How To Return The Truck

So I'm leaving my current company and start with another one on Monday. The company I'm leaving won't let me come back to a yard without a load and they dispatched me to get one just outside of Amarillo, heading to our yard in Laredo.

We got here yesterday afternoon, and the shipper told us the load would be ready last night. Well it wasn't ready, and it's not going to be ready until "maybe tomorrow" (12/26).

I'm not getting detention pay on this since the pick-up is scheduled from 1200 12/24 - 1600 12/28.

The company will not approve a deadhead to Laredo.

I see 3 options

1) wait here for the load as long as I can, no later than Sunday morning since I have to be in orientation Monday morning.

2) say screw it, drive the truck back to Laredo, against company wishes and return it to the yard.

3) get a rental car and leave the truck in Amarillo.

Thoughts?

I agree with the guys. See this through properly.

Our buddy Old School has talked before about how careful have you have to be about making decisions that feel like they're pivotal in your life and have to be made immediately. I'll be darned if I can't think of the expression he used so hopefully he'll see this and say a few words.

But suffice to say, don't let yourself think you have to do something drastic because time is running out on another opportunity. It's not. You'll get to your new company whenever you get there. If they want you now, they'll want you next week or the week after also.

Abandoning that truck or using it against the wishes of your current company will get your DAC plastered with negatives that no decent company will be willing to deal with for years. And as long as what they say is accurate there's nothing you can do to change that report. It's like a credit report. Whatever you do is going to stick with you for years.

When you do turn in your truck make sure you do a few things:

1) Take pictures of the truck inside and out to demonstrate there is no damage to the truck so no one can claim you owe money on damages.

2) Take pictures showing the truck parked at their terminal. Make sure you get a couple of shots with key buildings or signs in the background for identification purposes. That way no one can say you didn't return the truck to the proper terminal.

3) Get signed paperwork from the company's mechanics that says they inspected the truck and that it was turned in properly without any damage.

If they put anything on your DAC about abandoning or damaging the truck it will be up to you to prove them wrong. You will file a dispute with HireRight, the company who manages of the DAC system, and you will upload the photos and signed paperwork to them.

Take a deep breath Landion, relax, and keep a cool head. Any driver that has been out there a while ends up in situations where things could either go quite smoothly, or things could become a gigantic mess for years to come, and it will all depend on how you handle yourself. Don't handle this the wrong way or a day or two of bad decisions will turn into years of lost opportunities.

You never mentioned why you were quitting the company you're with. I don't know how long you've been there but you've only been a member here for seven months so I'm guessing you haven't been there very long. We'd love to know more about your situation so we can help you out with some advice.

Yikes! That's tight. I would do the right thing though and run that last load for the company. No reason to be bick about it. Try to tell your new employer that you are in a bit of a squeeze, they will appreciate the heads up. Good Luck.

Oh, I would also try to push the shipper , saying you have a medical emergency back home and need to get going asap. Light a fire under their a$$. Maybe even pay a few bucks to the guys loading so they get you outta there fast on the 26th.

Landion, firstly don't fall for the "grass is greener on the other side" way of thinking.

Also, I would do this last load no matter how much of a pain it is. I'll give you the consequences of each of your actions and I hope you make the intelligent decision yourself.

1: Your best option, but even if it takes you beyond Monday morning. You can always reschedule your orientation.

2: Oh boy, if you know what's good for you don't do it. They'll probably screw you over on your DAC report and make you unhireable by future employers.

3: Doing this will get a truck abandonment on your record. You will essentially destroy your entire career with this move.

Don't be a knucklehead, leave on good terms. Do that last load.

Landion, if you screw your employer over, you will only screw yourself in the end. Try to get loaded ASAP tomorrow morning.

Oh, I would also try to push the shipper , saying you have a medical emergency back home and need to get going asap. Light a fire under their a$$. Maybe even pay a few bucks to the guys loading so they get you outta there fast on the 26th.

The issue with the shipper is that security is the only staff that they have onsite. So there's nobody to light a fire under. :(

I agree with the guys. See this through properly.

