roadmasteri69, look at Maverick, as well. Their flatbed training is also excellent. And they aren't quite as anal about their trucks. Unless, that is, you really have a thing for those shiny Petes.
Computer generated load dispatches...if you have short hours you get short loads. Which is a lot of work for a little money... Get the restart and keep things rolling smoothly...
JimF, I am in trucking because there is nothing else in my area that pays even close to what I need to make to live comfortably. I am not a career trucker and never will be. I happened to have my CDL when my family's trucking company closed after 55 years, so here I am for the time being. RickG, I don't mind risking my life and being gone all the time, I'm just sick of doing it under the iron fist of TMC and for so little money. 39k a year doesn't justify around 36 hours off a week, sorry. I am not looking for sympathy, rather I am looking for a career I can take seriously. I too have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who serves, won't disagree with you there.
Granted a reset is nice but being at the consignee with a full clock on Monday is a must.One time I left Monday morning,90 miles and chased that hour and a half all week.Reset aside,do whats possible to get to the consignee that evening,if that means forgoing a shower or that cup of coffee,get as close as you can,i.e. on the ramp 5 miles away.Get a laptop,learn google maps,find malls,lowes,home depots nearby to park.Im with Carter,Im doing this cuz nothing at home pays anywhere near what I make here.Dont get me wrong,I enjoy the hell out of flatbeddin'"Flatbedding aint for sissies".Bottom line,be there in the morning!!!
I am almost always at consignee Sunday night as requested ready to deliver Monday am. However, my weeks so far have had so many variables thrown in, its impossible to get there every night during the week.. so many long delays getting loaded, unloaded that you simply run out of hours... and I cant stand running til 10 -11 at night and looking for a place to shut down.. or getting to consignee that late and having someone bang on your door at 3 or 4 am.. dont know about you, but I don't care to work 18 hours a day.. and it happens all to often.. My smoothest week so far was a situation where i did not get home til 5 pm on a Saturday.. I was 3 hours from consignee so I left at 4am Monday am so i would have my reset. Worked great.. I was there on time... got my load delivered early, got another good load and drove hard.. shut down at around 6 pm at my 14 hours.. got a shower, ate.. .. got up at 3:30am refreshed, got coffee, rolling at 4am again.. no traffic .. .. each day was like that and I got 5 loads in that week.. and I was not stressed out driving til 11 at night and enjoyed the schedule.. it worked good for me.. HOW is this not good?
Sometimes it works out that way.You caught some good loads.I would love to cut out # 3-4 a.m. and stop early...........peaceful driving.I forgot to mention,that will play hell with getting you home at a decent time on Fri. though.Save as many hrs on Fri. as possible.
BTW.. and this is just a Rant.. anyone else stuck up here in this snow storm? I was bounced 275 miles to pick up a load going to Philly area yesterday.. I was thinking to myself, why would they give me a load heading right into a big storm.?? I mean i have all of 6 weeks on my own now but whatever, they have confidence in me right!!.. so just as i finished getting loaded, FM calls to tell me have to sit on it til Thurs cause consignee was closing Wed cause of storm, go figure... tells me to get as close as I can... well I am on 79 and head east on 68.. lets just say I did not get far, maybe 20 miles and ran into a dead stop on interstate cause of a TT accident in the snow up ahead, gonna be a couple hours.. so i crawl up the exit and been stuck at a little truck stop ever since, no showers.. just basics.. and from what i read, nothing will be moving that way for at least another day or two.. I know it wont be Tomorrow for sure.. Pa shut down sections of 81 and 78 so far... we can hope for Friday.. Talked to FM and told me to hang tight and just check in in the am... like to get a little closer and find a TS with shower, but afraid to move.. going on 4th day tomorrow since shower and thats NOT cool with me.. baby wipes only do so much ya know!! close to two feet of snow outside my truck and still coming down.. plus, i am guessing even if i did make it, the next TS will be racked and packed.. boy i love being a trucker!! lol
As I said in my post, my question really was curiosity, not dissing you. Understand about the local pay thing. I just started a non driving job yesterday, 2nd shift. Told my wife I'd give this a try before going back on the road. Company is one of the better employers in town, has great benefits, but, pay is $10. hr (that includes shift differential). So for me to make that same $39K, I'd have to put in 23 hrs. OT per week. There is OT there, but not all the time, and not consistent. So, if I went back on the road, and only made $20K+, I'd at least be doing something I enjoy. As for other careers that involve being away from home, nothing is like trucking. The military should even be listed, as it's a whole different ballgame. As for sales people, their travel isn't dictated by HOS rules, they usually can eat at decent times, and stay in motels. railroad crews are generally away from home no more than 2 nights, and are put up either in a motel or a bunk house. And their pay makes it well worth it. And if anyone needs sympathy, it's me! Of all the apps I've submitted to flatbed companies, and all the fb companies I've called, the only one that I've found that will take me on without me having to go back theough school is Swift But, if that's what it takes, that's what I'll do, and get my time in.
