OK, What Do You Make Of This

I only see one load at a time. Usually when I get to my 90 (or the end of my FM's day I deliver) he sends a preplan...but the assignment and route does not come thru until I hit depart call.

Something like the GW... can u take tapped zee???

I did a couple tight 01 and my FM said it was tight cause they changed the Appt time for me cause another driver didn't make the appt. Sooo say the driver was supposed to pick up at noon but ran out of hours... the time might have been changed to 1300 for mw to get.. but still too close for my liking. He knows I get to all my customers mega early.... but from time to time will tell me "you can't be late in this load... so let me know of issues". It's not personal. I think you are taking things personally.

I was just told by 01 that my 0800 to 1600 live load Appt is really 1600. So it's not just you.

G town...

The first time I said "I ve been out a month solo today. How am I doing... what do I need to work on.. what should I do to make you happy and make us money?"

He said "ooohh you want to open THAT can of worms... okay.... lol.." then basically said that I drive at 62 and he wants me at 57.... he wants me to shift at a lower rpm... and "it's just tweaking you now. You're polished!" During live dispatch loads I tell him what I need to know before he says it... "the reefers already washed out and fueled... plugs in the air holes for produce.. single double single on the SLDC....chute is good and times on BOL. What else?" He usually laughs and says... "just go" lol

I message him by the end if his day with "I'll be parked by the 90 at 0100 for my 0800 appt" or something like that. I really think it keeps.me moving. The first time I talked to him on the phone I was like "hi... do you remember me?" Hahha. I was shocked he knew me to be honest.

Oh yeah, almost forgot the best part...some of you may remember last week's paranoia thread where I lost a load because it was overweight and I brought it back to the shipper...twice...and then sat for a day. Well, I go to pick up this morning's load (the short one) and it's a trailer full of beer that someone dropped at an unrelated business, on the side of their driveway, and it had been there 4-5 days. Have no idea why. But the paperwork included scale slips that showed it overweight, not just on the tandems but the entire weight was over 81K. So what did I do? I knew I wasn't passing any weigh stations so I threw away the scale slips, hooked it, and went to the receiver.

How hard is it to install satellite radio? Maybe I need something to listen to while I'm driving, to avoid a nervous breakdown.

OK, I have one more thing to say: the above is all good advice, I'm sure, but you seem to have decided that it's all just my own time management problem. I don't think I have one. My job is a little different than most here I think, in that I'm home every weekend for a reset so I burn as many driving hours as I can each day, and I take exactly 10 hour breaks (and I mean to the minute) unless appointments make it impossible. I don't stop much and I'm annoyed when I can't combine fueling, bathroom, and food into one stop. It really stresses me out when I can't get an empty trailer when I need one and it throws my schedule off, or when traffic makes me miss my eta. Two weeks ago I had an excellent week because I was able to spend 4 days straight moving all the time, and I didn't even get a shower all week because I didn't shut down at a truck stop and I didn't want to take on duty time for it. The problems I've posted about above are really because in the past two weeks I haven't been given the opportunity to keep moving, even though I always have in the past, and I'm wondering why.

I did say above that maybe I didn't try hard enough, because there is one thing I have a problem with, and that's finding a place to stop. I pretty much stay in the northeast so I'm sure you all understand what I mean. I don't like to drive thinking I might just have to pull over on the side somewhere for 10 hours (and in fact the company has a policy against it), so sometimes I don't use all the hours I could. Does that mean I'm not doing the best job I can? Maybe, but I don't think it qualifies as a time management problem.

I think the advice about not thinking about it too much is spot on, because there isn't anything that I can do except keep moving.

I think the advice about not thinking about it too much is spot on, because there isn't anything that I can do except keep moving.

I've been following the whole thread, and I agree with you here. You need to relax a little bit. If it makes you feel any better, I think too much too sometimes. I think I tend to go crazy about different things, but I totally understand. The solitude, the time spent sitting when you're used to running, the lack of information from dispatch--all these things are the recipe for disaster if you don't have a plan for how to deal with the stress of sitting. I think sitting without a preplan is one of the most stressful things we deal with out here.

Just take it in stride, driver. And get sleep! You'll feel much better.

