Several Questions - I need an education!

I am considering getting into truck driving, and have spent many, many hours researching driving schools and carriers, especially on these forums. I appreciate what you all have written.

As I've been doing this research, I've come across a number of terms I don't understand, and I also have a number of other questions. If you folks would educate me, I'd really appreciate it.

1) What is the average length of a haul for OTR? What about regional? Dedicated?

2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of driving team?

3) It appears that Swift, Werner and JB Hunt have reputations of being scum-sucking bottom feeders, and the reports of Prime aren't much better. Why is that? The negative posts I've been reading here are so bad, so bitter, it's hard to believe that it's all true. What is that based on? With respect, please don't give me rumors or gossip. I need facts.

4) What type(s) of trailers are used in drop-hook? If more than one, how often is each type used (percentages are fine).

5) What is idle air, and what does it mean for a company to pay for it?

6) What is a restart?

7) What are the criteria for OTR? What's the difference between OTR and dedicated or regional that covers more than one state?

I may have understood, but I get the impression that some companies won't let you run your A/C after you've shut down for the night. I also get the impression that there are some companies that discourage idling your truck so you can run your heater. Is this correct? Are they serious?? Please name the companies that have this moronic policy. Do they actually expect you to rest AND sweat your brains out or freeze all night, then drive safely the next day? If so, I wonder if they've ever tried it.

That's about it for now. Sorry about the mini-rant in #8. I'm sure more questions will come up later. Thank you in advance for your responses.

 

1. I'm guessing between 800 and 1500 average. Depends on company.
2. The truck rolls 24/7, hard to sleep, must get along with each other 24/7, must trust other driver with your life..scary, more miles, ( doesn't necessarily mean more pay...depends on pay rate.
3.Many new drivers can't handle o.t.r. so they complain, the companies might keep you out more than you want, many new drivers don't understand h.o.s. rules and communicating with dispatch, these companies are training companies and have high accident rates and a lot of mistakes made by new drivers, lower pay when you are a newbie, typical complaints from drivers much of which has to do with home time..etc,
4.Any trailer can be dropped and hooked depends on company and what you haul and where.
5.I don't have the need for truck stops right now so I can't ellaborate on that,
6. When you near 70 hours in the past 8 days you have the option...or it might make the most sense to take 34 hours off which resets your hours back to 70.
7.o.t.r.... generally 48 states, dedicated... driving for one account and home more often, regional... within a few neighboring states and home usually on weekends.
They try to save fuel by making you sweat to death... not really...if it's 110 degrees out than you can run the a/c, if your on the verge of frostbite you run the heat... I'm exaggerating a bit .... it's about saving fuel and the environment correctness. But if you can dress more 'appropriately' especially in cold weather you can cut down on idle time and your company 'should' appreciate it but you probably won't see a dime of that 'appreciation' but you will be kept in 'higher' regards.... haha

 

1) What is the average length of a haul for OTR? What about regional? Dedicated?
Anywhere from 0 to over 3000. There really isn't an answer for that question. There are so many variables. You want to try your best to do over 3000 miles a week though to survive.

2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of driving team?

You make more money. Companies want you to run about a 1000 miles a day so roughly 6000-7000 miles a week. Teams are very valuable to companies so you get treated well. You get better runs a lot of drop and hook. On the downside of that, you stay out longer than single drivers, the truck never, ever stops. You have to sleep while the truck is moving, which believe me its not like sleeping in a car! It definitely takes some getting used to especially if you get motion sickness. Some roads are actually impossible to sleep on. You must get along with your partner because you are stuck together in a stressful situation for long periods of time and it gets stinky! Most of your loads are very time sensitive and you really have to hustle shuttling the hot ones! There is no time for stopping and smelling the flowers! You need to put a lot of thought into it. There are extreme goods and bads in team driving. You will get a small dose when you are training.
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3) It appears that Swift, Werner and JB Hunt have reputations of being scum-sucking bottom feeders. Why is that? The negative posts I've been reading here are so bad, so bitter, it's hard to believe that it's all true. What is that based on? With respect, please don't give me rumors or gossip. I need facts.
All of the poop aside, I would stay away from all the mega-carriers. In short here is the best reason why. Your success as a driver is in the hands of your dispatcher. At the mega-carriers the dispatchers are responsible for over a hundred drivers at a time. This makes you a number in a huge stack of drivers waiting for loads. There is no personalizing your load as to where you want to go or need to go or how much money you need to make blah, blah, blah. It is very important to have a good personal relationship with your DM. If you have a problem it will get solved. If you need to go somewhere or be home or whatever reason you need someone that is on your side and pulling for you. The smaller companies DM's have a couple handfuls of drivers and this is what I recommend. Trust me!

4) What type(s) of trailers are used in drop-hook? If more than one, how often is each type used (percentages are fine).
Drop and hook is just a term meaning you don't have to wait to get your trailer loaded or unloaded. It is all ready when you pull in. You get rid of your current trailer, hook to the other one and roll on! This can be done with just about any type of trailer.

