Regional While Getting Otr Miles

I am starting orientation in 2 weeks with schneider. Just wondering can someone do regional while getting just as many miles as otr. I am signing up for regional Mn/colorado/gorgia/ohio and anything in between. If i dont care about home time, just run hard, is it easly to get about same miles as someone running whole country? My thought is i dont want to run whole country if i can get about same miles with rigional route that i stated above. If i cant get max miles possible, then i might opt of otr. Adam

I think you could, yes. I'm curious about why you don't want all 48 states if you don't care about home time. Georgia to Colorado is most of the country anyway.

Adam, if your wheels are turning, you're getting paid. If you drive I-285 around Atlanta for five days, you get paid as much as if you drive to California and back for five days.

The question is, do you get as much business (less waiting for loads) driving OTR or regional?

Looking at it theoretically, it comes down to how far you are driving. If you are running coast to coast, OTR will beat regional. If you are OTR but constantly making only 500-750 mile hauls as you hop around the country, you could probably match that with a Regional.

I have seen quite a few OTR drivers talk about Rookie Loads, where apparently a FM or DM gives a newer driver loads that are shorter distances frequently and saves the longer distance loads for experienced drivers (not an industry rule, just saw mentions of it happening to some people). If you are getting the lower mileage loads as OTR, you are probably no better off on mileage than a Regional would be.

Overall distance matters because loading time represents a smaller part of your average work time. Clever scheduling can help if you can keep yourself moving more hours in a day, hitting your 11 driving before running out of 14 on duty. You should also look at loading times themselves. A drop and hook Regional could do better miles than an OTR if the loading times for the OTR were high enough to negate their longer distance between loading. You could also have a Regional who is running terminals vs an OTR that is stuck starting and ending in big cities at prime traffic times. Home time scheduling for each type can also affect which comes out on top in mileage.

There isn't a clear cut answer without knowing the specifics of how you would be running Regional vs OTR at Schneider. You should really get as much info as you can directly from Schneider about the specific options available to you so you can compare with details.

I just thought regional would be very consistence with same route, probaly mostly same customer/location, familiarity may make work easier. If i may get about same miles, i would like that. If i wont get as much miles, then i woud not mind otr.

I think you could, yes. I'm curious about why you don't want all 48 states if you don't care about home time. Georgia to Colorado is most of the country anyway.

Adam thought:

I just thought regional would be very consistence with same route, probably mostly same customer/location, familiarity may make work easier. If i may get about same miles, i would like that. If i wont get as much miles, then I would not mind OTR.

Hey Adam. What you are describing is more like a dedicated account. Regional is basically a specific geographic area, like the Northeast or Midwest. Within that geographic area, you never really know where you are going or when.

Although dedicated, is far more repetitive, it's usually more stable; home regularly, consistent paycheck, etc. My job is exclusively dedicated to Walmart Grocery Delivery in the PA, NJ, DE, MD area. 98% of the time I am under a Walmart trailer. As an example Schneider has the Walmart contract with the Bedford PA DC, which from a territory perspective, neighbors the DC I am assigned to 250 miles east. Their is some overlap so I occasionally see their drivers pulling Wally*Wagons at vendor backhaul locations I am dispatched to.

Like Swift, Schneider has a myriad of Dedicated account options available to a driver. Their might be a waiting list on some of the more coveted accounts, so some patience might be required when you get to that point.

I drive OTR for Schneider. The answer to your question is yes. However, you'll need to talk with your DBL (Schneider calls them Driver Business Leaders). Technically, the way Schneider does it, regional goes home every week, but you could be driving the same area as an OTR driver who operates out of your OC (Operation Center). If you were to go home every week, you might get similar miles as OTR, but they can only send you so far away if they gotta get you home on Friday or Saturday.

Also, you can only go so many hours a week.

If you're not on a "dedicated" account, and you're a solo driver, there's flexibility for the company. Build a good relationship with your DBL NO MATTER WHAT THAT TAKES. I have done this over the past 18 months and here's what my last week and a half look like; 7/5 left Pensacola, FL to Dallas to Kansas City, to Denver to Phoenix to Denver to Dallas (deliver tomorrow morning).

Good luck and I hope this helps.

I don't drive west of Denver/Cheyenne and stay primarily east of I-35 with a few exceptions.

I'm averaging 2500-2800 miles per week. Now technically I am considered OTR as I don't have a specific route or customers but we do concentrate on a specific area of the country. Most of our runs are from KS/OK/TX to the Northeast.

So my opinion so yeah, it's definitely possible to run regional but still get the same miles as an OTR driver.

One more thing to consider that nobody brought up is cpm. A lot of companies pay more cpm for drivers that are 'considered' OTR , compared to drivers that signed up for being regional. It can be a difference of a few cents, depending on the company. So based on the tone of your post, it seems like getting the miles (aka making the money), trumps the comfort that familiarity can bring.

.02 * 2500 miles = 50.00

In a month that's a difference of $200 gross pay, simply for being considered an OTR driver as opposed to a regional driver.

Food for thought.