Comments By James U.

I dont know if you read my first post but If your just driving west to east you can drive 11 hours after every 10 hours off. If your running teams you can run a lot more without a restart. I know when I went with my trainer years ago there were weeks we ran 7200 miles. It also depends on your receiver if they won't take your load early and you get there early and sit in a truck stop down the street and you already used up all your hours and the load isnt due until lets say the next day. your screwed how are you going to get it there with no hours and have to take your restart. I love your theory it makes me laugh. Because I have never seen FM plainers shippers and receivers on the same page when it comes to doing what your saying you want to do. You have a pick up time and a drop of time and they rarely change there times You are thinking theory I am showing you reality And why Boston i live here its not that great plus there is no truck stop. and the shipping receiving places are to small of parking lot so you cant stay there you get unloaded or loaded and you have to leave There is no parking. so make sure you make it on time if your to late they may refuse you and tell you to have your company make a new appointment or if your to early they may tell you to leave and come back 30 mins before your appointment .

I used to deliver down by you all the time there are places down by you where they will tell you to take the trailer

Your FM will have you drop the trailer at a shipper or receivers and you take the truck home. When you head back out you will get a load either at the place you dropped the trailer or somewhere else . Now you mite have to go somewhere to get a trailer first then go to your shippers.. I did north east for Prime and I live in Townsend Ma . So when i came home I dropped my trailer at devens ma. or haverhill ma. They told me where to take it. When I went back out if I dropped the trailer in devens but was picking up a load in haverhill. My FM would call me and say get a trailer from where you dropped it call me with the trailer number of the trailer you take then head to haverhill.. Yes they do pay you for the miles.

They will hire you but you mite have to go to training doing miles with a trainer. For example I worked for Prime did 40000 with a trainer got my own truck worked for them for some time, Then went local now I want to go otr again at first they were going to have me go 15000 miles with a trainer. But my old FM talked to the safety department and now I don't have to.

For those who don't realize what Atilla is referring to, he's talking about your Projected Time of Availability and he's absolutely correct with his comments. That is one of the most critical things you want to get right if you want to make some good money at this. Depending on the length of my trips, I'm sometimes giving my PTA as far as three days in advance and then updating it each day until I deliver. This way the load planners have a window of opportunity to make sure your next load is profitable for you and for them.

You are right old school. Just take a min figure out you PTA and keep updating it . Dont just give a day and time ,

Also you are saying running 3200 a week with a couple days off that is not going to happen. but what I was saying before at 1pm your ready say there is a load for you to pick up at 9 pm and its two hours away you get there on time on duty for a few then sleeper say they finish loading you at 1230 am then for day 2 you only drove 5 hours that day and if you leave your clock is already running so on your 14 you used 2.5 hours drive and your 3 hours of off duty so if you have the time you get to a truck stop say 3 hours away take a shower eat get fuel and go to bed. take your 10 hour break so you used 8.5 hours

I understand what you are saying but your not going to get that 11hours a day everyday. also say you started at 1 am and drove your 8.75 plus your 30 min off duty break that puts you at 945 am take your 10hour break and start rolling again 745pm on the same day. so you are driving more than 11 in a day your driving 13.50 hours. you get to your 90 the next day maybe at 3 am that is only 3 hours of driving on day 2 so far back into the door on duty for a few then sleeper. if you can stay there after unloaded you stay and take your 10 hour break and then you have your 14 again.. which means your ready to go at 1pm if there is a load ready for you some days you will drive a lot others you will be sitting somewhere i.e. waiting on a load from your fm or at a shippers getting loaded or at the receivers getting unloaded. Your FM is most of the time pretty good at keeping you from ever taking a restart on the road. But no is perfect. I have gone 90 days without having to take a restart.

When I started for Prime I was getting avg of 3200 per week and I go to Canada I have never been late but I have been repowered 2 times and When I started I got along with my fleet manager. She knew I was a strong driver off the bat.. Because I knew way before them if I wasnt going to make it to my 90 on time. Now I live in New England but I didn't drive this far north unless I was coming home.Traffic here sucks.... You just need to figure what company is best for your family i.e benifits, home time. mile pay, how old the trucks and trailers are, will they take care of you when needed. Companys do not want you to sit because its there truck and its not making money sitting there. Yes sometimes you get stuck in a bad spot after you get unloaded and there are no loads leaving that area.But they will dead head you if need be. I many stayed south and west of NJ I ran alot from canada threw detroit down to texas and back up the same way.

Errol They paid for most of it .. At The time I got hire I didn't know they did that.. After I got my own truck `I drove back home to fill it with my stuff and went to my old school to talk to the students about my experience the job placement people told me Prime does reimburstment . So I called the recruiter from Prime and they put me on the reimburstment program. Which was SWEET!!!!!!!

Turn up the music and talk to my trucking friends (if there up) in my brittney spears headset...........