Profile For Aliceinchains

Hi. Davey made some good points. Dedicated here at Prime have much better miles, which results in higher pay. You could pay me $1 a mile, but if I only get 1000 miles a week, it doesn't mean more money. Even I am struggling for miles and have been driving a long time.

Hey Kearsey,

Thank you for this. Helps me feel not so alone in all of this. Luckily my dispatcher is pretty good about putting in layover pay for me when things are slow. Last week I managed to get 2 days of layover pay, and 1 day for breakdown. Layover is due to all the issues weekend staff put me through. All in all that was like an extra $225 before taxes. Closed out the week decently. This week I was able to run hard and push a few 11 hour days and overnight runs. Closing out at 2850 miles.

Staying out over Christmas and I don’t think it will be my greatest week yet. But I knew it would be hit or miss.

Overall I’m feeling pretty okay with USA truck as a company currently. I hear about these other companies and it makes me realize my life isn’t so bad over here. Especially for a rookie driver

Hey guys,

I drive a 2019 freightliner cascadia. Truck is equipped with a thermoking APU and a power inverter. I believe this model had the built in fridge, but it was removed a while ago.

Have my APU in standby mode currently. The driver next to me just came up to my truck and asked if I would be able to “shut the machine off” when he goes to bed tonight He also asked me if I was alone in the truck. I was on the phone when he came up to me, so I hurried him away rather quick and did not respond to the alone comment.

I’m not trying to wake up with a pulled fifth wheel handle or penny’s in my glad hands. Or slashed airlines anything of the sort. It’s not really hot here, so I haven’t ran the air all day nor do I really plan to.

I have an aftermarket mini fridge (3 cubic feet) a small microwave, and my phone plugged in. Aswell as my ELD Tablet.

Am I able to leave all of this plugged in with the apu off? It would be off for maybe 8 or 9 hours. Not a full 10. I am finishing out a 34.

Now I am also a little irritated thinking about it. At the time I was preoccupied. But…you are at a truck stop. You parked next to me. If a reefer unit parks next to me, I use the drone of the reefer to fall asleep. There are trucks idling all throughout the lot. The APU is right behind the wall I am sleeping behind and is not running constantly. Does not seem like a big deal to me.

No matter what route you take, the fundamentals of being a top tier driver need to be first and foremost. Safe, productive, reliable and easy to work with. I understand your frustration and the confusion too of doing everything well yet not getting enough miles.

I appreciate your feedback and the tips you’ve given me. As for dedicated routes go, I know they have some options, I plan on calling our driver care line tomorrow and getting some numbers for dedicated driver managers. I like my dispatcher a lot, but the weekend staff are abysmal and it appears my dispatcher is very limited in what he can do to help me.

Ran into a driver at our Lakeland terminal who says he does dedicated chewy routes. Makes 3000 miles a week and runs overnights. But he goes home every weekend. Right now I’d much prefer to stay out for 5-6 weeks at a time. I figure if I talk to them maybe we can work something out.

My trainer runs on the staples account out of Indiana. He always makes consistent money, the only downside I can see is its driver assist on the unloads for stores.

I do think about leaving, but only when I get really frustrated like I am this weekend. I don’t think USA is a horrible company, safety never really bothers me even with the driver facing camera. I really like that our trucks have 68 as opposed to some other companies that limit it to 64 or 66. My current truck has an APU, but I know they’ll be retiring it soon as it’s over 400k miles. 50 cpm seems to be the best I’ll be able to get right now..especially dry van as a rookie driver. I know that as a dedicated driver that will be knocked down to 40something cpm. Which has deterred me from making the call already.

When I get more experience I want to look into tanker, as I figure loads will be more consistent and more cpm. Also want to get my TWIC card and hazmat, but USA has expressed it won’t help me much at their company. Still a good thing to have though.

Definitely don’t think USA is my forever home, but I know I could have it much worse. Just trying to learn patience. Pay my dues and all that.

Hey guys,

I am a 21 yo relatively new driver here. About to head into my sixth month with USA Truck. So far it’s had its ups and downs, and I wanted to vent some frustrations and also ask for some advice.Been reading on this forum for a while, but never made an account. Saw some similar posts here from other rookies about some companies so I wanted to give some background information.

I try to be as efficient as possible. I get up as early as I can, typically run on the 10 hour breaks if I’m able to. Prefer to run early mornings (1-2am) when I can; but it’s hard to keep that consistent when I have a live unload scheduled in the evening. Stay out for a while, always over a month. stay in contact with my trainer and talk to him frequently..

Now for venting/asking for advice:

I do a lot of sitting around. A lot of relay loads. Take this from the yard and run it 50 miles to the receiver kind of things. On a good week I can hit 3000+ miles, although that happens rarely. Right now I’m closing out my week at 1800 miles after being in the shop Monday and most of Tuesday. Also the relay load I’m on got cancelled and I’m stuck with the trailer until they reschedule it.

My dispatcher keeps telling me that I’m doing a great job, and some days it feels like it, other days I think he’s just filling me with air. I’m really just tired of sitting around so much, it seems my first few weeks back from home time are always slow, and then I get a good 3 or 4 weeks in before I get home. I’m just looking for consistency and I do voice my concerns to him (although I doubt it makes a difference)

I’ll finish a load and end up sitting and waiting for one to become available. Sometimes they’ll assign them to me in advance and I can get a groove going, but other times it seems like I do more sitting than driving. I’d like to be at atleast 2500 miles a week, I am out here to drive after all. Not to sit in the sleeper.

I guess my questions are the following: - How do you view USA Truck as a company? - What can I do as a driver to help with staying consistent with miles? - Is it really a slow time of year for us? I just find it hard to believe that freight actually slows down before Christmas..when people are buying eachother gifts and goods.

Hopefully this post doesn’t come off as pompous. I am still in my rookie year and do recognize this, however I know that I am a hardworker and I am determined to build a living for myself.