Definition of "running hard"?

I am hourly and work in the yard at times, so I'd say anything over 55 hours is a good hard week. Mileage can matter, but doesn't always.

 

Work how your loads take you, make enough time after delivery to pick up another one. Don't stop every 2 hours. But don't let the old timers say you need to run 45 million miles a week or you a failure. Balance driving and family time. Don't wear yourself out. Work for your family, but don't let it make you never see them.

 

"running hard" for me, when i did it, was not stopping at every truck stop to play video games (when video games were at every truck stop).

i'd not stop unless i was about to wet my pants, but then i learnt how to "do it" in a bottle, while driving.....

i'd not stop to eat 3 times a day, i'd stop ONCE, eat, shower, get some sleep, then do it after my 8 hour break.

i did not have to speed, i could go from east coast to west coast in shorter time, then others took for thier breaks and such.

i did not have to take "speed" or other drugs to keep me awake, coffee was MY drug.

i made great money, because i was always at the appointments earlier than expected. dispatched loved to hate that, because they sometimes depended on the estimated times, rather than me cut it short by days, not hours, not giving them enough time to find me loads going someplace else.

todays trucker has to deal with electronic logs. we had paper logs, and we knew how to "work them" to do what we wanted to do.

i don't believe a trucker can do today, what many of us did, years ago.

 

those were the "good ole days", when you could actually talk to another driver, about anything. there weren't Navy Seals, Rangers, Green Berets, Commandos on the roads back then.

nowadays, nearly every trucker was a former of the above.

and truckers were courteous, and helpful, and helped each other.

not like the past few decades, all trash talk, rude, and downright stupid morons driving on bike paths, or driving on the shoulders, or cutting each other off, and shooting at one another.

some profession.

 

To me running hard is 1 bathroom brake before start of day and one after. 30 while fueling (and no not at the island when done keep it under 5 to spot )and putting 720+ miles every day until reset.

 

^^^^^^^^
This is it. Especially if ran in a 65 mph truck. Consistently, every day. That driver is a Machine. It’s a rarity to see a Machine nowadays, but they still exist. A good travel agent will recognize a Machine and plan accordingly.

 

It's something you will never understand.. Untill you have done it..

 

It's not really a one size fits all question.
But one thing that needs to happen is letting it be known through your actions that you are a go to guy/gal that consistently gets the job done.

 

I always thought running hard meant loose-leaf logbooks and not stopping except to fuel. I thought it meant running 'til you couldn't stay awake and then, if you didn't have any pills, falling over the doghouse or steering wheel until you cramped up and the pain woke you up. You didn't dare crawl back in the sleeper. You had miles to run.
If you were sleeping over the steering wheel you might throw a grease rag down over the center of the wheel. The rag was to catch the drool before it seeped down into the electrical contacts in the horn button, shorted them out, and electrocuted you. Pete cabovers were really bad about that. It was kinda like getting punched in the side of the head but it sure woke you up.

 

I see you have experienced it also...