Schneider Team "Tips and Tricks" 2015

I am starting this site to assist drivers on how to maximize their paychecks while working with Schneider. For some that read this some of this is a no-brainer but for others it may actually help. I would ask that if you have a tip that you wish to add it would be greatly appreciated.


I have been with Schneider 18 months. I am still a rookie but I have been able to pick up things quickly. From day one of orientation to a year later I was able to make $56000 teaming with my son. This calendar year I should make around $70,000. There are teams with Schneider that make over $80,000 a year per driver. I have had to run 85% of the time to reach where I’m 70k. By following some of these tips you should have no issue making over $60,000 a year and not burn out. I’m going to start at ground zero right out of orientation.


Teaming has it’s own set of problems so we will start with your Co-Driver.


When you meet you co-driver discuss what your goals are. Are you wanting to make a lot of money? Travel? Are you only looking at getting a year experience then moving on? Do you want to run hard? What are your pet peeves (mine is clean windows). Does smoking bother you? Shoes in the sleeper area? Showers (I prefer every other day) Anything else you can think of you need to discuss.


Once you receive your truck there are items you will want to get. I am going to list them in order of importance and why.


1. Leather Gloves-both insulated and uninsulated for fueling and to wear while working outside the truck.

2. Iceless cooler- self explanatory

3. Basic tools- socket set, 3 lb hammer, regular hammer, multipurpose tool, vise grips, tire gauge, crow bar

4. XM Radio- $50 to purchase, $10 a month

5. Mattress or memory foam cover. I will discuss this more later

6. Trucker GPS- I have a DEZL 570 that works great and I will discuss this later.

7. CB- helps during adverse conditions or road closures.

8. Power strips and USB plugs to recharge computers, cell phones and such

 

Next step is to decide who is driving which shift. When I say shift I mean breaking the day into 12 hour shifts. Doesn’t matter whether it’s 12-12 or 5-5….one person is responsible for everything that happens during their shift and at the end of that shift they brief their co-driver of where they are and what’s going on. You can actually let them know what you expect of them in order to make on-time delivery. A sample brief could be….”We are in Jamestown, NM….we have a fuel stop in Amarillo….I need 525 miles today to stay on schedule.” That’s just an idea.



Each driver should be on-duty/driving for no more than 9 hours. Let that sink in…9 hours..no more and no less. The reason for this is if you stick to your 9’s you should never have to do a restart on the road. This comes out to 72 hours in an 8 day period but almost always you will sit at some time and recover the two hours necessary to keep rolling. If for some reason you have to run 10 hours one day then eventually you will only be able to run 8 hours another day to recover the lost hour. You will find out quickly that steady will mean fatter paychecks.



So you are on-duty/driving 9 hours a day which means you have 3 hours a day for showers/ laundry/hot meal or even a nap if you wish. That’s your shift and as long as each driver pulls their own weight this system works well. I drive nights (5-5) and I take a nap almost every night for 2-3 hours to make it easier.



Each driver is responsible for their hours and what they can do the next shift can be part of their brief. Work together on this and communicate clearly so that you make your deliveries on time. Your night driver will be able to get more miles than your day driver.

 

Sharing a small space with someone can be a challenge and it doesn’t matter who the other person is there will be times where you will get frustrated with each other. You split paychecks so it is critical that you work together. You don’t have to like each other but if you both share responsibilities than life will be much better.


Driving- Trying to sleep in a moving vehicle can be a challenge. Having a good Mattress or pad will help but your co-driver can make it better or worse depending on how they drive. Talk to them about driving smooth. Hard braking, hard acceleration, jerky shifting, quick lane changes and hard coupling can make you miserable and will make you want to choke your co-driver. With that said you also have to remember you have someone sleeping in the back while you are driving.

 

Trip Planning- This is how you make your money, receive the best assignments and always qualify for your bonus. Your pay raise is also tied into on-delivery percentage. I’ll explain bonuses and pay raises later.


When we finished orientation an OSR sat down and explained trip planning for teams. We tried all the fancy formulas and found out that we would show up six hours early. We quickly modified our trip planning for our team.

Every team is different but for us 550 miles a day per driver seems to work best for us. By doing 550 we can stay within our hours and run all week long without worrying about running short.

Communication is key! You have to brief your co-driver at each shift change on what is going on and what you expect from them.

