How To Get Those Miles

Maybe you'll get lucky Paul.. Just be real careful in Illinois in those construction zones. You'll know soon enough if the photo nailed you, because they'll contact your company to determine the driver, based on truck number and photo id.

West Side Transport fully cooperates with all law enforcement and DOT enquiries promptly which is why ive probably rolled across a scale only a couple of times in 3 months.

My truck is actually governed at 60 not 62 and I drove 656 miles today according to my Qualcomm.

It must be governed higher than that. (don't tell your Company,lol). 60 mph for a full 11 hours would be 660 miles. Impossible. If you get paid by Qualcomm miles, then keep this to yourself. I won't tell a soul!

It's downgrades. But now prime is timing how long you stay above 75 while going down hill and pulling people in for safety classes

I'm governed at 62 but did 631 one night

Prime let's you go up to 75?! Wow, Swift starts keeping track at 68 and over.

Paul. ... prime keeps track of everything always but the critical events for speed on the trucks apparently were set above 80. My trainer would easily due 75 to 80 downhill and never set off alarms. A friend of mine would go down. At the same speed and had no issues . But in February he got sent to a safety class because they said over 75 for 30 seconds is too long.

I won't do that. And there is no way I speed through construction zones. Better to get there alive than not at all. Some say it's about experience and you can go faster.. but look at some of the accidents....don't tell me they are all rookies.

On I74 in the fog IN 5he other night FedEx flew past me...had to be doing 80 mph. An hour later I passed him... over turned both trailers. Not worth it to me. Even downhill I usually keep it at 65 to 70 depending on traffic and my visibility. But that is what I am comfortable at

Paul. ... prime keeps track of everything always but the critical events for speed on the trucks apparently were set above 80. My trainer would easily due 75 to 80 downhill and never set off alarms. A friend of mine would go down. At the same speed and had no issues . But in February he got sent to a safety class because they said over 75 for 30 seconds is too long.

I won't do that. And there is no way I speed through construction zones. Better to get there alive than not at all. Some say it's about experience and you can go faster.. but look at some of the accidents....don't tell me they are all rookies.

On I74 in the fog IN 5he other night FedEx flew past me...had to be doing 80 mph. An hour later I passed him... over turned both trailers. Not worth it to me. Even downhill I usually keep it at 65 to 70 depending on traffic and my visibility. But that is what I am comfortable at

I think I need to put a note on my dash that says, "Remember, it is not a race." I don't typically speed through the construction zones but it only takes one time to get a ticket or do some damage.

I still like the idea of being allowed to go a little faster downhill since it can really help you get up the other side and increase your fuel economy, but I also see why Swift limits us to 67. It's dangerous enough to go 75 or 80 in a cmv but it's even more dangerous going downhill since you have gravity working against you if you try to stop.

BTW sorry Errol for ruining your thread...I will try to keep my mouth shut next time lol

I can't meet a CB cause I'm such a smart mouth. I was in 55 mph construction. With barriers on both sides... 1 shifting lane thst was slanted and made me feel I would roll. I did 50. The guy behind me said on CB "prime.. u can do 55 here" I was like "I can do 45 too so keep talking and see how that works out for you" then I was I a 5 lane industrial park on the shoulder in 6th gear with hazards on at 3am. I couldn't see the driveway for the customer. A guy said "prime you don't have to drive so slow. Why you got your hazards on" I said "cause I like the pretty flashing lights that remind me of Christmas". It wasn't N are you alright call... it was a wtf are u doing call. So screw him. Lol

Yeah sorry errol. I have mouth problems

Now, back to our regularly scheduled topic.

I'm not a super trucker, I do not try to get every last inch of distance every day, I've only been doing this for just over a year. But this is some of what I do to maximize my weekly miles.

Besides the idea of driving 600 miles a day as I mentioned at the start of this topic, Here's some more things I keep in mind. If i need to, I'll drive until the QC shows I have about an hour drive time left. I have planned several truck stops I could stop at, so after ten hours I head for the best one. If I know I'm going to get to a place I know has a spot for me (terminals, some of Swift's customers have parking areas) I can drive out my last minutes.

I rarely use "chain" truck stops for my 10 hour break. They are usually crowded by the early evening. Since I have a regional account, I am more familiar with the truck stops than I would with national driving. I have found several non chain stops which are nice, clean, and almost always have plenty of spaces even late at night. Make your choices, and build your own list. I try to start my day as early as possible, depending on my earlier appointment. Sometimes I can't start by 3 a.m. No traffic! No daylight!

If you can follow these ideas, and have a good relationship with your DM , you'll probably get run ragged for your miles.

600 a day... this is something where driver seem split. I know drivers and trainers who do that.... if teaming no biggie... then I know others that say to only do 8.5 to 9 hrs on duty. That way you aren't taking the 34 hour reset and are driving every day... getting the same miles for the week and not feeling rushed.

I was told in orientation and by FM they don't want us doing the resets. I even asked one day when I got down to 5 hrs on 70. Was told no.

So I curious as to your thoughts on it.

I drive a dedicated operation where I drive for five (+/-) days then go home & get a reset. Recaps don't come into consideration. (In this case, driving 500 miles/day is different than doing 600.)

If you work on recaps, there will be times when you're only getting a 5 it even a 1 hour day. That's the way the cookie crumbles. At Swift, I've done recaps and done 34 hour stops. I like the 34 hour break if I can be somewhere comfortable of interesting.

It's probably mostly up to you and your DM. I'm not looking at the miles, anyway. I calculate my day by the hours. (10 hours in Nevada may be 647 miles, but 10 in NYC might be 110 miles.)

600 a day... this is something where driver seem split. I know drivers and trainers who do that.... if teaming no biggie... then I know others that say to only do 8.5 to 9 hrs on duty. That way you aren't taking the 34 hour reset and are driving every day... getting the same miles for the week and not feeling rushed

Errol- thanks for the explanations.

Rainy- Fantastic questions! I now understand these two methods of running.

600 miles/day, 34 hr reset VS 500 miles/day, recaps, 8.75 hrs driving /day. Two different philosophies. There's probably more ways to do it, plus combinations of the two.

Knowing the method that Prime Inc pushed you to do is also important.