Will i get enough loads during winter time?

With a face like that I'm sure your bosses want you far away from the terminal lol

 

MyRadar is a great app to have. Shows current precipitation and wind (if you turn on the wind layer). My phone is mounted securely to the dash, so I can activate the app as needed. Essential if you are trying to make routing changes on the fly to avoid developing super cells and tornado warnings, or deciding whether you will soon be out of the ice storm or need to pull into the next truck stop and park it because the storm just became a 500 mile diameter monster.

 

I've got a great radar app too but in winter time I have a pretty good idea what is happening now but I'm more interested in what is forecasted to happen tomorrow and the next several days i.e. Forecast events and probable snow accumulation on a national scale and the site noted above is far better than most others and without all the ads garbage associated with the commercial sites.

 

Love MyRadar Pro... For a small fee one can even access the actual radar scans of individual radar sites.

 

Well what do you consider Winter? I am serious. If you consider winter Oct., Nov, and Dec. there is no shortage of freight at all. If you cannot make money in trucking in those months get out of trucking it isn't for you, the rest of the years paycheck will pail in comparison.

Their is no lack of loads in Oct., Nov, or Dec. Those are often the months with the worst weather and traffic.

In Jan., Feb, March, weather can still be bad but traffic calms down after the Holidays. But freight is almost non-existent especially for a new driver. If you didn't make any money in Oct-Dec., you will starve after the first of the year.

Everybody, I mean everybody that is new, tells their DM to route them south for the winter. If your lucky enough for that to happen, expect to compete with scores more drivers for the available freight. In Oct.-Dec. you might make a living, but in Jan.-March you might have to apply for food stamps, because what little freight is out there has 100s of empty trucks waiting for work down there that time of year.

So pick your poison, go home and cry about the nasty old weather in Oct.-Dec. and too much freight, then stave in Jan.-March trying to pull freight where non exists. Or run hard where ever you can in Oct.-Dec. and sock enough away to make it through Jan.-March when their is no freight anywhere.

I rather be up north getting what ever freight I can get through the winter. Screw that south with no freight mentality, but each to his own.

Also in the same vain, most of winter in the states is not snow but ice. If your running snow no matter, but if your running into ice, I would rather run in the day when you got more of a chance to see the ice and have it managed by local road crews; Many times in the wee hours of the morning 1:00-4:00, most ice control crews go home and thats when all the hell brakes loose on the highways.

 

This is a reasonable question from anyone new to the industry and looking into trucking. We know the problems associated with winters and construction jobs. We've all seen the news stories about 800 miles stretches of interstate being closed for 48+ hours. Crap happens, and there will be more then a few weeks each winter that the pay may be hampered due to bad roads, closed businesses, closed roads, etc. But on balance, these sorts of events that will interfere with your money-making capability won't amount to a whole lot across the entire season, barring a severe season and you find yourself in the thick of all the worst systems.

Honestly, luck, loads assigned, and timing have a lot to do with it. But you do have control of many things related to Wx events and how they affect your driving conditions. It might mean driving most of a night or doing an 8/2 split to stay ahead of a system.
It might mean holding short 6 hours to give road crews time to work following a quick moving system. It might mean deviating north or south or other. It might mean stringing 3 full 10.5 hour drive days together to get in/out of a region and headed south before a bad system moves in. Having load preplan assignments often makes a huge difference in how you react to developing situations.

2 or 3 hours can mean huge differences in some significant winter Wx events. Don't mess around when a system is breathing down your neck or quickly trying to intercept your future position.

 

As I said, it isn't icy every day... No worries.

 

For the record, I have been on I10 in Texas when it was ice covered.

Generally to Northern States are better equipped to clear the roads in less time than when tue storms hit in the south. And they do hit down there.

Keep am eye on the weather, if you work for a company that gives you your routing, call and have it changed if it's looking bad along your way. I run a lot of Cali to NY or PA loads and the difference from Barstow CA is minimal.

The Shortest route is I70 to 76 to 80

Running 15 to 80 adds about 70 miles,

40 to 54 adds 40 miles

40 to 44 adds 60 miles.

Thats negotiable milage on a 2500 mile load. I go where the weather is best.