When receiving a Pre-assignment look at different factors. We 1st map the route on Mapquest. This will give you the quickest route using speed limits and current traffic. This isn't always the best route but can give you an idea what way you are going. It can also show you multiple routes and give you accurate miles from point A to point B.


Next we look at the weather along the route. Are there major storms on the route that will delay your trip.

Next we look at when we will hit major cities. Dallas at 5 p.m. may mean you need to modify your plan to hit it before 5 or after 7 when traffic is slower. We also look at major events (I once got caught in KC after the World Series…missed that one)during the time we are traveling through those cities. For this weekend it would be Indianapolis because of the Indy 500. Saturdays on I-35 between Austin and Waco can be a bear in the fall if you don't prepare for it.

We do our trip plan and add 3 hours on the end. This ensures we have enough time to make it to destination safely. We sat our NAT for 1 minute after delivery and change our ETA and NAT when we get closer.


1st Sample assignment:

. New Berlin, Wisconsin to Kent Washington. Qualcomm says 1931 but we can't trip plan off of that. Two routes pop up on Mapquest. One is 1986 (I-94 through ND) and the other is 2020 (I-90 across). The latter is longer because it doesn't take you through the Indian Reservation on the SD/Wyoming/Montana border..It keeps you on I-90 the whole way. We do our trip plan and calculate a little under 2 days.

Put the route in the Qualcomm and it has us taking I-90 across through the Indian Reservation (200 miles of backroads). The area is littered with deer and wildlife at night and my co-driver doesn't feel comfortable going that way. We decide to go out of route and take I-94 for safety reasons. It adds 8 miles to our journey. One issue....no fuel stops on that route. Once we are well on I-94 we request a fuel stop and it gives us one on the route!

So...we deviated from the route but saved valuable time by taking I-94. Our MPG is over 9 mpg because we aren't traveling through small towns and up and down hills....ND is flat! We saved time for the same reasons. Not something you want to do all the time but it helps to be aware of your routes and anything that might delay it. Southern Cal to Atlanta area is very similar....same distance taking I-40 as taking I-10/I-20 but sometimes weather in Flagstaff and New Mexico may mean going a little further to avoid it.


One thing I noticed is Jill will take you around large cities (St Louis, Indy, Columbus OH to name a few). I found that in the middle of the night it is no issue going straight through instead of taking the bypass. I cut 37 miles off my route by following this tip. May not be that many miles but time=money and my wife loves money. Wouldn't do it during the day but 1 a.m. is not an issue.


My co-driver recently purchased a Commercial Vehicle GPS and I LOVE it! It has the traffic updates that alerts us to delays ahead and recommends a bypass. I have needed this three times in the past week. We use it in conjunction with Jill as a tool to better plan our routes. It has been extremely helpful and saved us time and miles on several occasions so far. I feel it will pay for itself in about 2-3 months.


I know they cost a ton of money but one thing we have done is saved our Pilot/Flying J points until we had enough to make the purchase. It took about 5 months to save. I recommend waiting until you are in Oregon to purchase so you don't pay sales tax. We purchased the Garmin 5" DEZL version


Remember how to do paper logs. Your QUALCOMM will go down and remembering to be prepared for this could save a lot of unneeded stress. Not a big deal but inconvenient for sure. Another reason to purchase a Commercial GPS.

 

I’m going to call this Advance Trip Planning- This one also involves taking a different route than Jill gives you.


Your sample assignment is to pick up a relay and Fontana going to Lithia Springs, GA. Jill gives you a route along I-40 to Memphis down to I-20 (Birmingham) and across to Lithia Springs (West of Atlanta). Distance is 2115 miles and weight is 25000 lbs. Your relay arrives at 0800 PST. You look at the route and identify major cities (Albuquerque, OK City, Memphis, Birmingham) and Fuel Stops (Moriarity NM and West Memphis OC). This is a pretty standard load that most of us have done many times. You notice the only city you’re going to hit during peak traffic is Memphis around 0800 and then when you leave Memphis you take a back road for about 50 miles. When checking weather you notice that Flagstaff and Albuquerque are expecting snow. This is when you might want to reevaluate your route.

