Comments By Chief

I hear ya guys. I learned how to drive big trucks during the winter in Wisconsin back in '89 and then ran all over the midwest and northeast so winter driving is no stranger to me.

Slower is better in nasty weather and if it's too bad to drive then stop. If a company has a problem with that then I shouldn't be driving for them. Fortunately my current company gives its drivers a lot of latitude so I do not anticipate any problems there.

How was '89? I wasn't born yet.

LOL. It was the year of my first marriage AND divorce and I remember the winter being particularly cold and miserable. And to boot I was driving an '85 International cabover. Now that sucked!

Actually it was the winter of '88/89 but most of my driving was in '89.

I hear ya guys. I learned how to drive big trucks during the winter in Wisconsin back in '89 and then ran all over the midwest and northeast so winter driving is no stranger to me.

Slower is better in nasty weather and if it's too bad to drive then stop. If a company has a problem with that then I shouldn't be driving for them. Fortunately my current company gives its drivers a lot of latitude so I do not anticipate any problems there.

10-4 Ernie and thanks. It looks like the nasty wet stuff isn't going to hit my route areas until late Monday/early Tuesday so I should be up there by then with a nice heavy trailer behind me after that.

Good deal. Always better to have a heavy load behind you when the weather gets nasty. It is more stable that way unless you get foolish and do something stupid......

Ernie

I have plenty of patience and have absolutely no problem with a Prime truck passing me

Hey that's great Troy. Congratulations. I sure would like a chance to do some skid training someday.

10-4 Ernie and thanks. It looks like the nasty wet stuff isn't going to hit my route areas until late Monday/early Tuesday so I should be up there by then with a nice heavy trailer behind me after that.

Yeah same here. I think 100 miles is about the furthest (sp) I've ever bobtailled. We run our dedicated tanks back home empty all the time so empty runs of 1000+ miles is common with those. And I agree. Empty miles pays the same as loaded so I'm all over those dedicated runs!

Leaving tomorrow morning to bobtail from FL to WI (approx 1000 miles) to pick up a high pressure trailer (empty)and return it to FL. That wasn't going to be any fun to begin with and now with bad weather moving in over the next two days it's really NOT going to be any fun getting up there.

Good thing is I'm getting paid loaded miles for the run up and back!

I use the RM 520. It can give you up to two route selections. I always pick the one that is closest to the route I have already decided on based on the atlas and Google maps on my ipad. The GPS by itself is not reliable in my opinion. Too many times it has tried to route me to a street that is truck restricted. One time it put me on a LA highway and I find out just before crossing a bridge that there was a 15 ton weight restriction on it. So why did it even put me on that route to begin with? (And yes, all the truck parameters are set correctly). Sometimes it will try to route me around something that is not a restriction. A good example is the 285 around Atlanta. I haul a lot of hazmat and when I go around the eastern side of Atlanta the GPS says I have committed a hazmat violation and it shuts the routing off.

There is no replacement for a good ole paper atlas and directions from old timers. I also use Google maps to verify my routes, get in really close on small roads and check out my delivery or pick up points in satellite view. That's saved my butt a couple of times from getting into a stciky situation.

The thing I do like about the RM GPS is that once my route is programmed I can look up all rest areas, travel centers, or specific truck stops among other POIs on that route. That allows me to figure out a good stopping point based on what I want in real time. No more guessing what rest area or truck stop I will probably be near when it is time to start thinking about stopping for the night (or day depending on when you drive).

Michael,

There are many variables that determine 'average speed'. To say 55 x 11 = 605 miles per day is a misnomer. It doesn't work like that. First of all you can't physically spend 11 hours (actual drive time) at a constant 55 mph. Acceleration, deceleration, traffic conditions, weather, road type and conditions, tractor HP and overall condition, type of trailer and cargo plus others all go into 'average speed' determinations.

I'm pretty much right there with ThinksTooMuch. My typical distances covered on a drive day (drive day means all driving, no shippers or receivers, most of the duty time is driving) is around 600 to 620 (and that's about 9 1/2 to 10 hrs driving). Although my truck is governed at 68 I rarely exceed 63 (by choice), slower is less stressful and better for me. I also drive a tanker so acceleration and deceleration takes more time and room for me (due to surge and slosh) plus I need to take turns, curves, on-ramps and off-ramps slower than other trucks. So all of this affects my 'average speed'.

On days when I have to spend time loading or unloading my 14 hour clock tends to run short first which cuts into my 11 hour clock which ultimately means less time available for actual driving. So you don't always get to drive 11 hours.

Yes Celadon is a company, they are based out of Indianapolis, IN they are growing fast and in the process of adding tankers and flatbeds to their fleet.

Celadon is adding tankers and flatbeds?