Hard Set Home Times Vs Flexibility

It seems like load availability is like currents in the water, if I don't set a rigid date for home time, I can just kind of surf the currents of freight and it's very profitable with out much headaches more than the normal chaos. They can keep me running and somewhat in the direction I need to go.

But if I have a home time hard set, it seems very difficult to keep moving especially with how erratic freight is for us currently. Most of my loads have way too much time on them, meaning I'm always early, usually not an issue as I'll either get layover or grab another load, but it's difficult to do that when I have a fixed location and time set for home time as I get close to it.

The main solution I've found is to have as few set home times as possible, the next one is set for around Christmas in Phoenix. I'm curious if others encounter this and what solutions they use, if any. My main priority is running as much as I can while making efficient use of my time to make money.

I did have some of this, even when freight was plentiful, at Schneider (dry van). Kind of hard to fault the company though, because they're trying to honor your hometime request.

Even now, running regional , there are times when I'll get near the house on a Thursday, with a gotta-be-home-Saturday situation and I'll just go ahead and stay home Thursday. Fortunately, my company allows us some flexibility on this. We don't get paid for that extra time off we took, but we don't get penalized either.

Sometimes, if I know that situation is coming up, I'll ask if there are any dedicated accounts or short hauls I can work, before going home. If you have that availability, maybe they'd let you do that.

Good luck!

My first thought is to ask your company if they have any dedicated divisions or customers that could get you home regularly, but keep you moving well.

Most major carriers have dedicated accounts and customers, but rarely advertise these accounts to their drivers. They just kind of fill the account with drivers as they become available, primarily by chance.

For instance, I worked at a major carrier that hauled tons of freight out of Meijer Grocery. You would haul to the stores from the distribution center and then get a backhaul for the return trip. Most of the time, our company just pulled drivers from the general pool to haul that freight, but we had some drivers that stayed on that account full time because it got them home regularly.

I stumbled across the account by chance when they put me on a run coming out of the distribution center. I didn't know we had that account. Discovering that account led me to ask the operations manager if we had more accounts like that, and there were quite a few!

Companies will change how they dispatch you when you have home time coming up. The more you can learn about your biggest customers and dedicated opportunities, the more likely you'll find an opportunity to turn a ton of miles, but get home more regularly.

Most major carriers have dedicated accounts and customers, but rarely advertise these accounts to their drivers.

This is something even experienced drivers sometimes don't realize. I still remember when I first started on the SAPA account running flatbed loads for Knight, the guard shack at Phoenix wouldn't even let me in the yard. He didn't believe I was employed by Knight. He had never seen a flatbed load come to the yard, and my truck had the SAPA logo on the doors.

There are all kinds of accounts at these major carriers. Some of them depend on the location. I've seen some RGN trailers at a few Knight terminals. Those are for heavy haul and oversized loads. I still have people asking me at truck stops, "When did Knight start doing flatbed?" They are really surprised when I tell them I've been doing it for nine years.

Sounds like OTR life lol. After switching to dedicated/regional fleets I never had a problem being profitable AND getting home ever again

At SNI if I absolutely need to be home for something I just request a guarantee on that home time. They will put you in a rental car if they have to but you won’t miss the park date. I’ve only used two this year, I believe you get 4 or 5. Seeing I’m on a 25/5 schedule that’s pretty convenient.

Heading up as far northeast NY as I am getting me loads for regular home has been hit or miss but they are usually able to snag a GP or Tractor Supply dedicated load that gets me pretty damn close. That’s one of the reasons I took the home time schedule that I did. I could have taken one that was every 2 weeks but still was only 5 days a month, I wouldn’t want to limit my runs like that and I prefer being far away from the NE 👍🏻

I have no qualms with Knight, they're extremely accommodating and bend over backwards for me. I figured it was just the nature of the industry. I'll ask about dedicated stuff, periodically they pay me out of dedicated loads, when I do local. I do volunteer for local in which ever area I'm in if I'm going to be there with nothing to do.