Weekend Runs

DooWop · Sep 22, 2002

In your experiences as expediters, how often are there weekend runs(Friday night, Saturday or Sunday)that you are called to do, especially with cargo van freight. The reason I ask is that exprediting, as well as trucking in general, is a lifestyle as well as a job/career. Many of the big TL carriers' magazine/newspaper advertisements "promise" home weekends, and to me it would make sense that if an expediter is able to drive in on the weekend, he/she would be better off there than spending the weekend in a truck stop. On another forum I read a while back one expediter drives home to the Memphis area if he is within a 10 hour drive of home. I believe he drives a D unit. Would appreciate all replies.

Regards

DooWop

TimTurtle · Sep 22, 2002

I generally found that the weekend loads that were loaded on Friday or Saturday generally went further, therfore paying more. Weekends were a good time to make alot of money, because alot of guys wanted to be home for the weekends and the truck availablilty was way down. In expeditiing, the best time to take of for me was during the week days.
I also on a Friday night, if I was within a ten hour radius of home, would put the hammer down for home. I hated sitting on weekends. I always said that I am a truck driver, not a truck sitter.

Wild Bill · Sep 23, 2002

When I ran single for FECC I would kill for weekend runs. Most of the time they were inconsistant, sometimes not having one for months, other times I have had them every weekend for 6 weeks.

Weekend runs I usually done was usually over 1000 miles and a very good rate. Seems as a team i haven't gotten many. I imagine they offer them first to single drivers.

guest · Oct 17, 2002

For us, it goes in streaks. Our company expects us to be available on alternate weekends and most of the time there is nothing, but occasionally a load will come along. Several dispatchers will try to get us to take a load on our off weekend, but we generally have plans made so we tell 'em "no way."

Unless we end up in a place we've had good luck with return loads, we just turn around and go back home. Seems like there's always stuff leaving Grand Rapids so we never sit home for long. OTOH, when we started out with Roberts (now FECC), with their foreign power courtesy, we'd have to stay out several weeks at a time, 'cause if you went home you'd often wait days to get a load out. We spent many weekends watching stupid flicks in the driver's lounge or doing laundry.