Need Some Advice

So, first, I should tell you that I'm a regional driver. I run the upper Midwest - Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Kentucky. Mostly tho, OH, IND, ILL. 70% of my loads are live load and unload. This has really gotten on my nerves the last few weeks. The fact that I had to wait 4+ hours in a dock today for the 5th time in 7days, once was 7hrs, and watching other trucks come and go, and seeing the workers go on break twice before I was even started, I don't think I can take it. They had me done 30min before my 14 were up. Luckily, I can park across the street, but I lost my next appt, so now I'll be off like 16 hrs, waiting for my new appt time. That's a lot of lost $$ and waisted time. My Q is, Is this normal for a regional gig? Cuz, I'm kind of a go getter, and this constant sitting has me wondering if this is right for me. I mainly haul food containers, soda, and furniture. The waiting is pretty equal for each. I do have to help unload some of the furniture sometimes, almost always by hand. I'm really trying to get my first year down, then I know my options will open up, but wholly cow.

Sorry that I don't have a precise answer for you. I'll offer this though. Whenever I have questions like these I start with my DM. She has the bigger picture and has a vested interest in keeping me busy.

I would definitely talk to my FM about the situation. How long have you been with the company?

70% of my loads are live load and unload. This has really gotten on my nerves the last few weeks. The fact that I had to wait 4+ hours in a dock today for the 5th time in 7days, once was 7hrs, and watching other trucks come and go, and seeing the workers go on break twice before I was even started, I don't think I can take it. They had me done 30min before my 14 were up. Luckily, I can park across the street, but I lost my next appt, so now I'll be off like 16 hrs, waiting for my new appt time. That's a lot of lost $$ and waisted time.

This is what we go through almost every week and we are OTR. Extremely frustrating!

Waiting is part of the game for almost every driver out there. There are very few trucking jobs where you're never sitting at docks.

The big questions:

How much are you making?

How many miles are you getting each week?

First of all, if the money is decent and you don't mind the job too much then you're in great shape, especially for your first year. You should be thrilled that things are going well. Most people would like to waste less time and make more money but that's just part of most trucking jobs. If you have no choice for now then find ways to take advantage of it.

You always want to look for better opportunities within your own company first. Really start digging around to see what they have. Most companies have tons of little accounts that 95% of the drivers don't know exist. I doubt there is anyone in the company that could list every account and every division. So talk to some of the office personnel, starting with dispatch, and working your way up to like operations managers. Tell them the type of job that you'd love to have and you might be surprised to find there's a perfect division in your company that does just that.

Getting experience at a company means so much. When you have a proven track record of making them money and getting along with people they'll really do anything they can to keep you around and make you happy. People always want to jump ship for what seems like better opportunities, and sometimes they certainly are, but many times you go sideways or backwards.

And if you need a special favor like a couple of extra days off it's great to be able to say, "Hey, ya know how I've done an amazing job for a super long time now? Well I'd really love to have two extra days off to go to the NASCAR race with my family. Whatcha think?"

A proven top tier driver is given a lot of opportunities and favors that other drivers won't get.

That being said, keep your eyes open and talk around to other drivers. Find out the types of jobs that out there and ask people what they like best about their company. Some companies will have interesting perks or a setup that might just be exactly what you're looking for.

Believe me, I know what you mean about the waiting game. It's aggravating and unnecessary. But it seems things must be going pretty well for ya overall so that's great.

You said you waited 7 hours then your 14 hours was up. Why? I would have done 7 hours in sleeper while they unloaded then another hour in sleeper and rolled out of there with whatever was on my clock when I got there. Instead.... you sat 7 hours then 10? Doing 8 in sleeper will extend your 14 hr clock and give you whatever you had when you went in

Rainy D.

I hope my Daughter grows up with as much can do attitude as you have. It's easy to feel your enthusiasm for the work you do, but I suspect you have that enthusiasm for everything you do. I know if I grow up into the kind of trucker you are, I'll be just fine in this business. Thanks for setting such a good example for us to follow.

You said you waited 7 hours then your 14 hours was up. Why? I would have done 7 hours in sleeper while they unloaded then another hour in sleeper and rolled out of there with whatever was on my clock when I got there. Instead.... you sat 7 hours then 10? Doing 8 in sleeper will extend your 14 hr clock and give you whatever you had when you went in

EXACTLY what I was thinking. Do your best to make every break work for you not against you. If you take 3 hours off duty or SB, take 8 hours in the SB later on instead of 10 (if possible). If you might end up waiting for a while, go in the SB and wait a full 8 hrs so you can roll on out of there with lots of hours after you're done. It's not usually asking too much of a shipper/receiver to stay one or two more hours. I would hardly consider that "overnight parking" considering you spent most of the time sitting in the dock.

Also, I don't know if you already do this, but get to the customer as soon as they will allow you to check in. I've arrived at customers over 10 hours early before. If they still take forever to take care of you, at least you won't be late for your next load.

Hope that helps.

Rainy D.

I hope my Daughter grows up with as much can do attitude as you have. It's easy to feel your enthusiasm for the work you do, but I suspect you have that enthusiasm for everything you do. I know if I grow up into the kind of trucker you are, I'll be just fine in this business. Thanks for setting such a good example for us to follow.

Hahhah wow.. what a compliment thank you. At first I thought u were being sarcastic lol. I'm a determined witch and usually get what I want.

When I left NJ for MO to go to prime my mom was mad. I'm 42 and she said "you think you can just pack up and go across country? You do everything you feel like it.... you bought a hot rod cause u wanted one.. you published books cause you felt like it... now u think u can just go drive a truck across country?"

Uh... YEAH!!!

If you guys only knew what my life entailed. At 16 I had an argument with POTUS GHW Bush over his tax plan and secret service deemed me a national security risk. At 35 I had an argument at a hillary rally with her staff and secret service removed me again. When at the USPS I sat with the Post Master general and laid out a 30 page plan on revamping the po and saving $700 million per year. My immediate boss was terrified of me after that thinking I had "pull". I refuse to be intimidated by anything or anyone... which is why it was so difficult for me to learn backing. I was so frustrated cause I never fail... I refuse to fail.

Back to OP....

As stated... if I'm at customer for 4 hours... I stay the full 8 in sleeper. Now if you have a big chunk of time great... if you only have a couple hours before the 8 in sleeper then drive those 2 hours. . Then Stop for 2 hours. Your new 14 hr clock will start at end of the 8 hr in sleeper. Because you drove 2 hours you will get 9 hrs of drive instead of 11.