Does running hard make any difference?

Never was in a hurry, even with expedited freight.

Most loads should be calculated at ... 48mph for planning purposes at the company but many dispatchers don't. That number represents the entire run, from traffic to fuel.

My trucks use that rule to tell the dispatcher if they will take the load, a lot they turn down. But then they also don't bump into the 34 often if at all during the month. The other thing is, they seem to be doing 550 a day and making good money doing that, no rushing and no bs.

 

My codriver and I run 700-800 miles a day stopping only for 30's and to switch drivers.
I'm blowing my hips out but I'll have the money to pay for new ones

 

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I drive this way, Ridgeline. If I get 550/day for 6 days, that's 3,300 miles on my settlement, a pretty good week, adds up to around $13,800/month gross income after operating expenses. I do well with that, at least partly because I'm a fiscal conservative.

For me, and I do think I "run hard," occasionally, the 10hr break is more annoying than helpful. I'm usually sitting there waiting for the clock to tick over so I can get driving. Everything is done so I just wait for 6 or 7 minutes, call it the pre-trip, and add a couple of minutes once the wheels are turning at road speed. So running hard is more a matter of not stopping, but I don't like to stop much anyway.

NewTrucker, running hard will get you there sooner, most times. But if you don't have another load ready or nearly ready, why rush around? If you do have money to be made, by all means, get it on. That's how I do it, and I believe others see that picture as well. Rushing around then waiting at the truck terminal or truckstop is kind of putting pressure on yourself for little gain, in my thought. I don't like to reset on the roads, so I try to get to that 8th day with enough hours to run my recap. I've made a good income while driving my rig for fuel economy doing it that way. Best.

 

I would say its good practice to put down the miles as soon as you can to allow some leeway for minor problems like a flat tire or traffic accidents. If you are always getting there asap then you are also more predictable and more likely to get pre planned on another load so you don't wait around after your empty.

 

imiles per day depend on the load and road conditions. unless its same thing over and over on that perfect road.

 

You have to run hard at times,I don't see how with elogs your gonna make any money,espically if you have a truck that only runs 62 68,whatever I have been doing this awhile..only way,guess you could say im an outlaw..lol,

 

Hey Good Question,
Im a new driver myself and when I was working for a mega carrier for a month I found that running to my reset was the best way to get long runs. Many times when I sent in my avaliable hrs at the end of the week it seemed I only assigned short hauls. Not worth the time and effort in my limited opinion. Starting out I planned by dividing total trip by fifty and this gave me the hrs needed to make the drive and elbow room.
Test drive your truck before first run... I didnt and found out its turbo was fried and I couldnt get above 7th gear. What a nightmare... Dont assume your assigned truck is in good working order.
Also assume you will go places trucks were not made to go like New York. So write down your route, review it ten times in your map book, say your prayers, and then wake up early, and go get it. Lane assist on GPS help alot as well when going thru transitions on interchanges and finding truck stops in route. Highly recommended.
You can be a high producer by working dedicated runs after you gain some experience most companies let you transfer over. Then you can know your routes off the top of your head. Get in and out of the docks faster cause you know the crew. Know when and where to park.
Best regards,

 

Yea that was what I was wondering. Just because you rush somewhere at one of these mega carriers will there be another load right away or do you just end up sitting the same amount of time regardless? Like is there usually enough freight to go around where you can just hop to another load? Now if I knew ahead of time there would be a load I could hop to I would drive as hard as I could to get somewhere to get the new load but if there wasn't then I would just show up at the scheduled time.

 

That sounds like the logical thing to do. I am of course guessing but I think this is what I will end up doing at least at the start to see if indeed doing it does get me more loads per week. If it turns out it just means I end up sitting more then I guess I'll just take my time.