USA Trucking - Partly sunny or partly cloudy?

Hey Sarge I don't say this with any haste, but do you notice that for every one driver out there having a good experience with USA truck there are 8 to 10 who aren't having a good experience? In the 3 years I drove for USA truck I had 6 fleet managers. An average of 1 every 6 months. Two of which I never had a chance to meet. A realationship doesn't develop after 6 months. So what is the trick to getting the good miles? You say 2500 miles is now a crappy week for you, but I know you have to have seen that fleet wide USA truck is only averaging 1700 or so miles per tractor. So you are "one" of the "few" lucky ones. Therefore your experience does not constitute any sort of turn around at USA truck. Now maybe by me saying this an unknowing person would say well did I make my appt times 95% of the time or better? Did I ask to be home all the time? Did I hustle? Did I scan my trips and logs in a timely fashion? Did I do everything my FM asked of me? Was I professional? In 3 years the answers to those questions are (yes, no, yes, yes, yes, and yes) respectively. I am a single guy who is not married so spending weeks out on the road was my way of making money. In 2011 I spent 310 days on the road although I only claimed 300 solid so that there would be questions on the IRS end. So is the the 25 days difference between you and me, is that why I got short miles many weeks? In 3 years I can't fill one hand with the amount of times I was late to an appt by my own doing. In fact only one time I can remember I forgot to set my alarm clock forward for DST. Yes my fleet manager heard from me when I was getting short miles despite my efforts. I was always on the phone with shippers and finals to enquire about my load. This was something I did for myself as well as my FM since they didn't have to take time out of their schedule to call my appt. If I would have gotten 2500 miles 3 weeks in a row and then I had a down week under 2000 miles my FM wouldn't have heard a peep out of me. Now when I have one week over 2300 and then 2 weeks under 1900 now that is short miles and that is still better than the experience most drivers are now having with USA truck. I ran into rookie driver all the time who told me about the bold face lies they were writting in their log books. I however was by the book (as I did it) on my logs 95% of the time. I may not have been the best driver USA truck ever had but I was a very far cry from their worst. My top year at USA truck was 114000 paid miles last year. So if your low week is 2500 miles count your blessings. Im happy for you. Really I am. That is the kind of miles I wish I would have gotten every week. I would have been happy and I would have run every one of those miles as best and professional as I know how. USA truck does not have frieght to give everyone 2500 miles every week. 130000 miles a year is what a driver needs to make his or her time on the road worth it. Im sorry this post is so long but really man you are one of the lucky ones. Im happy for you.

 

Well I can honestly say that maybe not on this forum, but at shippers and receivers, the more drivers I talk to for the most part are saying what I am. Now this was not always the case but lately it is. There are still plenty of the terminal rats complaining all the time. The ones saying how they want and HAVE to have a restart every week, they what loads they will and won't take. My point is that more and more drivers that I talk to lately are getting good miles. It was a rarity 6 months ago.

 

Yeah I'm with that. I haven't heard anybody ######## about miles in a LONG while. The closest thing I've heard lately was at Nestle Purina 2 nights ago in Mechanicsburg, PA. One of our drivers came up to me ######## that he was stuck in a Northeast loop and was supposed to be going home to Dallas, TX this week for hometime and he was convinced he wouldn't get home. I shut him up by saying that I'm supposed to be going home to Houston, TX this weekend and I'm not worried about it and that I've been stuck in the blizzard in the NE loop just the same as him. My FM always gets me home on time and I'm always rewarded after dealing with poop like the last 2 days. I did round trips between Dunkirk, NY and Mechanicsburg, PA just to inventory shuffle for Purina. Guess what? Now I'm on an 800 mile Hazmat load from Virginia to Chicago and then preplanned to Texas for home.

 

You are so right. Everyone is so quick to complain at what load they are on right now, not knowing that their FM is already thinking 3 loads ahead to get you where you need to go. Unless your FM stinks, you just need to remind him about a week prior to your time and then let him work. Before Christmas, I was put on a load from Georgia to Hazelton, PA. No where near my house. Was supposed to be going home. I took it, del early and the next load would get me to the house the same day I wanted, just a little later in the day than I planned but hey, he got me the miles for the week squeezed in so my check looked good and still got me home. The funny part is the load that would have taken me home, the factory was closed til after Christmas. 6 other loads were to come out of there that day. This was Saturday. I sent in a msg on qc and sent my FM a text msg letting him know. 2 hours later I was given a msg to go home and have a merry Christmas. 450 mile deadhead to the house. Haters say what you want. This place isn't all peaches and cream, but what trucking outfit is. Like I said, I had a rough go in the beginning, but my fm is good, my truck is good and my miles are good.

 

I can give credit where credit is due. Of all the negative and bad there is to say about USA truck and there is plenty. They don't micro manage their drivers like some (actually profitable) carrier do. They don't tell you when to fuel they just give you a guide and its up to you to plan your fuel stops. If I went 100 miles out of my way on a load that I had time on such as a weekend load to go see family I never heard a word about it. And yes if its christmas USA truck has no issue dead heading a driver 450 miles so that they can be home. So yes kudos to USA truck on that front.

 

That's one thing I can say for sure. If you told them you want to be home for Christmas they will do almost anything to get you there.

 

Can someone tell me if usa trucking will hire you, if you have 9 months local flatbed experience.

 

I'd check with a recruiter to verify but I can't see a reason why they wouldn't. I don't think you'd have to go through driving school again but I'd bet they'd send you out with a trainer anyways simply as a refresher.

 

If that is your only experience and you don't have experience doing OTR logging and and all that jazz you will probably have to go to school and go out with a trainer.