Thanks Paul, I'm glad you understand. And I sincerely thank everyone for their replies. I know this isn't exactly what this forum is for, but I'm glad it's here for me to be able to vent to people who know what I'm talking about.

Kurt thinks he's special:

you seem to have decided that it's all just my own time management problem. I don't think I have one. My job is a little different than most here I think, in that I'm home every weekend for a reset so I burn as many driving hours as I can each day, and I take exactly 10 hour breaks ....

Kurt, this is my schedule, also. And every Swift driver that works a Georgie Pacific dedicated account, and many more drivers enjoy 34 hour weekends.

I don't have a time management issue, but I have a different DM than you. Yup, drive 11, sleep 10, five + days a week. Sure things come up (2 hours for 2 flat trailer tires on one trailer last week), but it all worked out.

As a new driver it should take a while to get the hang of it, but simply aim to arrive early everywhere.

I know this isn't exactly what this forum is for, but I'm glad it's here for me to be able to vent to people who know what I'm talking about.

Not what it's for? I've read many melt down posts here, most recently ChickieMonster's. And yes, we know what she, and you, are talking about. So we do our best to support any poster with respect and usable suggestions. Every once in a while there's some real doozys!

Here's a suggestion for you: earlier you had a problem with a yard dog driver. You are working in his yard. His instructions are to be followed. He can call your company and get you banned from the premises. Your DM won't take kindly to that.

As for future dispatch plans, I imagine you're not steady enough to plan out half a week yet. I often get several days worth all at once, but sometimes my DM waits to see just where I am on my to-do list before she sends another one. That comes from consistency on my part.

Kurt, maybe your mind just won't slow down, and it begins to wonder who is "doing" what to you. Consciously begin to think of something else. Radio is good - I listen to audio books. Mix your own tracks. Whatever. Always watch your driving, both for safety, but also to see what you can do to make it better.

Thanks for the reply Errol. I don't remember having an issue with a yard dog, but maybe it's something I forgot. In any case I agree with you on that.

I don't know if I'd call it a meltdown. Well, maybe. But it's not like I called my manager to yell about it. And I wasn't coming here just to complain. Like the subject line says, I wanted to see what people thought, like maybe someone would say "oh yeah, he's doing this to you, I've heard of that before". I actually had another fairly major complaint last week that I didn't post about because in spite of what it may look like, I'm not just posting all my complaints.

So I made my appointment this morning (well, 3 minutes late), and I confirmed that I'm on some kind of "one at a time" plan for assignments because once again when I "arrived" this morning, the next one appeared. I just don't know why. It makes planning difficult. I think maybe my manager is doing my planning for me, or checking it, so maybe he thinks I'm not doing a good job there.

Kurt, there's nothing unusual about one plan at a time - in fact it's very common, even for experienced drivers. Often times your dispatcher is juggling so many loads that it makes it easier on him to do it this way. He may actually have several different options available for you depending on when you send your MT call. If he puts a pre-plan on you before he knows when your MT it could be limiting his options.

Yeah it's the same with me. I will always let them know when I plan on being available for my next load (and in over a year I have virtually never been wrong), but they still always say, "OK just give us a call when you're empty."

I know they usually have something ready for me, but I think it's like Old School says, they are trying to balance multiple options (and potentially other drivers in the same vicinity), so it's just a matter of them waiting to see how things play out. Anything can happen: breakdowns, weather, unloading taking longer than expected, etc. They just want to keep their options open. You can't take it personally.

Usually, the only way I can get preplanned for my next load is if I'll be unloading at a time when they won't be available to give me my next assignment, such as a 7am unload on the east coast (our dispatchers don't come in until 8am mountain time), or a trailer swap on a Sunday or something.

Kurt,...I am planned many times same day. Granted to some degree it's the nature of the dedicated account I am working on, but unless I want something specific or it's my last day of the week with limited hours, I let the chips fall where they may. I have suggested to you before that you let them do their job and stop worrying that they have it in for you. They are paid on their ability to keep you moving and maximize your availability. Like us, it's all about performance. They don't have time to single you out, and decide; "let's mess with Kurt today". Put it out of your head, make your deliveries, and communicate your availability. Every experienced driver in this forum has basically said the same thing...we have no reason to mislead you.

Safe travels.