Who Does or Did Sears Dedicated?

Rug my mentor said normal average is 2200-2500 miles with 3000 being max. And the money is whatever your rate is

 

Hey Rug, I tried the Sears dedicated out of Columbus for a couple weeks. Based on my experience, I don't see how anybody can make any money on that account. It absolutely SUCKED! The loads are very time sensative, you MUST make all the stops ontime or it's a service failure. And they give you the absolute minimum amount of time to get from one stop to the other. All the runs are relatively short, most under 200 miles, but they claim the extra stop pay makes up for the short miles. Not according to my math.

They gave me a load one day, The pick up window was overnight, but the first delivery was late morning and was only 2 hours away. In order to not burn up my clock time, I sat for 18 hrs, picked up the load late (they are fine with that, just cannot deliver late), and made the 2 stops ontime. It had a total of 125 miles, with 1 extra stop. After I delivered the final, I was told to head back to the terminal. That was it for my day. There is no way anyone can make money with loads like that.

Maybe you will get lucky and your terminal will be different. I doubt it. The terms of the account are set by Sears, not Swift. If you decide to do it, GOOD LUCK! You're gonna need it.

 

Yes that is usually how it works, multi stops, the time between 1st and last is like 12 hours so you must have superior time management skills to make sure your 14 envelopes these times.

 

Yeah, I don't mind running a Sears load from time to time, but dedicated...no way.

My mentor ran Sears dedicated. Lots of overnight running, usually a non-Sears load to get him back close to Romeoville, then another Sears run.

Did a lot of sitting, too. I barely had to do any sleeping in the back with the truck moving my whole six weeks. Usually since we picked the load up in the afternoon and we got there in the late evening and both slept until the store opened.

Sears dedicated must be the least-desirable dedicated run because every month or so I see offers sent to my qualcomm for a Sears dedicated position. Probably opening up from people wanting out.

 

We did a couple of these when I was with my mentor. No way would I want to do this dedicated. Just like others have said, low miles, 2-3 stops, usually way too much time to get to the first one, and just enough time to get to the rest. Oh yeah and driving around mall parking lots is not my idea of fun.

 

lol...all can say is i ran a Sears load awhile back and had to back into a dock designed for 48' trailers with a concrete wall in front of you ... the mall lot was packed with cars. It sucked.

 

I think there's one in Springfield, MO or some place close-by St. Louis that was really hard. I went there once with my mentor, then again going solo.

It was an alley where you had to luck-swing your trailer around a dumpster, then swing it in there just right so it would just barely miss that dumpster, then make that dock, all while minding the front end of the truck so you don't hit the gaurdrail right there.

Plus on top of that you have cars wanting to get through there so you have to watch out for them as well. THEN you have to unhook your trailer while they unload.

All in a day's work I suppose.

 

That one is in st louis. Took me about a half hour to get in. Already iused auto park button by then

 

I'll put a vote in for Dollar Tree account Northern California. My mentor was on this fleet for years back in the day when you could still make your logbook look good but (according to him) it was all ruined when they started cracking down on logs and lowered the driver unload rate from $100 down to $85 bucks. I used to get loads of messages on the QC begging for drivers to jump on this account. Who wants to race all over northern California for the chance to unload a 120 degree trailer on a hot day? The hardest thing I want to do these days is waddle my oversize wideload rearend to the back of the trailer and open the doors.

Hehe had to do a BestBuy in Park City like that, this tree branch was slapping me in the face so I reached out and broke it off and let it lay right where it dropped and continued backing up. Also when I was leaving, closing the doors I saw they they had left several 2x4's in the trailer. So I grabbed them out and laid them neatly on their manicured grass and skedaddled. Mind you Park City is sort of upscale, they don't like junk like this lying around.

True, but it is fun to go into the mall while they are unloading and doing some peoplewatching. Better food choices than truck stops too.

What is auto park?

 

What you don't have autopark??

I thank it has something to do with the mentor backing the truck for you when you can't get it in the hole. I have heard a mentor say this to a new student, telling him that he gets only 1 autopark, so choose wisely.

My autopark is usually paying a yard jockey to get it in a hole, sometimes you have no choice but to use them.

There is one customer I go to in Nashua, NH. that there is no way your getting a 53' in there with a otr tractor. Yard jokey puts it in at a 90 degree angle then drops it. The wall is less then 5' away from the nose of the trailer when he finally gets it in there to get it loaded/unloaded.