Question from a prospective driver

With Regional you are home every weekend, I think, and with OTR you get one day home for every six days OTR... So you could easily be home for two days every other week or home three days every three weeks.

And I must say, Abilene will really work with you if/when family emergencies pop up... My wife had an unplanned surgery about a month ago and they got me home and time off to be there with her... Other drivers have been deadheaded home 700 miles for a funeral... Things you don't think about until they happen...

Another reason I like Abilene ... When you hit those unfortunate life events, they really shine.

 

so what is Abilene's hiring area?

 

As I understand it we hire from just about any State... But things work much better (home time, etc) if you live close to one of our main lanes. We run up and down I95 and coast to coast on I40... But we also run all 48 States too. I think in the last six months I have personally touched over half of the lower 48.

 

From what I've heard, there's a lot of waiting at shippers with reefer. I've mostly done dry van, but the times I had to sit and wait at food warehouses and deal with lumper was a major PITA. Not to mention that if you are with a company on e-logs you are burning through your clock and likely not being compensated for it.

If you run reefer and get a percentage of the line haul it might be worth it, but most starter companies don't give much of a premium for reefer, maybe $0.02 a mile. Not worth the headaches in my book.

Best pay will be in tanker or flatbed, especially if you have your Hazmat endorsement. There's more physical labor and you will rarely have issues sitting at a shipper or receiver.

I've been running flatbed for a year now, paid a percentage of what the truck makes. I love it. It's RARE to wait at a shipper or receiver. Many times the forklift driver or crane operator is hovering as you rush to unstrap the load.

 

So you run late often???
(Just Kidding!!!)

 

Nahhhhh

I do hate it when rig hands rush in to help get the straps off. Like many flatbedders I'm real particular about how I do my securement and deal with my straps. Takes me longer when I get "help".

I was just thinking about the joy of flatbedding versus being a dock banger as I drove yesterday. How many times as a dock banger do you have a crew waiting for YOU? Many times they rented a forklift or crane to load or unload me.

I remember showing up at loading docks at warehouses and they had no room to unload my dry van. Never an issue with flatbed.

Dry van you sit in your truck during loading or unloading. Flatbed they ask YOU how you want it put on the deck and YOU are in charge.

Flatbed is a workout. It's always "touch freight". Dry van is "no touch" freight, but after a year of that with the growth of your gut it becomes "no touch" at home.

I LIKE touch.

 

I see a ton of you guys all over Columbus, Ohio every day.

 

Yup... We like that town.