I need advice

mouse549 · Nov 18, 2002

Hey drivers,

I finally made it out there, driving for someone. I'm doing, ok, for someone that does not own the truck.
But, as a newbie, I haven't gottn the hang of the loads, and areas. I was sent to Missori, and Kansas and had to empty move back, one time over 700 miles.
How do you, or how do you learn to pick loads, do you reject the shorter ones all day to wait for the longer ones? Do you take every load they offer you? I did that one week and got 4 loads, none of them over 120miles, I was zig zaggin on a bunch of short runs which left me in the middle of nowhere, unable to even send my trippak.
So, someone, everyone give me some tips, I would like to get my own truck with knowledge of making it work, eventually.
thanx
Drive safe
Mouse

paperback1 · Nov 18, 2002

HEY MOUSE, I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YA IN A WHILE. I NEVER GOT TO MEET WITH YA AT THE TRUCK SHOW. WHO YA DRIVING WITH, AND WHAT IS THE DRIVER PAYING YA? ANYWAY, TALK TO YOUR OWNER, AND OTHER DRIVERS WITH THE COMPANY, AND THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YA OUT, LATER

teacel · Nov 18, 2002

Hi Mouse,
I could tell you are as excited as a little girl at the circus. Glad to see you got your foot in the door. Do yourself a favor, and back up for a moment. Take a few to learn from some of the other drivers that work for the same company as you do, where the load lanes are. Once you learn things like that you will be able to cut way back on your deadhead miles.

I always here the question being ask: Why is this company always hiring new drivers? Well there are several reasons why, - BUT - I can tell you that one of them is because they know the new driver is green and don't know the lanes, SO therefore will take any load offered to them just like you did.

Once the driver (New driver) learns the lanes to fast, that driver is now not a good recruit and, therefore they (The Company) will starve them out by not giving them any good loads at all. You as a new driver have a lot to learn and must use Tact and fa ness when doing things with your company. Why do you think alot of the posts on this site are so negative? Most new drivers coming into this field don't know anything at all about Expediting and the Company they are working for. Now that you got in the door, make sure you turn the right way. Good Luck

Marty · Nov 18, 2002

Hi Tony,
Mabye it would be a good idea for EO to publish an article on how to improve driver-carrier relationships such as "Driver Tact and Finesse in Dealing with Carriers" and maybe a correlated article such as "How can carriers improve their relationship with their drivers, therefore reducing driver turnover and increasing driver productivity".
Marty

teacel · Nov 19, 2002

Marty,
Point very well put. Hopefully Jeff will read this post and do just that. Jeff is the one that puts all the articles together around here.

JeffJensen · Nov 19, 2002

Hello,

This is an article from the archives, it addresses
some of the issues you mentioned:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/2001/December/Everything718.html

As for the company side of the equation, I'll contact
our freelancers and see if they can't put something
together on that topic.

Jeff Jensen

homeless andy · Nov 21, 2002

I'm just getting started, too, driving for an owner. I've been available every minute of every day for the last three weeks, and I've only got three loads so far, averaging 650 miles each. At this point, I would gladly take any load, short or otherwise. As for which loads to accept or turn down, I would ask the truck owner what his criteria is for determining which loads to turn down. If you figure out the cost to run the truck per mile, you'll know when you're paying to haul a load. As for good traffic lanes, that really depends on the company. But as a general rule, the northeast and midwest seem to be the strongest areas.

prescat · Nov 22, 2002

We're fairly new also with a D unit. So far, in 6 weeks, we just had one lousy week when we were stuck in Arkansas. Other then that, we had been "miling like nuts". Now I know that Lawerence and Teacel, and Jeff have been doing this successfully for some time, but we've already made some determinations that have helped us. (And I confess to going nuts and bugging the heck out of dispatch the week we sat. The down time in strange places sometimes tough to get used to). Anyway, here's what we learned so far. 1)Yes, the Midwest and the Mid South (Tennessee/GA area) are the best for getting loads, but if your in an "off" area and there is no trucks available for your company around, then any call and you have it and chances are it's going to be a longer load. 2) Don't be so quick to move. If you're going to move 500 miles, that we'll eat up a day and a half tank of gas and there still is no assurance of a great load at the destination. For the money of an "empty move", I think it pays to stay usually. (The funny thing is that after the fifth day in Arkansas, when we finally accepted an "empty move", we were 100 miles east when we got QCed back to Tulsa for a 1200 mile load. Don't be quick to move. Dispatch wants you in the busy area, but that just means there are more jobs there. Not necessarily good ones and you're working an extra day for yourself getting there. Finally, we're always bugging them about things like trucks in the area, average loads, etc to help us make an informed decision on where we go. So far we haven't turned anything down and it's worked out except for one time. Hope the info helps and be safe but have fun on the road!

mouse549 · Dec 1, 2002

Thanx, everybody for the advice, and you are rite I am excited about finally getting started in Expediting.
I work under PantherII, and I've met some other drivers and have talked to them, both happy and unhappy. Its very hard to draw some kind of conclusion from some of these conversations, but they were all very informative.
I realize I have alot to learn about freight lanes, empty moves, how to use my 70 hrs to my advantage (hometime) How to sit and wait for a good load.
I do look forward to coming back to this forum for help, I do stay out about 4 wks at a time so my replies will be the same.

oh yeah, sorry sbout the expo, I could only make it one day for about 5 hrs. So, I talked to some Sprinter & generator companies, sat in on a seminar, then had to head out again.
Thanx drivers