How Many Miles A Month Do You Have To Run Minimum?

Hello, I am new to trucking and have been at it a month with no problems so far. I had one breakdown where the truck had reduced power and it was down for almost 4 days. My miles for the first month were 2000 miles and my dispatcher is telling me I am at the very low end for miles and is pushing me to "Run Harder". When I am being unloaded I stay on duty as my trainer taught me but some here say to go off duty, but I am afraid I will end up driving tired that way since I may end up having more hours to drive but no extra time to sleep.

My training was a nightmare and I was afraid to ask questions in fear of setting my trainer off as he had a hair trigger.

Some unloads are live unloads and one time I delivered and was being loaded at the same place and I was there for 20 hours start to finish. My dispatcher kept asking me when i was leaving but I don't know what to do, another driver tells me it always takes long there.

I am not sure what I can do different, I am getting many sub 300 mile runs and I feel like a regional driver. My dispatch says my truck is iffy and they do not want to send me too far from the terminal yet until they can get me in a newer truck. I am in a 2011 Freightliner cascadia with around 820k miles. I was told its the dog of the fleet and it was supposed to be retired but a guy wrecked another one and another one lost an engine so its around for a while.

2000 miles in a MONTH?!? I usually run 2600+ in a week.

That's just ridiculous. Have you tried speaking to your dispatcher's supervisor? Be polite and respectful but start taking it up the chain. At least that's what I would do.

One catch: do you consistently make deliveries on time? If not, this could be the reason.

An older truck is no reason to keep you near the terminal. There are shops all over the country that can work on trucks....

You can't help how long live loads/unloads take. It's one of those things that just suck. If I'm there more than four hours I usually send a quick message to dispatch saying "hey I'm still in a door. Hoping to get out asap"

But I have lost preplans due to excessive detention time. It happens.

Go off duty and take a nap while unloading. Your 14 is still ticking so you will run out of hours eventually preventing you driving tired. Not to mention if you are too tired to drive, STOP! Let dispatch know and take a nap or a 10 if you need to.

I never log more than 20-25 minutes for loading or unloading. That's all the time I'm actually working. ;-)

I just finished loading 7.5 hours after I got here. My 10 hour break will be completed in less than 3 hours, but I'll sleep at least 6 before heading out. (I got a nap while waiting, too.)

If you're running down your 70 early in the week, that could be a lot of the problem.

It don't matter I'm sitting for the weekend it seems. My dispatcher is too busy smoking and joking to find a load so she can call me by noon to let me know what's up. I've already warned her if by 7pm I don't get a load out of here I'm going to take a 34 and get some beer and get my drink on.

It don't matter I'm sitting for the weekend it seems. My dispatcher is too busy smoking and joking to find a load so she can call me by noon to let me know what's up. I've already warned her if by 7pm I don't get a load out of here I'm going to take a 34 and get some beer and get my drink on.

Wow, man. You haven't had the first positive thing to say yet about anything and now you're going to start criticizing your dispatcher and "warning" her about the deadline you've set to go drinking? Ya know, you're not getting any miles and you're not going to because you totally don't get how this industry works yet. You've been out there a month and this is how you're acting? Your attitude sucks. You should be doing all you possibly can to prove yourself to be a safe, hard working, reliable professional but instead you're going to "get your drink on"?

See, it's funny because everyone hears how drivers are in demand. Folks, if you were running a trucking company would you want just any old driver? Can you imagine trying to run a business with this guy out there behind the wheel?

John, you win the cr*ppy attitude award for the day. If you don't wake up and realize how this industry works you're going to get nowhere fast.

I've already warned her if by 7pm I don't get a load out of here I'm going to take a 34 and get some beer and get my drink on.

Wait a minute........I misread that the first time. I was thinking you were just kinda runnin your mouth but did you really say that to dispatch??? Please tell me you're kidding.

I didn't respond to this at first because I didn't think this person could be serious. Now he's making it obvious why he turns only 2,000 miles in a month. John, you've got a lot to learn. You can start by humbling yourself and quit trying to manage your dispatcher. You are the driver, the lowest on the totem pole - you are the managee not the manager.

Um, yeah...2000/month...500/week....1 load a week....yeah I'd blame dispatch.....NOT

I don't see no problem doing drinking on a 34. I just told her if she can't get me a load, tell me. That way I won't waste my time sitting and I can do drinking. I am a professional and I need dispatch to be.