5) What is idle air, and what does it mean for a company to pay for it?
Idle air is the scaffolding you see at truckstops that you park near and they hook it up to your truck window and you get heat/ac movies phone, games, etc... I don't think many companies pay for it. You usually pay out of pocket.
6) What is a restart?
A restart is simply taking enough time off to clear out your log book for and have all your hours available.

7) What are the criteria for OTR? What's the difference between OTR and dedicated or regional that covers more than one state?
OTR is pretty much all 48 states more or less. Dedicated is the same route over and over. Regional is they usually keep you confined to a general area like southeast, southwest, etc... Local usually means instate.
I may have understood, but I get the impression that some companies won't let you run your A/C after you've shut down for the night. I also get the impression that there are some companies that discourage idling your truck so you can run your heater. Is this correct? Are they serious?? Please name the companies that have this moronic policy. Do they actually expect you to rest AND sweat your brains out or freeze all night, then drive safely the next day? If so, I wonder if they've ever tried it.
They don't want you idling. It is the law in a lot of states. Most trucks have heat though with the truck being off. If you want ac then you need an APU. APU's run roughly about $8000.00 but are worth it as a single driver. I think there are a few companies that have them for their drivers. Usually though its the owner operators that have them. Yes it sucks and no they could careless how much you are sweating. They are office people you are a stinky truck driver and no they all have no clue as to where their paychecks actually come from while their fat, lazy corporate butts are in the AC!

Hope all this helps! Good luck to you!

 

I understand that most local driving jobs require a year or so of OTR. Since regional encompasses multiple states, why don't the locals accept regional driving experience as well as OTR? Although, maybe they do, and I just don't know it.

 

They might, it all depends on the company. Local driving is generally more intense and hectic with multiple stops in all traffic conditions and they want experienced drivers who are dependable and on time for every stop. A new driver just out of school will most likely have a difficult time with all the routing and getting all stops done in the 14 hour period. But there might be some companies willing to train on certain routes , especially those straight truck beverage routes... they might hire a newbie and train them first on straight trucks and then go with a trainer and learn on a tractor trailer. Never hurts to ask and check out different companies. They prefer you have at least one year experience handling the truck in different situations probably because it's much more time-sensitive and hectic with the traffic and weather , multiple stops.... maybe 15-20 stops or more per shift. And you have to be able to dock the trailer pretty fast so you can save as much time as possible since you have a lot of stops.

 

Other ?'s pretty much answered, so I'll hit this one.

IdleAir - WAS a service that you could pay for at some truck stops. They provided Power/Air (both A/C and Heat) & Internet Connections. HOWEVER, I believe they are all but gone. The equipment is still around, but I think the company went under. Shame, cause I think it was a good thing, maybe poor management put them under?

Many STATES frown upon Idling (or have laws against it). But trucks can come with an APU, or Optimum Idle (which when set properly can be fine).

 

#7 -- Well, yes and no. Was it Yogi Berra that said that they're the same only different? In #1, I was asking what the average length of haul was for OTR (which you answered). I also asked what the average length of haul was for regional and dedicated, which wasn't quite answered.

I appreciated the definitions, though. You probably saved me another question later on! I guess OTR is coast to coast as the previous driver said, and anything smaller is considered regional? Is a single state also considered regional or is it considered local?

You pretty much answered #7 as part of #1.

 

IdleAire still has a few locations open according to their website, and are slowly getting more back open. I wouldn't count on them getting back to their previous status anytime soon. That's a shame, because it was a good service. Too bad the industry was too short sighted to see that paying $1.50 an hour for IdleAire vs. $3.00 an hour for an idling truck was worth the investment. If I owned a trucking company, I would be all over that...

JB, Werner, and Swift are what they are. They would rather hire new drivers that they can pay almost nothing, as opposed to paying a person what they are worth. It's another case of short sightedness that is becoming too common in the industry. I worked for Werner and I didn't have a whole bunch of complaints, but I also will not be going back to them.

 

I can see your confusion...there really isn't a per se average, as I said it is a variable thing with different companies and would depend on their ability to garner good, bad, or just mediocre contracts.

As I also said...regional is a "group" of states or "zones" so each combination of one state with another will of course mean a different amount of miles. And dedicated is just that...dedicated to one (or maybe two) shippers and that/those shipping requirements. Dedicated could be something like Los Angeles to Baltimore, and return. Compared to Wal Mart dedicated out of one specific Wal Mart DC...the DC trucks will deliver to specific stores in the DC's servicing area, with the truck picking up freight that returns to the DC with no deadhead (or limited deadhead) miles.

If this helps the definition of OTR is Over The Road...as compared to "local". The "local" driver will be home most every night, but the OTR driver might be gone 2 or 3 days, up to and including gone on the road for weeks if not months at a time.

I hope this helps you understand...there are so many variables in this industry...a true definitive answer is hard to get to.