience to qualify as a student, and sent home. If I didn't have enough recent experience, wouldn't that have shown on my application, or during orientation when they ran my employment background?

Bloody idiots.
Click to expand...

Oh man, that is horrible.

sedain · Apr 15, 2016

Crusty said: ↑

Miles are good as they can be. Keeping busy. Shippers and recievers tend to be off the beaten path. Allot of secondary road driving. Been staying staying mid-atlantic east to west region. Short miles per trip. Don't think we've done a trip over 400 miles in the two weeks. Not exactly OTR. About equal live load/unload and drop and hook. Longest delay was at Frito lay in Wooster, OH. About 3 hours.
Truck broke down leaving there. Something to do with the DEF system. Truck would not re-generate. Towed to Freightliner in Canton, OH. They took the shotgun approach. Just kept replacing parts. Had to get a motel. After 36 hours I guess they got it.
Trainer had been out 24 days at this point and was due 4 days off. Instead of dead heading us the just HAD to do another trip which was of course BS. So he was almost two days late getting his leave. We finished up yesterday near the Somerset, KY. terminal. Had my wife drive 5 hours to pick me up. No way was I going to spend 4 to 5 days in a motel.
One thing more of interest. At orientation, I was told that pickup and delivery times are figured with a specific formula to insure reasonable driving times. YET; my trainer told me there are UPS runs that you have to drive straight thru stopping for fuel only!!! I'll be refusing those trips. I WILL let my permanent dispatcher know this up front. WHY is UPS farming out freight? My guess is their own drivers won't do it. AND it's clearly cheaper. No wonder mandatory breaks is on the books. Can't happen soon enough for me.
Point of interest #2. They are constantly sending messages on idle time. Their standard is 30%. Ours is 65%. What can I say. Install APUs! Problem solved.
Click to expand...

i havent been with ss in around 3 yrs but the ups and/or time sensitive runs are the best ones, if you show yourself to be reliable youll have all the miles youll ever need. larry denhof is the manager for that stuff. furthermore they wont harass you about idle time once you "prove yourself" at least thats how i saw it..i had 100% idle, if i was in the trk i had power and hvac unless i wanted it off.

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