Linehaul drivers. How many hours a night do you spend waiting?

Normal.

Wait, wait and wait some more.

One of the most extreme waiting that we ever (Husband, wife team) two Company officers in FFE sent us to Americold in Salinas and HURRY. Emergency etc was the words they used. Just as we settled into the old Salinas Truckstop for a dab of fuel top off and meal etc. We got the fuel (Thank goodness)

Rolled into Salinas Americold. They said nope. Not off farm yet. Wait. They had two docks on the corner and we parked across them running reefer in continuous precool at -20 howling and tractor at high idle. We immediately both settled into the bunk and started going through the VCR movies and local television (Ugh...)

On the mid morning of day three, the reefer was pretty much out, the tractor was down to just enough to make Salinas for fuel and they finally said come get it. I was talking with spouse about using our Credit card to have a local fuel dealer bring Diesel fuel to us, maybe 400 gallons or so it would have been pricey.

The load was put on, about 1000-1200 mile run which is nothing to us and today is Wed PM after fueling. If we were not there Friday morning, guess what? We get to sit until Monday.

I don't mind waiting. But this is one particular load that was I consider a complete failure profit wise. 800 dollars or more gone in fuel (Not counting the initial fill on arrival at Salinas) I don't think that load paid enough to make anyone a profit.

Some of the best waiting is dropping a trailer off in a pretzel place on Friday morning. Dry van. Hanover PA. Small business. (Snyders I think, not really sure. There are two or three large to small pretzel people in the dutch country who ship all over) and not to show up again with the bobtail until Monday Am. Enjoy your weekend and don't drive all over with that.

I showed up sunday morning bored and READY to go. They were making pretzels in one corner. Fill a bag. Bag fills a box. Box onto a pallet. Eventually Pallet onto the trailer. Still half full in the trailer.

To this day I have tried to purchase some of their pretzels.

 

I give the first 30 minutes free and then I'm on the clock. Its a cold day in hell when my switch arrives ahead of me. I've had this run over 20 years. Also, company absolutely must pay me for any waiting time as I am on duty whether I'm sleeping or at the coffee shop during this wait time regardless of reason for delay.
I average 2 hours nightly, down from the 4 or 5 hours the first few years.

 

When I ran linehaul, I would start charging wait time as soon as I was done disconnecting my trailer(s) up until my meet driver showed up and was done disconnecting his.

I used to meet in Missoula MT where I waited 30 min up to 3 hours. There was nothing linehaul management could do. The guy that I was waiting on would never be released the same time as me since their closeout was later than ours. And my barn would push me out asap since someone was already waiting on me when I showed up. So I bit the paid bullet and usually had the longest wait time .

 

We get paid pretty good to wait at back hauls. Normally our transit is pretty good about communication so I don't wait a whole lot, but 3 days a week I haul trailers that have 2 day lead times on orders so the warehouse already knows what there orders are a full day in advance so they pack those trailers first and run them out to the yards in the first wave of trailers to leave the warehouse.

 

I usually put my head on there steering wheel during wait time. I figured that I spend I don’t know 12+ hours a year sleeping in the truck.

 

If you're LTL and you're sitting without being paid, you're being ripped off. Last I was on linehaul, you'd take your lunch and give an additional 30 minutes free...but after that, you're on the clock.

 

Join the Purple Posse, dude--you'll never look back!