Comments By Renegade

I'm here. Training has been pretty intense. On my 3rd day Solo. I posted an update several days ago. It may be on pg 2 or 3 by now.

I bet all that city driving is pretty intense too. Tight parking spots and crazy four wheelers probably increase the stress levels.

That's good news. I just don't see him on here as much as he used to be. I thought Rainy might have run him off. LOL

Pam hires out of all 48 states.

Our timing on this is almost spot on. Thanks for the correction. :)

10-4

I know he's a Coke dealer now but has anybody heard from the guy? I mean...I've been told Coke can change your life so I've stayed away from the stuff but I didn't know that a shiny red truck could make that much of a difference. If you're out there...we miss your humor.

I live in florida

Ok, I would recommend Jim Palmer because they hire out of all 48 states however, I don't think PAM hires out of Florida. Someone please correct me if I am wrong on this. What part of Florida are you in?

Pam hires out of all 48 states.

Both are good companies. The most important question you have to ask is what kind of freight do you want to pull? Pam only has dry van and intermodal but Jim Palmer has dry van, reefer, and flat bed. There are a lot of things to consider before choosing a company but both are good companies.

So...I have been having a BIG issue with my dispatcher. In the beginning everything was great but he has become absolutely horrible.

My first week solo, I got almost 3,000 miles and the following weeks were also pretty good as long as I continued to allow myself to be bullied.

To start I was willing to take whatever load, whatever time and go anywhere like so many suckers out there. I did my best to always be on time and avoid accidents/other safety issues.

As time went on, I discovered the reality of trucking, I am the most important piece and the rest of the company should revolve around me.

I decided that I should only take loads under 25,000 lbs, even though the company pays for fuel, it affects my bonus so I told dispatch said decision. I really think it is best for my health to run a tight schedule, get up around 8am and need to shutdown by around 4pm, I need my relax time to joke around with other drivers at truck stops, catch my favorite prime time television and get a nice hot hour long shower every day, especially being out here over the road.  Since my hours available to drive are such, I also let dispatch know to only set me up with loads that deliver between 11am and  2pm so I have time to either get to appt from truckstop or back to truckstop afterwards within this huge window I have allotted. Another minor change I made was to not drive at night anymore, if cars don't, why should I? I also decided it best that I don't drive north of 70(too cold), south of 40 (too hot), east of 65 or west of 25 (too many mountains both ways)

My dispatcher has refused to follow all my rules on a consistent basis, which has made me late for a few appointments and tried to give me loads outside my preferred driving area which I was forced to turn down.

I don't know what my dispatcher's problem is, but my weekly miles have steadily decreased to less than 1000. He has turned into a huge gasbag and tries to blame it on me. He seems to think I could be more "flexible," what does that even mean??? I am out here busting my tail up to 8 hours a day, yet this is my fault....I think this guy has lost his marbles.

Note...I have also had a few minor backing accidents but they were not my fault. The owners of other vehicles should not have been parked where they were.

I'm not allowed to say his name because it may rustle his jimmies, but that sounds exactly like someone who commented on a couple posts last week.

After reading everything Brett has said on this post, when they ask me if I want to be L/O, I'm going to ask them to go over the program with me one more time. Then when they've covered all the advantages of being a L/O, I'm going to ask them to go over it again, and again, and again, until they finally leave me alone and put me on a company truck.

Very few companies push it. Prime does not. If they push it, push back.

Daniel...I didn't mean to imply that they do. The company I'm going to work for has a majority of L/Os in it's fleet and a small portion of company drivers. I just don't feel that the L/O situation is the best fit for me considering my ultimate goal is to be a FedEx Freight driver doing a hub pull. I hope everything works out for you brother and you continue a long and safe driving career. Many blessings.

After reading everything Brett has said on this post, when they ask me if I want to be L/O, I'm going to ask them to go over the program with me one more time. Then when they've covered all the advantages of being a L/O, I'm going to ask them to go over it again, and again, and again, until they finally leave me alone and put me on a company truck.

I hope my trucking career takes me to St George Utah...permanently.