I Need Help - Not Getting Enough Miles

Is it flat bed or bust? I ask because I'm only out 1-2 nights a week with weekends off and gross 15-1700 a week. Lots of guys make far more but they stay out all week and come home weekends only. Plenty of other opportunities out there, should your current opportunity not work. I hope you do find a way to make it work where you are. Goodluck to you sir!

Jamie, all I can say is that I'm going to keep doing it until I'm told not to do it.

Consider this: we see a lot of posts about drivers who get into a safe haven with only minutes remaining on their clock. And as Packrat observed, that can cause intestinal problems. I would add ulcers to that. But if you can milk even ten minutes out of your clock, think how much that will lower your anxiety level at the end of the day.

I think this may be aimed at me, for one. I’m not offended, but thought I would clarify.

I have a few spots that I KNOW I can always find a spot to park. Along that route, there are every few miles spots that I can probably find a spot. So I pick the farthest spot that I know I can park, comparing Clock to GPS. I have my GPS set to show remaining time, just like my DOT clock. If at any point it looks like I won’t make my preferred spot, then I start looking at alternates ahead of time.

If I were to ever not make it, I can use the personal Conveyance rule, but the company won’t be happy. They only allow it for being stuck in traffic or at a shipper , and limit it even then.

I have yet to stress over it, I always know I will be able to park. I don’t use truck stops much. The spots I use almost always have open spots, and there are again the ones I know will have a spot. Those are my main target, with the others as fallback. Last night I didn’t have a known spot within a few minutes of my clock ending, so I stopped at a truck stop that almost always has spots, with two more in a couple miles, with an hour left on my clock.

If you don't make it, you can NOT (legally) use the personal conveyance rule. However, it is legal to find the nearest safe place to park under the drive line, as long as you notate. I know this for a fact.

Neek, here’s my day, 511 miles, four stops. This is how it’s done. Sorry your outfit won’t work with you, going to bed.

Delivery 0700, flat steel, I’m 50 miles away (I don’t do a 34 without running water.) It’s raining so won’t be able to untarp outside, but I know this place, if you show up a half hour before they open, they’ll back you into a bay so you can untarp before 0700. Get there 0635, two trucks in line all dark, I head into shipping, sure enough, get told to back on in. 0700 on the dot, they are unloading me, 0715, back on the road to next load that I was given on Friday. Arrive a bit after 0900. First time here, stone place, one truck ahead of me. (Good time to get loaded, all the guys who started the week with this load are gone, and I’m still ahead of most of the reload guys like me.) Talk to shipping, get all my straps, chains, and tarps ready to go while waiting. 0930 getting loaded. Talk to the loader (I always ask), and it’s ok to secure while being loaded. So by the time the last pallet goes on, I’m just about all secured. Pull up, tarp, 1015, I’m ready to roll. (30 minute break has been snuck in here.) Receiver is a job site, unload before 1500 today, or after 0800 tomorrow. I hit my eta before leaving the yard that I’m going to shoot for the before 1500. This means my load planner will probably either get me a short mile and reload tonight, or longer deadhead and reload first thing tomorrow. Couple hours later get a preplan for a reload tonight. Pull in 1445, two trucks ahead of me pulling tarps. Head over to the forklift guy to see if they can get me in. Am told they go home 1500, no ifs, ands, or buts. Ask him if I get everything off the load in five minutes, if he’ll get me. He says sure, he’s just sitting around waiting for whoever gets ready first. (Here’s a trick I see too few flatbedders do-if there’s room, you don’t have to fold and put everything away while pulling it off the load.) Less than five minutes later, my tarps are just dumped in front of the truck and all my straps are on the ground. I get unloaded, one of the other guys didn’t. Rolled up tarps and straps after the job site left to go home. Helped the other flatbedder put a tarp back on his load (he’s not happy, didn’t realize there was a cutoff.) My reload is a 1630 appointment just a couple miles away, once again I know this place, they will not pull you in even a minute by around 1730. Drive till my clock runs out.

Wow thanks for sharing all that! I can see from this that our two companies are set up way differently. I don't think there is any way for me to do all that.....I shall persist though. For the time being anyways.

