Reefer vs. Dryvan

I can see it happening once maybe 2x a year when you have the perfect storm and everything goes right but not very often. Biggest week I have ever seen where times and everything matched on the log was 4300 running west 80mph speed limit most places and it was a truck that didn't have it's nuts cut either.

I've run over 5 a week no it wasnt legal and you fall out of the truck when you get back to the house I can't say I miss those days...actually I can but it makes an old man of you quick and it's a young mans game doing those trips.

As said in my previous statement I have seen it done but it was done in a truck that wasn't governed and it was running west. Everything matched as it should am I saying some things weren't fudged, nope we can all fudge a little here and there for the most part it's possible in theory but it takes a lot to do it and it isn't going to happen often. With the old 10/8 rules I could see it being much more believable because in theory a person could drive about 15 hours a day on the longer loads. 15*60 that's 900/day and you take a 34 on day 4 which still leaves you a day and half roughly to drive so I could see it being more common on a 10/8 log but not this 11/14 rules.

 

I personally don't have dry van experience, but a lot of what you hear about reefer is true...long wait times, a lot of multi stops, lazy, expensive lumpers, constantly changing shifts etc. There is also the added issue of having reefer problems...while not often, if you end up having a mechanical issue, it can turn a simple, easy run into a teeth grinding, stressful tight run.
On the plus side, there are usually a lot of longer runs available, at least with my company, the ability to run dry or refrigerated, giving you more freight options. For drivers that also like a little down time, you will definitely get it waiting to get loaded/unloaded.
My suggestion would be to find a company that pays guaranteed detention/layover if you choose reefer. I work for a small, 20 truck company. While I make decent money, I only get paid detention/layover if my company collects from the customer/broker, which is rare, so I do a lot of sitting for nothing.

 

I should've updated this thread awhile ago LOL. I've since done reefer, dryvan & now run a "shuttle" service which is basically a trailer relay. In the AM some dudes from Michigan being a trailer to my home town, I hook up to that in Indiana & then "shuttle" it down to southern Illinois where I meet a guy from Tennesee. We swap trailers and he takes my load to Memphis & I bring his to Indiana where the Michigan guys pick it up in the morning when they bring me another load.

Must say...I really love this gig. Home every night, 2 days off per week. Life is good.

 

I sat at Earthbound in San Juan Bautista, CA for 38 hours once. First time I ever got a reset at a shipper lol. On the other hand, shippers are usually coolers out in the middle of nowhere CA or southern AZ and have big lots where you can park. Most places I go have had room to park for a 10 hour break. It's just a part of running produce.

 

Wow, I don't think I have ever been at Earthbound more than 5 hrs or so.

Just sat in MD for 7 hrs recently while the brought the watermelons in from the fields.

 

Food for thought...or lack of food for thought...

With all the rain that has fallen in Texas and another tropical storm set to slam Florida, there goes a lot of the "good" refer loads that would normally be coming out of those states in the fall and winter...more sitting and more fighting over dry van loads...

 

What are lumpers? (im a brand new driver, starting at Shaffer on Monday)

 

They unload, sort and segregate your delivery. A lot of places contract it out to a third party, which in turn overcharges the shipper/carrier and pays their lumpers dirt. It's one of the biggest shams going, but it gives you a chance for a break.

 

In your opinion, what is the most important thing(s) a brand new driver, going into the reefer division needs to know?

 

Thank you!