Florida To Ohio

I have a Son going to school in Columbus, Ohio this year. I'm in Florida. If I drove with a company who had a terminal in Columbus would I be likely to get through there from time to time? Or would my freight lanes more likely stay mostly in the southeast? I'm talking OTR.

Terminal locations have little to do with where a company's trucks go.

Getting to Columbus if more a matter of whether your freight traffic would roll on I-70. Talk to your DM to see if you corrupt schedule home time there.

At Swift, when you request home time you enter the zip code for where you want to take time off.

Are you more likely to get tethered to freight traffic in that part of the country you come out of , or is it more random, and just where ur needed?

Are you more likely to get tethered to freight traffic in that part of the country you come out of , or is it more random, and just where ur needed?

Unless you are on a dedicated account (like Errol and I), no, it's random, based on your available clock time and what is available.

I would like to get out and about more that first year before I try to settle in somewhere. I get the impression that reefer generally gets you across country more, and likely to experience different driving challenges (to learn from) by moving thru different parts of the country. Would that be fair to say?

More than Dry Van?

Not counting (or considering) the different challenges just between driving reefer or Dry Van?

Are you more likely to get tethered to freight traffic in that part of the country you come out of , or is it more random, and just where ur needed?

As an Over the Road driver you are likely to go anywhere. Freight traffic goes everywhere, it is not limited to any certain parts of the country. They produce things in Connecticut that folks in California want to buy, and they grow stuff in California that couldn't grow in Vermont even if they tried.

I serve a dedicated account for SAPA aluminum extrusions (flat-bed job) and while I go to the Northeast quite frequently, I also move about a good bit. Here's an overview of what I did the past two weeks. I ran a load from Louisiana to Connecticut, then picked up another load in Pennsylvania that went to Miami, Florida. From there I went back to Louisiana, and then I got a load to Phoenix, AZ. Then I picked up some lumber in White River, AZ, and delivered it in Texas. Then over to Louisiana and got the load I'm delivering today down in Doral, FL (Miami area).

One of the best ways that experienced drivers get the longer runs is to make sure you are available at the right time of the day and have hours available to you. Any time you can empty out your truck first thing in the morning you are setting yourself up for the best loads. The dispatchers and planners get to know and recognize these drivers and keep them moving. That may require you to plan your trip so that you can get your ten hour break in before you deliver, and have a full clock available once you are empty.

That helps a lot Old School. Thanks.

One of the best ways that experienced drivers get the longer runs is to make sure you are available at the right time of the day and have hours available to you. Any time you can empty out your truck first thing in the morning you are setting yourself up for the best loads. The dispatchers and planners get to know and recognize these drivers and keep them moving. That may require you to plan your trip so that you can get your ten hour break in before you deliver, and have a full clock available once you are empty.

I been banging around in here for a little while and probably didn't pay attention to clock management talk too much because it sounded like a "you'll figure it out in time with some experience" kinda of a thing. Maybe what Old School said above is just common knowledge, and I just missed it. But for me it's one of those golden nuggets. Maybe we're taught that in school and everyone just knows to try and do it that way.