Grumpy, my comment was not aimed at anyone, just a general observation. Personally, I've cut things WAY to close a number of time. This has made me think of how to be efficient with my clock from the very beginning of the day to give me a little more cushion at the end of the day.

Is it flat bed or bust? I ask because I'm only out 1-2 nights a week with weekends off and gross 15-1700 a week. Lots of guys make far more but they stay out all week and come home weekends only. Plenty of other opportunities out there, should your current opportunity not work. I hope you do find a way to make it work where you are. Goodluck to you sir!

Yes I know there are other opportunities. I'm really just trying to make it work by any means. I feel bad because they invested a lot in me when I started. But in the end, it's business, and I'm going to do what's best for me.

Is it flat bed or bust? I ask because I'm only out 1-2 nights a week with weekends off and gross 15-1700 a week. Lots of guys make far more but they stay out all week and come home weekends only. Plenty of other opportunities out there, should your current opportunity not work. I hope you do find a way to make it work where you are. Goodluck to you sir!

Yes I know there are other opportunities. I'm really just trying to make it work by any means. I feel bad because they invested a lot in me when I started. But in the end, it's business, and I'm going to do what's best for me.

Right on... I just read through everything and figured I'd give my 2 cents. Drive on bud!

Andhe78: Very nice description of your day and how you managed it. To be honest, it wore me out just reading it and understanding how much effort you put in. That's why I'm content to do dry van.

To clarify about the PC thing. It IS ok to use it if at a shipper or receiver and you run out of hours if they don't have parking. Not ok to use it if you're driving and run out of hours. In the second example you must use the regular drive line but notate you are finding closest available parking. I heard this from an FMCSA official. Can't remember his name now of course.

NeeklODN, I'm digging all the effort you're putting into this. You're hitting all the right buttons. Keep up your current approach and at least once a week send your dispatcher a message like you did before. Remind them that you are giving it everything you've got, but you feel like every week you're leaving money on the table.

Give them specific numbers, like letting them know you are capable of running enough miles to put you into the next level of that sliding payscale. Remind them that you want to be more productive but the way you're being dispatched is limiting you. Be persistently honest with them that you can get more done, and make sure you don't let them down if they start doing a better job with you.

Hang in there, I think you've got the right approach. Remember, to them you are just one more new guy. You have got to keep showing them your abilities. I was almost three months at my current job before they started really believing I was capable of handling the load and being productive. It takes time and a proven record of performance.

To clarify about the PC thing. It IS ok to use it if at a shipper or receiver and you run out of hours if they don't have parking. Not ok to use it if you're driving and run out of hours. In the second example you must use the regular drive line but notate you are finding closest available parking. I heard this from an FMCSA official. Can't remember his name now of course.

PC is for any unforeseen circumstance like an accident, shipper delay, unexpected weather, etc. Not just shipper. Just has to be unexpected. Which is the only reason I would need it. My trip is planned with a cushion. But if you drive in Massachusetts you will probably hit an accident or traffic jam. Not something you can plan on but it happens fairly often. For instance Mothers Day it snowed on Blandford Hill. Not something you would expect.

But you can also plan on stopping in Massachusetts and have three alternates and still not find parking.

I have never had to use it, but I have used my cushion to the point I ended up with 2 minutes left. But in that case I passed 2 places I could have parked but I knew with a reasonable certainty that the 2 minutes would be enough of a cushion to continue on. Once I hit I90 in NY between Albany and Syracuse I am fairly certain of open road. Verona has a spot that I will always be able to get a spot and there are two text pull offs before that, one 5 minutes before. Same with Waterloo. Always a spot but a text pull off right before if I don’t quite make it. Both text spots are always free because everyone goes to Verona or Waterloo

Brian using the term safe haven...

Consider this: we see a lot of posts about drivers who get into a safe haven with only minutes remaining on their clock. And as Packrat observed, that can cause intestinal problems. I would add ulcers to that. But if you can milk even ten minutes out of your clock, think how much that will lower your anxiety level at the end of the day.

Safe Haven Defined

Here is the FMCSA guidance. It’s not what you think it is. No worries...this comes up from time to time. About 2/3rds of the way down the page...it will become apparent.

That link showed me the regulations for transportation of explosives, G-Town.