Profile For JakeBreak

I guess I'm going to be the odd man out here. I would say to go with the Mack. There are a ton of FB groups that feature Class A trucks pulling motor homes. Depending on the frame length you could even put ramps and tote the Harleys behind the cab. That opens you up to more living space in the camper, instead of having to worry about storage.

I personally don’t get caught up in any of those terms. I don’t think I get any of those in my pay either. I turn in my time sheet every week and get paid very well per load. That’s all I worry about.

For us OTR drivers, it's not so cut and dry, especially those of us hauling reefer.

Here's a knowledge nugget for you since you're so new to both this site and to truck driving, Ryan.

Pay attention to this part:

Some local and regional drivers, like Bird One, actually drove OTR prior to their current gig.

Your foolish responses continue to make many of us shake our heads behind the scenes, Ryan.

100 percent agree with packrat. Did reefer OTR for 2 years, 3 years local and 2 more OTR and really it doesn't matter. I make really good money and I don't get any of the accessory pay. I turn my bills in every load and I make what I make. I'm happy with it and like I said I make good money. My first 2 years I spent at roehl and they had all the extra pay stuff, didn't really apply, except detention pay. When I went local I was hourly just turned in my timesheet every week. Went back OTR and this company doesn't have that stuff and I make more than I did before.

The only advantage I have seen to having a terminal near your house is it is easier for a company to get you home. If you have obligations that require you to be home for a certain period of time, it is usually easier on the company if there is a terminal or yard close by. If you can get home whenever or have easily changed plans for your hometime then it becomes less important. For example im divorced and have a son, I get my visitation when I am on hometime. If I come home during the week he still has to go to school during the day and I am responsible for transportation. So I schedule my hometime for the weekends. If I get home late it impacts the amount of time I get to spend with him. So I am not as flexible as someone else who even though they would like to be home on Friday, it isn't a huge deal if they get home Saturday morning instead.

Things have been pretty slow here. I had to wait a day n a half to get my load home for hometime. They gave me an extra day of hometime, and since I've been back while I haven't been waiting for loads, the loads I've been getting have loads of time on them. 3 days for a 600 mile run. Or 2 days for a 500. I was gonna ask here a few days ago if it was slow for everyone else or just my company lol

The only way I would ask is if I wasn't sure. That's honestly one of my biggest worries out here is that one day I'll bump a truck, or a trailer and not realize it and get charged with leaving the scene of an accident. If you are sure you didn't hit it, then don't worry about it.

While I agree the NE isn't truck friendly, I never thought it was as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The only thing I don't like about it is you need to run either overnight or be ready to shut down by 3 in the afternoon to have a spot.

Another thing to consider when choosing to run recaps versus reset, is that load planners and dispatchers also have to be on board to maximize your time. As I said my week generally starts Monday when I deliver my "weekend" load from the Friday before. How I run during the week doesn't matter, short loads or long loads, until I get to Thursday or Friday. That's when load planners will start looking for either a "day run" to set me up for my "weekend load" dispatched on Friday or if there is a really long load I'll sometimes get my weekend on Thursday.

Honestly this is probably the biggest roadblock for most drivers. If the planners or your dispatch aren't good at thier jobs, it will impact your miles. I've been with 4 different dispatchers over my 2 years at this company and there is a huge difference between one that is just calling it in vs one who is trying to get the best miles for thier drivers. If it was up to me I would reset every week and run nights, because that is what works best for me. Load planners have trouble planning for guys that run nights and if your dispatcher is in coast mode then you get loads where you have 24hrs of waiting to deliver.

I can definitely relate about sleeping better on the truck and being home more exhausting than being on the road. The old lady usually has a ton of stuff for me to do and hen pecks me to death when I get in.

I am glad to hear I'm not the only one with that problem lol. I like being home with the family, but it's nice being out on the road too. When I'm out I can focus on working n making money when I go home I gotta focus on spending time with everyone while trying to get everything done that she assigned me.

Lol my longest run ever beats that by 1 mile lol. Phoenix AZ, to Vineland NJ. 2,384 miles. That's cool that your company will fly you home for hometime. Mine would either want me to reschedule my hometime or give the load to someone else.

Autos aren't too bad in the mountains. If you are running your Jake's then it won't upshift until you apply pedal again. You will want to learn where your optimal shift points for maintaining speed on a grade vs the economy shift points most companies use. And most importantly learn how to lock it in manual mode.