Home time doesn't add up... need advice

USX policy is one day per week up to 4 days off. I usually get 5.

 

Reading this thread makes me feel better

Bank days that never go away @ conway

Take as much as you want off as long as you've earned enough days.

I have enough days to take winter off if I wanted.

don't get ppl wanting to go home all the time.

I hear ya op can't make money running intrastate paid by mile xD

Can always say it needs to go to the shop for "that little thing" that turns into your buddy at the shop not getting to it for a couple days.....just sayin....

 

They may have changed it then some since 2008. Back then you could not take over 3 days in a row off or they could make you turn the truck in and then you would have to get a different one when you got back.

 

You drivers need to consider a few things.

First you get mad when a truckload carrier has more manned trucks then they have freight (and thus fewer miles for everyone)

Second, to help in the regard of the first, some carriers are becoming leaner and thus having a trucks/drivers per shipment ratio that is more profitable for the company and the drivers

This creates a problem. Many companies, especially the mid/small size companies notice irregular bouts of having too many trucks "off" in given times when no real home-time system is enforced and the policy becomes lax and unpredictable. And it creates major problems for a carrier when they book (anticipate) say 500 loads for a given week, but ends up come crunch time, there are only trucks (drivers) working to cover 450 of them because an unusual number happen to be off for 2 or 3 of those production days.

So, what many carriers are doing now is allotting slots like a hotel reservation system. You have to see if a room is available for the number of nights you want it. There are only so many rooms allotted and once they are all "booked" you have to wait for an opening. They can decide how many rooms they will make availbale based on the number of units they have and the number of units they want to anticipate NOT being out for maintenance, repairs, time off, etc at any given time, and how much money they care to make or lose that month.

You can disagree with the policy, but you can understand good paying shippers are hard to come by, and having to back out of loads they agreed to cover 3 days ago [in exchange for the shipper offering them the freight at a decent rate] is THE LAST thing they want to do. Not good for your boss, not good for you as a driver (in the long run). But as was mentioned, you are free to work wherever you think will be treated "fairly" but make sure you work somewhere that tries to operate in a manner that assures they will be around next year.