Comments By Rob T.

Have any of you thought about scheduling your drive on April 8th to be off the road during the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th (if you are in its path)?

Back in 2017 there was one that blocked about 90% of the sun in my area. There were some people that pulled off the road but it wasn't anything too crazy. Most people were off in safe parking areas. Driving defensively, maintaining safe following distance, leaving yourself an out and other basic safe driving behaviors should allow you to continue driving business as usual. In the area of totality you're likely to see travel impacts so it's something to keep in mind but in my opinion not something to keep you off the road for the day.

2 cities everyone should visit 😆

There's a city just off I35 south of Des Moines by that same name. I shared pics elsewhere on the forum of the the bar in town having merchandise that says "I love " with the town name

We're opening another DC just off 35 there in June. They happened to also just open another gas station under our brand of "Fast And Fresh" on the edge of that property. There's gotta be a joke in there somewhere

Only thing that’s a little hard is their policy is you have to be out at least 3 weeks at a time.

Do the loads have plenty of time on them that you don't need to push your 11/14 every day? If the load has plenty of time are you able to shut down early and get a rental car to explore a bit?

my current setup will allow me to be debt free in about a year if I maintain a reasonable budget and make around what I made last year or more.

Try your best to push through it, keeping your eyes on the prize of being debt free. Trucking over the last 5 years has allowed me to pay off $40,000 in credit card debt while being in a single income household with a family to support. I felt a great sense of relief when I didn't have that burden any more. I was spending probably close to $1,500 a month on only minimum payments.

Look at what your monthly minimums are and how long it would require you to make those payments at just the minimum to be debt free. Once you're debt free and have more disposable cash you'll be able to pursue something that makes you happy without the worry of it not paying the best. With the money you'd save monthly on those minimums you could afford more vacations, or a bigger/nicer house while also building a nice savings and retirement accounts.

I'm going to double down on being flexible and easy to work with, not argumentative or combative (which I'm generally not anyway).

But I think an extra few seconds of slowing down when you're frustrated and waiting before saying or commenting to your dispatch might be a good idea.

One thing we often forget is dispatch or load planners are just trying to do their job of getting loaded assigned but more importantly giving them the best chance to arrive safely and on time. Many of us are out on the road to make the most money we can if we're away from our families. It's easy to overlook that dispatch may have reasons for making you sit longer than other drivers in the same area. These could include keeping them closer or trying to route them to the terminal for upcoming service, setting them up for their home load or a variety of other reasons. Various members here have mentioned being stuck in certain areas in inclement weather such as Wyoming. If it's real bad they've likely got drivers shut down and not available for dispatch but other loads still need to get moved. It's also possible your company is setup to use brokers and they're accepting those loads because the margins are higher due to less drivers (O/O) willing to go. It could also be simply that you've demonstrated you're a safe and efficient driver that can deliver the results needed to satisfy a customer or in some cases prevent them from losing the contract. There could be a variety of reasons. If it bothers you, talk about it professionally keeping emotion out of it.

With anything in life if you want positive results or others to want to help you then don't be confrontational when it's not needed. I've been vocal with management when I've been unhappy and we're able to come to a mutual understanding. We don't always agree but we're able to discuss it and often times we both walk away with a better understanding of why it's a problem, or why it's our best option. It's easy as a driver to grow resentment about your assignments or lack of. Take the time to find out WHY things are the way they are.

Davy while I agree completely that the way someone conducts themselves behind the wheel matters, their past choices also paint a picture of who they really are whether good or bad. I admire you being open about your past struggles with drugs and how you overcame that in addition to your speeding tendencies. You've helped many people in similar situations see there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it isnt the train. Your choices for the most part only impacted you and your close family.

Kearsey mentioned that a few members believe Packrats stories weren't adding up. Why wait til now to bring it up? For Big Scott to come in guns blazing when he's been absent from the forum for a month, no big deal we all got stuff going on, just doesn't sit right. Especially when you know Big Scott's criminal history that the 7 felonies were towards a child and now he's a RSO he's not really one to judge another's character. If I'm understanding his convictions correctly, he used his position of trust to victimize children. You're a P.O.S. Scott. If this results in being removed from the forum so be it. You're not someone I wish to be associated with.

I'm NOT going to publicly share his name, but I'm willing to provide proof to any long time members that get my email from Brett. Otherwise look him up yourself using his FB page he linked and the public records for his state of residence.

Disregard that last part about Facebook. He's since changed his social media presence link to CFI website. Interesting.....

Davy while I agree completely that the way someone conducts themselves behind the wheel matters, their past choices also paint a picture of who they really are whether good or bad. I admire you being open about your past struggles with drugs and how you overcame that in addition to your speeding tendencies. You've helped many people in similar situations see there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it isnt the train. Your choices for the most part only impacted you and your close family.

Kearsey mentioned that a few members believe Packrats stories weren't adding up. Why wait til now to bring it up? For Big Scott to come in guns blazing when he's been absent from the forum for a month, no big deal we all got stuff going on, just doesn't sit right. Especially when you know Big Scott's criminal history that the 7 felonies were towards a child and now he's a RSO he's not really one to judge another's character. If I'm understanding his convictions correctly, he used his position of trust to victimize children. You're a P.O.S. Scott. If this results in being removed from the forum so be it. You're not someone I wish to be associated with.

I'm NOT going to publicly share his name, but I'm willing to provide proof to any long time members that get my email from Brett. Otherwise look him up yourself using his FB page he linked and the public records for his state of residence.

McLane does routes and most are day trips like you're looking for.

If going with McLane make sure you know what type of schedule you'll be running. In my area they shuttle a trailer in. You, and another driver, will run teams in a sleeper to get that trailer unloaded. They deliver to all K&G convenience stores in Iowa in addition to some chain restaurants and routes are most are scheduled 16 to 22 hours.

I wouldn't say the way you're compensated matters. What DOES matter is how it all plays out in the end and if you feel you're earning what you feel you're worth.

My employer gives us the option of hourly or mile/stop. The way things are currently set up I'm actually earning MORE being mile/stop than hourly. A couple years ago we had drivers for TMC make a killing on percentage pay while freight rates were high. Now that rates have dropped they're likely not doing as well and possibly earn LESS than those on CPM.

Idk if Sysco hires new drivers but if they do I’d shoot an application their way as well if they’re in your area. It’s food service which is difficult for a couple reasons but I know they’re a little more lenient with their hiring standards.

Most of the physically involved roles such as Sysco, PFG, US Foods, pepsi and coke tend to hire new drivers atleast in my area. It's brutal especially your first few weeks as your body adjusts. It's not typically recommended as the ideal path though due to most of your day being spent in urban areas maneuvering around traffic and crowded parking lots but it can be done.

I got my start at PFG as a "driver appentice". I spent I believe 2 weeks doing ride alongs helping unload before going to school and receiving $600/week for 4 weeks.

Great job!