West vs East - Which do you prefer driving in?

LOL, last fall we cam through Wyoming at 80 on the interstate grossing 130k with some JD 410 haul trucks. It was the difference in making it to the house or having to stop where we dropped the load 60 miles from the house. We had exactly an hour to get home that 60 miles empty.

 

Yep, in a few specific cases it pays to bump the speed up a bit. But for the vast majority of the time, that crane isn't unloading me till they are set up and ready at 0700. So I can drive 75 and get their at 5 pm the night before, or I can drive 65, spend less on fuel, and get there at 6 pm. Either way I'm not getting unloaded till 7 am.

It's been my experience that those that choose to run fast don't get unloaded a minute sooner than if they slowed down a bit.

In theory it seems like running at max speed would get you another load on the week, but in practice or means you just sit a bit more. Obviously there will be exceptions to the rule, but those are rare occurrences.

I would like to clarify, I don't pull cheap freight, only good paying freight. But I'm a cheap skate, I want to keep as much of that good rate as possible.

 

So what you are saying is to walk down the hill and do all the cows? That's good advice from an old bull.

 

Our trucks are 65 MPH, with 30 minutes a day, up to 70 with accelerator pumping (for passing). I can tell you, the difference, to me, between 65 and 70 is very noticeable in terms of feeling like you're getting somewhere and making decent progress. Plus with that little bit of extra speed, I feel "more alert" compared to the 65 where that now seems dull and sleep inducing. Call me crazy.

Also, I'm someone who runs long haul 48 states and keeps the door shut, pulling an extra 4-5 miles an hour X 10-11 hours adds up. But, 65 it is.

 

I love seeing those 80 mph signs in Texas. Someone put one of them on a gawdawful washboard dirt road from hell in west Texas in the oil patch. I lost count of brake cans and other truck parts laying in the road when it got to the dozens.

 

Yeah, you have to drive for road conditions. Years ago I was a loader operator for a small top soil outfit. My loader never broke down. My boss asked me one day why my loader never broke and the other one was always breaking. Both were identical loaders except one had teeth on the bucket.

I told him that if I can not stay in the seat without a seatbelt then I was going to fast for the equipment. Same goes for anything that I drive. I think he still uses that philosophy today. I may have been slower than the other operator but I did far more work at that pace than he did waiting for repairs.

 

Saw some poor O/O lose a steer on 15 south in Utah. He was going down a grade and probably in the mid 70's with a Century. He didn't crash, handled it well, especially considering that he lost about half of his hood when it went.

 

I'm starting to feel cooped up in the Milky Way. Run line haul over to Andromeda if you REALLY want some miles

 

That's nothing. Where I run, we're paid by the light year.

 

That's a total scam. Be sure to review your paychecks carefully. Black holes always seem to suck up all the light.