bad experience due to poor trip planning advice?

The Rand McNally Trucker's Atlas. Get it at any truck stop. Also get yourself a truck stop guide or two. Very useful for trip planning, even if the company tells you where you are fueling. Unbelievable that they didn't cover trip planning.

 

All I can add to the above good advice is to use Google satellite view (if possible) to eyeball your pick up and delivery addresses. A bird's eye view let's you see cul-de-sacs, lot entrances, and so forth better than any conventional map.

You already know the bad news. The good news is that after a while you learn the particulars of shippers and receivers. You won't get caught with your pants down again at any of the places you've now been, in other words, and the list will only grow.

Even though you THINK you planned your trips, you actually didn't by definition. You just THOUGHT you did. In cooking, chefs call the prep mise en place. Everything depends on it once the cooking process actually starts. Trucking is no different. Don't roll until you know exactly where you are going, all exit numbers, and etc.

 

ok so the proverbial rock and a hard place. Look we've all had at one time or another days or even weeks like that. God knows I have. And I aint too proud to admit it either.
Ok you have to MAKE time to rest, at the dock etc...dont stay up on the phone with the wife or on the computer when you need to be sleeping. Your wife is gonna have to understand that you DO NOT have a 9-5 job now, you go when you go that's all there is to it. Try to stay off those #### 5 hour energy shot things too. You will crash and burn after a while. make sure your eating properly too, that'll help with the exhaustion, but most importantly get some sleep.
Now trip planning...before technology drivers had to call places, make sure you get the proper numbers and hours that they are available...I've been burned by that too.
Use several sources...I dont have a GPS and WILL NOT have one. I have maps, maps of cities, and the atlas....I am very old fashioned like that. Before this gets too long I'm sending you a pm with my email adress etc.

 

I am just a wannabe at this point but in my eyes that just shows you what lack of sleep will do to you.

 

He's getting some good guidance from RR Nik right now.

Can't believe they didn't teach trip planning. Just unbelievable.

 

my trip planning class involved a 15 min ok look it up here look it up on the big map ok now find a route to take. ok done. heres how to get a shower on a pilot card. honestly our trip planning "class" was less then average i think. i can plan a trip but i still use my gps. i dont care if others dont like it. they arent in my truck. some like technology some dont. i find the ones that WONT use it are just scared of it. thats fine. almost every truck i have passed on the interstates so far have a gps in them. its a good back up to the old atlas. plus its easy to look at when your driving. alot easier then a atlas.

 

A gps is a tool and a useful one I will add, but you shouldn't rely on it alone. Just my opinion, I have my laptop I cross reference directions from the customer with my maps and then look it up on maquest the google earth or whetever they are calling it now is good too.....I do it old school with a twist. but really whatever works for you is best. But trip planning is more than just point a to point b, you have to plan your fuel stops and figure out where you are gonna overnight when to get to the customer can you get there early yada yada...there's more to it than directions and there are some things a gps cant tell you that's all those of us that don't use them are trying to tell ya.

 

Well my company does all that for me. They tell me where to fuel, where to switch drivers, where the shipper is, how to get there, what exit to take. Its pretty good.

I keep a fuel stop book handy and if i start to get low i start checking my book. Then i look on my gps for the nearest truck-stop and type it in and boom im there. The POI on my gps is awesome. i still keep the books around but i just don't rely on them. ive used google maps, gps, atlas i use it all. all of them are tools and i figure the more tools i have to use the better i will be.

When i first got my gps i would second guess it and everytime it was right. I have learned that its pretty accurate. The only ones it doesn't seem to find is where they change the truck entrance form one side of the street to the other. ive ran into that a bunch of time lately. where the shipper will move their truck entrance to a side street and not tell anyone. those are fun to find in the middle of the night. haha.

 

I rest my case. A simple phone call to the customer would solve that. But I ask this in all honesty....how long do you plan on driving for this company? Futhermore, In this economic climate how long will this company be in business....over 3000 companies went out of business in 2008...not all of them were small. A very good friend of mine drove for Werner for over 10 years...he got downsized over a year ago because he was making too much money. What happens when you end up at a smaller company and you have to get your directions for yourself and plan your trips for yourself finding the cheapest fuel available and figuring out fuel mileage and many other things that are involved with trip planning.
It sounds to me that you are nothing but a steering wheel holder right now, nothing wrong with that but eventually you may find yourself without big brother there to tell you where and when to stop. Good luck to you