Getting Paid To Visit My Daughter.

On Friday I got assigned my favorite run to start the week. Almost all the other drivers hate this trip and when I first saw it I did as well. However after applying the TT thought process the flexibility of trucking made it a piece of cake.

First let me describe the trip as dispatched. Leave Hebron, KY at 2 AM Monday morning with an empty and drive to Ann Arbor, MI for a 8:00 AM pickup. Then drive 2 hours to the second stop in Bryon, Ohio for a 10:30 AM pickup. Then drive back to Hebron arriving around 3 PM. 554 dispatched miles with 2 stops taking over 13 hours.

For a 27 year 8-5 work day guy, that sucks. That's when the outside of the box thinking kicked in.

Most of of our trips and drivers are out and back using day cabs. However I was hired on directly into what we call the "Overnight Extra Board". For a higher pay rate I agree to be available to stay out OTR a few nights a week. I have my own assigned sleeper that no one else uses. In addition my 25 year old daughter happens to live in Bowling Green, Ohio, about an hour from my first stop.

Given that info here is how I run the route. Tomorrow, Sunday, I will probably watch the first half of the Bengals game at home then head to the shop to pick up my truck and grab an empty. I will then drive 4 hours to Bowling Green and park for the night arriving around 6 PM. My daughter will then pick me up and I will take her out to dinner and hang out with her for the evening until she takes me back to the truck. Around 7AM I will head to Ann Arbor and complete the trip as dispatched.

I prefer this because I get keep "normal" hours and lets me get a nice visit in. It also gives me options for the rest of the week. If I want I can just finish my day when I get to Hebron and go home and enjoy the evening. Or I can call dispatch when I I am leaving the last stop and give them my ETA and tell them I will have about 5 hours of drive time left when I get in and ask if they want me to do anything else. At that point they may have me do something local, or more likely, give me an Aurora, Illinois trip that delivers Tuesday afternoon. If the latter option, I will head towards Aurora, take my 10 at our drop lot in Lafayette, Indiana before delivering on Tuesday in Aurora.

Dispatch loves that I run it this way and would give it to me every week if I wanted. Only draw back is that given my daughter's ability to get me to spend money on her I am running for about 10 cents a mile.

I've used that "Relative Express"® Card myself a few times. Great way to visit friends, as well as family.

My regional route did not include Florida, and my mom lived in St. Petersburg. Occasionally I'd ask my DM to arrange a Florida trip through a DM that covered Florida. Bingo! A weekend with my mom - no extra charge.

The key is, as you found, is to remember to add your daughter into your route planning.