Our buddy Old School has talked before about how careful have you have to be about making decisions that feel like they're pivotal in your life and have to be made immediately. I'll be darned if I can't think of the expression he used so hopefully he'll see this and say a few words.

But suffice to say, don't let yourself think you have to do something drastic because time is running out on another opportunity. It's not. You'll get to your new company whenever you get there. If they want you now, they'll want you next week or the week after also.

Abandoning that truck or using it against the wishes of your current company will get your DAC plastered with negatives that no decent company will be willing to deal with for years. And as long as what they say is accurate there's nothing you can do to change that report. It's like a credit report. Whatever you do is going to stick with you for years.

When you do turn in your truck make sure you do a few things:

1) Take pictures of the truck inside and out to demonstrate there is no damage to the truck so no one can claim you owe money on damages.

2) Take pictures showing the truck parked at their terminal. Make sure you get a couple of shots with key buildings or signs in the background for identification purposes. That way no one can say you didn't return the truck to the proper terminal.

3) Get signed paperwork from the company's mechanics that says they inspected the truck and that it was turned in properly without any damage.

If they put anything on your DAC about abandoning or damaging the truck it will be up to you to prove them wrong. You will file a dispute with HireRight, the company who manages of the DAC system, and you will upload the photos and signed paperwork to them.

Take a deep breath Landion, relax, and keep a cool head. Any driver that has been out there a while ends up in situations where things could either go quite smoothly, or things could become a gigantic mess for years to come, and it will all depend on how you handle yourself. Don't handle this the wrong way or a day or two of bad decisions will turn into years of lost opportunities.

You never mentioned why you were quitting the company you're with. I don't know how long you've been there but you've only been a member here for seven months so I'm guessing you haven't been there very long. We'd love to know more about your situation so we can help you out with some advice.

Landion, firstly don't fall for the "grass is greener on the other side" way of thinking.

Also, I would do this last load no matter how much of a pain it is. I'll give you the consequences of each of your actions and I hope you make the intelligent decision yourself.

1: Your best option, but even if it takes you beyond Monday morning. You can always reschedule your orientation.

2: Oh boy, if you know what's good for you don't do it. They'll probably screw you over on your DAC report and make you unhireable by future employers.

3: Doing this will get a truck abandonment on your record. You will essentially destroy your entire career with this move.

Don't be a knucklehead, leave on good terms. Do that last load.

The reason that I (we're) leaving boils down to money. We're making .12 a mile each as a team and are only getting 2500-3000 miles a week. This is after being assigned to a new DM. Under our last DM I was the #3 driver and my partner #8 in a fleet of 54 drivers, getting 6000-7000 miles a week. Now, since the DM change we literally spend 12-36 hours waiting for new loads.

We've talked to our DM and his manager. All we're told is that our DM is doing the best he can. Asked about being transfered to another DM and thats not an option. The others have full fleets.

If we were doing something different in terms of service levels, or macros sent from 1 DM to the other I could at least attribute some of the issue there.... but that's not the case.

So we're headed to a company that's paying us .24 each, and everyone I've talked to on the road, and posts I've seen here confirm miles are never an issue.

I'm trying to leave the right way, I've never abandoned a job before and I don't want to start now. But at the same time not being at orientation Monday is not an option.

So I guess we'll wait and see what Saturday and Sunday holds.

Appreciate all the feedback. :)

Thanks Brett. Currently with CR England and headed to Werner.

The main reason that Monday is a hard-ish deadline is because Werner is changing its policy on what they consider an experienced driver. If we get in before 1/1/16 3 months experience is all that's needed. After that we need 6 or have to go out with a trainer. I thought the last time with a trainer was gonna be the death of me LOL. Not in a hurry to repeat that process.

Really hope I'm not still wondering what to do on

Even if I had to repeat the training process, I'd deliver the last load, turn in the truck properly, and then make your move to Werner.

However, you've only been with England 3 months. Im sure they have drivers making money somewhere or they would have no drivers and they're a big company. The 12 cpm.. did you go to their school? If so, I would honor my commitment with them. I can't imagine them running a team like a solo driver. Are you positive there isn't more to the story?

Best of luck, but don't feel pressed to make a decision that will literally ruin both your careers.