Offered A Dedicated Route Any Insight Appreciated

Hi folks. Long time. Back at Stevens about 6 weeks solo again and they offered me a New England regional Kraft dedicated job today at .40 cpm. 7cpm more than current pay. Any insight into such a position would be greatly appreciated.

Well the first thing you'll want to ask is what are the average miles for drivers in that division. A raise in cpm but a drop in miles isn't going to net you better pay.

Also, what physical labor might be involved? Will you be loading or unloading trucks?

Another question is will it get you home more often? Is that why you're considering such a division?

Miles in the Northeast are tougher miles than they are in most other parts of the country. There would have to be pretty good reason for you to want to take that position, otherwise you might be running fewer, tougher miles without better pay.

What do you know about the job at this point?

What I know so far is 90% drop and hook on the pick up end 50% drop/ live unload on drop end. Approx. 2500 to 3000 miles per week and no loading or unloading. Possibly home more often but that's not a big issue for me. I'm aware NE miles/ traffic are tougher and really like otr where most trips are 3 to 4 days just all day rolling along. Living in NH I've encountered some of the traffic on my way to hometime and it's not pretty. My other concern is night driving. I for the most part can run daytime hours otr. If this position requires a lot of night driving or mostly erratic hours then it's not for me. Honestly don't think I want to make any changes right now.

From what you've said I don't really see any major advantages to it. You might be able to make a little more money, maybe, but it would be hard earned money for sure. Personally I would stick with what you're doing.

Personally I would stick with what you're doing.

I agree on this. I run a lot of Northeast miles. I make good money at it too, but I manage the two major problems in that area (parking & traffic) by driving all through the night. It sounds as if you don't want to do that. It's going to be hard to run more than 2,200 to 2,300 miles if you're stuck in traffic and having to stop early all the time to find parking.

Yeah I considered all those factors you guys mentioned but the real clincher for me is I enjoy what I'm doing now why mess with that. Thanks for the responses. Be safe out there old school. And Brett I bet you got some great ridin' in this winter.

I run the northeast quite a bit. NY, Mass. , Conn, Maine etc..like Old School said you really need to learn the timing AND you have to accept that some days ain’t gonna be good. Lol. I’ve cursed at many Mass holes lately for not using the blinker. Once you learn timing and such it’s really not that bad.

That being said...if you don’t want to drive at night...I would pass on it. Reefer work is notorious for 0 dark thirty appointments. I’ll stand corrected if I’m wrong.

Also, I get the occasional reprieve....I was in Jacksonville this morning and now I’m outside of Atlanta in the sunshine.

Good luck

And Brett I bet you got some great ridin' in this winter.

I sure did and it's not over yet!