Mapquest gives A 2nd route that takes I-10 to I-20 all the way across but adds 45 miles to your route. You will hit El Paso middle of the night and Dallas in the afternoon but you can probably manage Dallas by when you take your break and driver switch. You decide that you want to take the southern route instead of risking Snow in the middle of the night. Problem is you won't get a fuel stop along the way.

This scenario is more common than you think and can be managed one of two ways. 1st choice is to stop in El Paso to get fuel and take a hit against your metrics...this gives you enough fuel to Make it to Dallas OC which doesn't hurt your metrics. 2nd option is to have your driver manager give you a routing point, say Phoenix, and then you will get fuel stops along the route. Will Schneider let you deviate from route this much? Yes and even though it's 45 miles longer you fuel economy will be higher (less hills) and you will be able to make better time.

If you have a decent relationship with your DM than they will never question it. These scenarios don't happen all the time but there will come a time when you say "That route doesn't make sense" and you will want to take another route.

 

Your ETA/NAT-


This tip will help you keep you from sitting for your next assignment-


Before using this tip you need to know what your driver can do during their shift and what you can do. The assignment is 1200 miles long and you are staring west coast (PST) and delivering in Midwest (CST). You can do 550 miles during your shift and your co-driver can do 525 miles during his shift. You pick up the load at 1200 pst.


Step one- you calculate that it will take you 27 hours to deliver. Now take the time at P/U (1200) and add 2 hours for time change (1400). Now add 27 hours to assignment so you know you can comfortably deliver by 1700 CST. For Schneider you can deliver 3 hours early or 1/2 hour late from the time you set for your ETA for assignments that do not have an appointment time and still be considered on time. You calculated 1700 CST now add 2-3 hours to insure you have plenty of time. Once the time updates on your Qualcomm then move your ETA to 1700. Once that updates on your Qualcomm then set your NAT for 1730. Remember your on-time percentage is calculated off the first time you input. By changing it and updating your NAT you are telling the planners you will be ready by 1730. The planners are famous for making you wait between assignments. This will make that wait less. You can move your ETA and NAT anywhere you want but remember not to deliver more than 3 hours early and you will still be good.

 

Once you finish orientation your number one worry is backing. The following should help

There are a number of yards that are designed for Day cabs and Yard dogs but not trucks with sleepers. It can be frustrating to wiggle into that tight spot. The following is what I do:


I place the rear tandem all the way to the rear. Once the back of the trailer is in the hole and lined up correctly I move the rear tandem all the way forward. You have to make sure you lock that rear tandem every time you move it. The purpose for this is when backing into a tight spot with the tandems forward you have 15-20 feet of trailer sticking out that can scrape the trailer on your blind side. 2nd...it gives you 15-20 feet once you are in the hole to maneuver the trailer in.

The other option is to ask the yard dog to park it for you. I wouldn’t make a habit of that but if you feel you lack the ability to back it in safely then this is an option.

 

Truck stops are another concern. What time you arrive at a truck stop determines your success of whether or not you find a spot or not. The later it is the less your chances. Find a spot furthest from the Truck Stop and your chances of finding a spot increase. Once you find that choice spot than setup is crucial. If you have the setup wrong you can quickly get yourself into trouble. Take your time and don’t worry about everyone else. Get out and look…several times if you have to as long as you don’t hit anything. If you can’t get it abort that spot and look for another one. Not a big deal!

 

When teaming a good mattress is essential. The mattress that comes with the truck is junk. The mattress size is twin XL and is 86" long versus 80" long. Go to different mattress stores in your hometown...they usually have one on clearance because they are rare. We found ours for $200. A better mattress means you won't slide around as much while trying to sleep. We also added a memory foam pad which adds to comfort. NEVER sleep on the top mattress while the vehicle is moving for safety reasons. There are several ways that teams can both share the bottom bunk. 1st is to use your own linens and switch them when your shift changes. 2nd- is use a sleeping bag...3rd and what we do is "Hot Bunking" We both have our own pillows and share linens. I team with my son so not a big deal but others prefer #1 or #2. Since first writing this I purchased a sleeping bag and my new co-driver and I just switch out sleeping bags at shift change

 

Our QUALCOMM went out so we were on paper logs for 6 days. After your QUALCOMM is online again DO NOT try and enter all your paper log data in. DO NOT approve your logs.

Submit your paper logs when you TRANSFLO your next load. Call IT and give them the confirmation number from when you transflowed it in and they will manually enter your data into the system