Trip Planning Issues

What's a fuel macro?

What's a fuel macro?

Macros are preset messages or forms that you fill out in your Qualcomm unit that you send in to the carrier office. Like to say you have arrived at a location, departed a location, request hometime, get paid for tolls you paid cash for, all kinds of stuff.

A fuel macro tells you where the company wants you to fill up at on your trip. It might be the cheapest fuel, but sometimes the fuel contracts that your company sets up have to be honored by so many gallons purchased in a month at a particular fueling station so it will send you there. Large carriers get really big discounts on fuel purchases.

We use macros at Maverick but we fuel when we feel like it. Mostly flying j/pilot and loves but we're also approved elsewhere.

We use macros at Maverick but we fuel when we feel like it. Mostly flying j/pilot and loves but we're also approved elsewhere.

I wish this was our case. I would rather start my day by fueling where I parked.. rather than having to stop for fuel then for the 30 min. Some days I can take an hour here or hour there. Other days it is non stop driving.

Our fuel macro gives us a routing. So to have me go from NJ to WI my original route went across I80 all the way into chicago. When I needed fuel... it took me south through Lodi OH... then across a bunch of US routes ...which go 60 mph.. then go into small towns with lights... then 60 mph.. then lights. So not only did it take me out of the way... but on slow er roads.. that adds a lot of time.

Sooo the type of road you are on changes the trio planning too

Wow that sounds like a hassle. I just type the address into my gps, check my atlas to verify it's safe. Then check my route for fuel and rest stops to do my load checks.

And... dispatched miles are zip code to zip code. It usually adds 10%. So for 1000 mile run.. expect to do 1100. That's an extra 2 hours!!! Plus... you have to figure in fuel stops.

I'm now manipulating the fuel stops with the macro 27. The last run they took me 150 miles out of the way for fuel!!!

I can't understand why a company would want you to go 150 miles out of route for fuel. I understand wanting to save money, but they just burned six hours of your clock AND did they save enough to justify burning 40 gallons of fuel (150 x 2/7mpg)?

My company uses fuel stops along the route or near the shipper/consignee(receiver).

And... dispatched miles are zip code to zip code. It usually adds 10%. So for 1000 mile run.. expect to do 1100. That's an extra 2 hours!!! Plus... you have to figure in fuel stops.

I'm now manipulating the fuel stops with the macro 27. The last run they took me 150 miles out of the way for fuel!!!

I can't understand why a company would want you to go 150 miles out of route for fuel. I understand wanting to save money, but they just burned six hours of your clock AND did they save enough to justify burning 40 gallons of fuel (150 x 2/7mpg)?

My company uses fuel stops along the route or near the shipper/consignee(receiver).

This happens because the systems they use to route are not perfect. When a fuel stop takes you that far off-route, it's time for a call to your DM requesting a more common sense approach. 150 miles out of the way, is an extreme example, and a huge waste of time and money resulting in lost productivity.