Question regarding schedule of drivers

i generally sit no less than 1 hour between loads and more often than not, am pre-planned on the next load before the one i'm on is finished.

as for time off, my situation is somewhat different than alot of posters on here, because my company has a pilocy of getting us home every weekend and they do. you'll probably get alot of responses on here from guys who don't see the house for weeks, but that's just due to the bottom feeder they went with....the industry standard is 1 day off for every 6 out but that doesn't mean 1 day a week, it means 3 or 4 days after 3 or 4 (or more) weeks out. there are good companies out there that will hire students if you do your research, have a good record, and don't jump at the first offer you get or believe all the hype from the recruiters and pretty websites. a realistic expectation for a newbie is a minimum of 2 weeks out and 2 days off. minimum. unless you jst get extremely lucky like i did and get every weekend off right out of the gate.

having said that, we have no forced dispactch and if we need time off all we have to do is put in the request at the beginning of the week and there genrally is no bs in getting it.....within reason....but you don't just take a week off whenever you want it. a day or so occasionally, but not a week.....and not once a month either. every now and then whenever you have some need to be home during the week. you're being hired to be on the road and make money for the company, and that's what they expect from you....is to be on the road making them money.

do you want to make money or not? if the door isn't shut and the wheels aren't rolling, you aren't going to have any.

our scheduling is first empty, first loaded. as an example, at one of our customers, 4 or 5 trucks may show up the night before for a 6am unload appt. as we get unloaded, we send our empty call. first unloaded gets the first load out of the area. last unloaded gets the last load out of the area or will bounce empty to wherever it is. the farther down that list you are, the longer you wait for the load. it behooves you to leave early enough to be the first one there lol.....

anything else you think of that you would like to know just pm me and i'll be glad to cover it.....but it does vary from company to company and you'll get just as many answers as you have drivers and companies. some are good some are bad. mine just happens to have been nothing but good so far. i'm sure my day of waiting for a load are coming, but i haven't been there yet.

 

The job is called Truck "Driving" for a reason. Trucks are expensive and do not make money sitting still.
There are many Companies now that get you Home but judging by several of your posts none that will fit the schedule you are looking for.

 

Get your post count up, Julian. I've got a reading list for you.

 

With all due respect, your posts make me think you are looking for a driving job that will allow you to see the sites of the US, operate another business and take time off at will. If this is the case you are looking at the wrong profession. If you were to run your own truck this way you would go out of business. So obviously a company won't allow you to run their truck this way.

I don't think you will find many jobs like that unless you plan to sightsee through the windshield. Starting out you certainly won't. Trucking is about moving loads to make the company money; everything else takes a back seat to this.

In addition, you won't make a living with a job that lets you see the sites. Do some research and bring your expectations a little closer to the reality of this profession. If you don't you will be disappointed with the outcome.

Your down time comes when and where it comes not when and where you want it. When it comes you can certainly make the most of it.

Now I'm not trying to be a jerk and I invite you to check my posts and evaluate me based on my track record. I just believe that most new drivers fail because they lack realistic expectations of the industry. This profession offers an above average living but you will make sacrifices for it. Since I can't accurately quote the failure rate I won't. I do know some of the Mega-Companies have a turnover rate in excess of 100%.

The reality is starting out most companies will keep you out at least 3-5 weeks and give you 3-4 days off. They will usually miss getting you home on the day you asked to be home. As long as the loads are coming you will be expected to unload, load and run your available hours. Your workday can and will often be 14 hours. This gives your 10 hours to shower, eat and sleep. Then you get up tomorrow and do it again. If there are no loads or you find yourself empty on the weekend you will get a 34-hour reset. It will most likely not be near any place you have on your must see list. The companies will be very unhappy if you run out of route or unplanned miles in their truck.

Now granted everything I have said is worst case but if you aren't prepared for worst case you can expect nothing but disappointment. If you get a better than average company or get lucky, then you get a pleasant surprise.