"Dump" Loads/routes?

Topic 17097 | Page 1

Page 1 of 1
MC1371's Comment
member avatar

This question came up during training. There seem to be 2 camps of drivers, those that want home time. It's a very important factor to them. And those that prefer/don't mind running for weeks on end with minimal home time.

So knowing that there a quite a few in both camps, why don't companies split their divisions. Let the OTR folks just run terminal to terminal/yard and then have locals pick up and finish runs say within a 50mil radius of their home base?

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

C T.'s Comment
member avatar

What?

G-Town's Comment
member avatar

Many of the large TL carriers already do that by delineating OTR and locally based drivers. Just notice the high number of daycabs running for Swift, Schneider, and US Express to name a few. Also many regional and dedicated assigned drivers have the benefit of being home a minimum of one day per week.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Old School's Comment
member avatar

It's not anywhere near practical. Just think how many terminals a company would need to make that commitment. Freight moves all over this vast countryside, and many of these guys have already tried to break the country down into regions so that they can get their drivers home on weekends, but I think that is probably the best they can do. Even that doesn't always work out just right. Logistics is somewhat a science and an art, and it changes constantly as our technologies advance. Amazon is already developing strategies that enable a driver to drop a loaded trailer in a yard near it's multiple stop locations so that a drone can make the actual deliveries. That program will only work on freight of a certain size and weight.

The scenario you are describing is already being utilized fairly efficiently in the form of massive distribution centers all across the country. But to have enough places to drop trailers so that a very privileged group of drivers never had to stray more than fifty or even 150 miles from home would entail astronomical costs.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

Rick S.'s Comment
member avatar

This question came up during training. There seem to be 2 camps of drivers, those that want home time. It's a very important factor to them. And those that prefer/don't mind running for weeks on end with minimal home time.

So knowing that there a quite a few in both camps, why don't companies split their divisions. Let the OTR folks just run terminal to terminal/yard and then have locals pick up and finish runs say within a 50mil radius of their home base?

As Old School and G-Town describe - that doesn't really work in the case of OTR companies - due to the way an OTR "business model" is configured - with the exception of some dedicated routes/clients. Most OTR companies are TRUCKLOAD - as in - even with multiple DELIVERY STOPS, typically the PICKUP (shipper) loads an ENTIRE TRUCK with their freight.

What you will see, is certain companies that do a lot of LESS THAN TRUCKLOAD (LTL) as a big part of their business model. These are the companies where you see Daycabs pulling doubles/triples and this is usually between terminals belonging to that company. A lot of the "interstate" stuff in those trucks - are RELAYED - with the driver passing the double off to another driver to continue on to the destination terminal. At the point - the loads are usually unloaded and re-loaded into a local trailer where the driver makes multiple stops with product from different shippers to difference receivers. AAACooper - Averitt (even though they have a large OTR division, they have a lot of smaller/local terminals), and number of other carriers either have large divisions that do LTL , or are nationally LTL (in that, they move stuff across the country, but the loads are rarely done in one move, with one driver).

Again - most of the larger carriers - ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT DO TRAINING (which are the ones most discussed here), are TRUCKLOAD CARRIERS. While not impossible - very rare for a newbie to get a local hire. Usually they hire from within their own terminal/company (as in, start on the dock, train and hire into a driving position), or hire folks with OTR experience.

So - aside from discussing the "logistics" of company terminals configured to offer a lot of home time - if you want to be home EVERY NIGHT - then you want a LOCAL JOB. Understanding that folks want a lot of home time - there are companies that offer interesting packages for hometime (names escape me at the moment) but that also involves GIVING UP YOUR TRUCK when you get hometime (slip seating). Most people that live in their trucks, take some time to get their HOME set up the way they want it, take some time to get all the mechanical kinkds worked out of their assigned trucks (as well as learning the idiosyncrasis, which vary from truck to truck, for better or worse) and are LOATHE to give up something they've gotten setup/used to - unless it's a mechanical nightmare and keeps them from ROLLING.

Rick

Shipper:

The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

Dedicated Route:

A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."

LTL:

Less Than Truckload

Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.

LTL carriers include:

  • FedEx Freight
  • Con-way
  • YRC Freight
  • UPS
  • Old Dominion
  • Estes
  • Yellow-Roadway
  • ABF Freight
  • R+L Carrier

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Interstate:

Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).

Doubles:

Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

Errol V.'s Comment
member avatar

I know the feeling: you come up with a brilliant idea that might make money, or at least make some people happy, only to find out it's already been done.

Many truck companies already do this. But one driver going from one terminal to another, and still get back home, means all those extra terminals, like Old School describes.

I'm driving in a shuttle network now. I take a loaded trailer from my Memphis terminal, go to a truck stop near St Louis, where I swap loads with a driver who came from Kansas City. We both take our new loads back "home". From there other drivers take the trailers on their journey.

Bad news for most drivers: my "shift" lasts 12 hours, from 3pm to 3am.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Page 1 of 1

New Reply:

New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features

Bold
Italic
Underline
Quote
Photo
Link
Smiley
Links On TruckingTruth


example: TruckingTruth Homepage



example: https://www.truckingtruth.com
Submit
Cancel
Upload New Photo
Please enter a caption of one sentence or less:

Click on any of the buttons below to insert a link to that section of TruckingTruth:

Getting Started In Trucking High Road Training Program Company-Sponsored Training Programs Apply For Company-Sponsored Training Truck Driver's Career Guide Choosing A School Choosing A Company Truck Driving Schools Truck Driving Jobs Apply For Truck Driving Jobs DOT Physical Drug Testing Items To Pack Pre-Hire Letters CDL Practice Tests Trucking Company Reviews Brett's Book Leasing A Truck Pre-Trip Inspection Learn The Logbook Rules Sleep Apnea
Done
Done

0 characters so far - 5,500 maximum allowed.
Submit Preview

Preview:

Submit
Cancel

Why Join Trucking Truth?

We have an awesome set of tools that will help you understand the trucking industry and prepare for a great start to your trucking career. Not only that, but everything we offer here at TruckingTruth is 100% free - no strings attached! Sign up now and get instant access to our member's section:
High Road Training Program Logo
  • The High Road Training Program
  • The High Road Article Series
  • The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
  • Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted

Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth

Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:

Apply For Paid CDL Training