FedEx Ground Linehaul with JohnBoy

One thing that is a certain, there’s no such thing as holding a run. Also, they don’t put special loads together for drivers. This is a well oiled machine that has nothing but time stamps on every package, every sort, every departure and every arrival. When it’s ready, it goes. Once I self dispatch, the system gives me a time for the run. For instance, the Murfreesboro to NOKY run is 297 miles. They gave me 6.2 hours to do it. Of course it’s very doable, even with trying to get through Nashville.

If I get to South Georgia or north Florida, then I’ll just bobtail home. But the agreement is when it’s hometime and nothing is going that way, then it’s the big bird and the Uber ride to and from the airport. He’s already got my next ticket for home time at the ready. Compared to the stress factor at the other company, where everyday was a problem, concern, issue and whatever other adjective you want to put in there, this job, from what I’ve seen in the 7 weeks here, has zero stress. My biggest stress factor is making sure my one piece of luggage comes off the plane.

 

Abilene didn’t invent these issues by any stretch of the imagination, it just seemed like they had more of them than other companies. I’d say it’s just the inherent nature of truckload OTR. This part of trucking, Linehaul, is very new to me, and, something that I heard about all these years, but never got involved in. For instance. When you go to a hub with either a set of pups or a 53’ you come through the gate and go to the drop location and pull through and drop. The only thing we do is build the sets and break them down. I haven’t bumped a dock since January 2nd. If I have empties, same thing. The yard jockeys take them and park them. It’s the little things in life now that keeps pushing truckload OTR further and further into my past.

 

I know. Hate to say it, but all you have to do is look at some of these trucks at the various hubs and it gives a good idea about that contractor. Right now I’m sitting in my truck at the hub getting my truck washed. There’s a company that comes by twice a week with a mobile truck wash and does whatever trucks are here. This is the 2nd time this week my truck has been washed.

 

Right now he’s got a hold on hiring until the spring. He just had a team quit 2 weeks ago, and came back Wednesday. Between the Humboldt Tn hub, Murfreesboro Tn hub, and the contract he just bought in Marietta Ga, he’s got 40 day cab local drivers that are home every day/night depending on their run, 6 teams, and me, the oddball solo OTR driver, that is paid more for being on call than driving. Everyone is salaried.

 

Buys. And the Uber to and from the airport.