routing your trip

Get the Rand! Use GPS just to see where you are! There are still goofs in GPS taking people down goat trails and snowmobile paths! The Rand McNalley Truckers Edition has restricted routes, low clerance, scale info state info weight info and othe need info for you to do your job right, which is why it's called the TRUCKERS Edition! It has the info you need . You also need to supplement it with the low clerance over pass map for chicago. And you need to keep up with changes that every state decides to throw in! The cost of the map is tax deductable.

You will also hear drivers selling routing programs such as PC Miler for $10-20 dollars. Most companies use PC Miler to route and pay you by and PC Miler 15 is actually the best one as that was the most popular and to me routes better that PC Miler 20! 20 is great for the street level mapping. BUT rememeber that they are bootleg products and could have malware installed so take your chanches.

Most of the MSM and other "street" maping programs out there are for cars and RV's and don't route for trucks! Truck routing is way different that jumping in the car! I've watched too many idiot truckers with a GPS turn down a "no trucks allowed" street simply because it told him to! Even as far as getting on Parkways in NYC! If you do decide on a GPS mpping unit get one made especially for trucking but back up the route by opening the map book! And paper fold out maps can be better for large cities than the Rand and GPS because you get a bigger view and more detail at a glance than that GPS and Rand. The Rand city maps are only good for a "general" idea! I do a lot of NYC and I've been doing it for 30+ years and as well as I know NYC I still don't go into that town without my fold out map! I have a box full of major cities maps that I use every day! Yes that computer is great but when it crashes what ya gonna do?

 

Thanks RTO.

 

1. Get a Rand-McNally Truckers Road Atlas. Buying one is only the first step-LEARN HOW TO READ IT!!! 2. Pick up large city fold out maps and look at it before you get lost!!! 3. Learn what cities have restricted routes. Some do-some don't-Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington DC Metro, Atlanta,have restricted routes(NO TRUCKS) Kansas City, St.Louis, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Denver, not so many(only examples). I'm gonna give you and example here. Springfield MO to Orlando FL. Paid miles 1098. Route miles 1209(route they suggested) I figured out a shorter way. I drove 1101 miles to consignee. That's 108 miles less than the routed miles,but I told them how I was going. There's other examples and drivers here I'm sure can relate some. Be sure you tell the company if you deviate from their route. Two reasons: Fuel stops and AUDITS! Fuel tax people use the suggested route to figure fuel taxes if you deviate it can and will cost the company money. Went thru it with company I was leased to and YES THEY CAN FINE THE COMPANY!! That's why they wanted to know the route you were taking.

 

Wow, trucking must be pretty freakin' boring if a company demands you travel a certain way and fuel up at certain places. My company sends me a text message with fuel prices along my route and its upto my discretion on where I go. I can fuel up anywhere that takes a TCH card (flying J, Petro, some T/As, many smaller truckstops). They prefer I fuel up where its the cheapest but they understand if I can't. Sometimes if I have to get fuel at an expensive area I'll just put in a splash to get me to a cheaper place. I like having that freedom.

Also, if I want to travel a different way just to see something new I can...as long as its not too far out of the way. If I am getting around weather they are pretty cool with that too. I have a sheet where I write down my mileage at every state border and they work out the fuel taxes that way at the end of the month.

For my routing I use Streets and Trips and work out a couple different routes and check with my trucker atlas to see if the roads are okay for big trucks. Then I use my judgement to decide on which roads would be quicker travelling. Its a balance between time and distance. If I have a relaxed schedule I might opt to take a more scenic route just to have a nicer trip. If time is critical I'll try and stick to the major routes. I call the shippers/receivers and get directions to their place. I then put my route into my GPS and make sure the final legs of the trip match the directions I got from the shipper/receiver and I am good to go!!

When talking to the shipper/reciever, I ask if there is overnight parking available if I am going to be getting there the night before or ending my driving day at their place. If they say no, then I check a truckstop directory and see if there are nearby truckstops. If there isn't, I look at my atlas and plan for nearby rest areas. Also, if I can grab an internet signal along the way I get onto Google Earth and look for parking lots or wide roads where I can park along the side, etc.

 

Extremely informative posts! Thanks everyone!!!

 

What about the "training companies" (Swift, Werner, Crete, etc) - it sounds like something they would do to keep newbies safe?

 

I believe those are the companies that were being referenced!

Surprisingly.... I had a somewhat similar conversation with a O/O today that was talking all high & mighty about his accurate GPS routing....

So I asked him. "Driver, Let's say you take a Load out of Albuquerque With a delivery in Kansas City. Which way would you go?

"Oh REDD, thats easy! I-25 North to I-70 East!"

"WRONG! Your best route is I-40 to Tucumcari then US-54 all the way over to I-35 then up!"

"Your wrong! I just did it via my GPS just a few weeks ago!"

"Toss your GPS out the window & let me show you this on the map! Plus speed limits are 65 mph pretty much all the way across US-54"

"That does look like a better route & more direct... I've seen the road, just never ran it because I thought it was 2 lane!"

"What kind of O/O are you driver if you don't run 2 lanes?"

He wanders off mumbling something & I haven't seen him since!

 

Redd I agree with you somewhat. It depends a lot on how many small cities are on the 2 lane road. I had a load once where it was an hour plus quicker going the Interstate and 50 miles out of the way. I had a load going from the Budwiser Plant in the No. Hollywood area going to Yuma Az. The company I worked for had me routed down to San Diego then over to Yuma. It was at least 3 hours quicker going I- 10,S86, then I-8. Thats why good trip planning skills are important,so a driver can check the routing the company gives them and correct it as needed.

 

I for one do not like to be micro-managed.

 

I detest the micromanegment, but like all noobs I had to have a place to sstart. Some of you oldtimers were forced to learn to read the atlas ( I was as well riding with family). These new companies are just like our government they want to control everything to the point that you are fully dependant on them. I don't know how many warnings in the last few months I have got for route deviation, but each time I was able to justify it. Hell my most recent 1 is taking 26 to Johnson City, then 81 down to 40.....Can anybody guess why I did this??? And yet I still got a warning about the bs.