I was reading an magazine artical about log book, and a driver said that he always uses hub miles, claiming that dashboard miles are not accurate. Guessing that odometer miles might not always be dead on....but should not be so far off that the difference should make any real difference on a daily log.... Anyone have any words of wisdom on this...and second question.. how often do the DOT guys really check log books on the road ???
Many companies require the driver to use the hubometer to record their mileage as opposed to the odometer in the truck. Everything from the truck being towed to having a dash cluster replaced can wreak havoc on the actual odometer reading. This is why companies install the hubometer and use that reading instead. As for DOT inspecting logbooks it is random for the most part. I have driven for almost 16 years and had my logs checked maybe 6 times. I always keep mine up to date though "cause you never know" when you'll be checked for a "random" going through a scale.
Just had a paperwork check 2 days ago and it lasted all of about 15 min. The inspector looked at my logbook for about the past 3 days and didn't comment so I can't really tell what he was looking for, but found nothing wrong. I always use the odometer because we have no hubmeters on our trucks.
I drove for one company who preferred us to use the hub mile but they also wanted us to list the miles reading every state we crossed into. Stop and go read at every state line? NOT. I carried a small recorder and would name the line I crossed such as going into SC, and the miles, so when I stopped to do paper work, I can replay it and get the miles done.
Same here, I've never had a hubmeter on any of my trucks/trailers. The truck I just started driving, the odometer is about 7.4 miles off every 100 miles. I've gotta get the ECM checked for the correct tire size.
The mileages recorded at the state lines is used for calculating road use taxes I beleive (or maybe it was for calculating how much fuel you should have bought and the right amount of fuel tax) . There are computer programs for calculating this but I guess some companies just like doing it the old fashioned way.
I have a laptop on a laptop stand at my fingertips all day. I use Microsoft Streets and Trips with an extrenal GPS receiver. After I plug in the beginning and ending points, it draws the route. As I'm driving, if I stop for fuel or to sleep for the night, I'll add that point to the current route. The line-by-line instructions include the exact mileage as you cross into each state. A few seconds with a calculator will tell you how many miles it was through that state. The added bonus is that it can save you on your fuel tax. Got lost and did 50 extra miles in a state? Maybe went to a customer's old address then the new one to realize it was 25 miles closer? Redraw the route to the new address then report the number of miles according to the computer. Over the course of the year I can save a chunk of change by not having to pay for the various "unintended" miles I did in various states. You may have a moral argument against this but I look at it like this..."it's bad enough that I had to do these extra miles, burning diesel and wasting hours of my sometimes precious time. volunteer to pay taxes on those inadvertant miles? no thanks..."
