Trip Planning Regards To Routes

Yosemite, you've got to get yourself off of this idea that your company wants to limit your earnings potential. You're starting to sound like the crybabies who are all over the Internet blaming their employers as the reason they failed at trucking.

They make more money any time you are making more money. Remember this whole career is performance based. If you are able to move more freight for them, you both are the beneficiaries. I don't know where you're getting all these false notions, but you need to quit exposing your mind and emotions to that garbage. That kind of thinking is going to paralyze your career.

Also remember that you are going to be working for a company that has been very successful at this stuff. They've got a lot of this figured out from experience. You, on the other hand... well, you've got a lot to learn.

You haven't even been assigned a truck yet. It's no time for you to be trying to figure out how you can bypass what they are trying to teach you at orientation. Slow down, listen to what they are saying, and realize that they want you to make all kinds of money while you are working for them because that means you are worth keeping around.

Trust me, you are going to have troubles enough, of your own making, just trying to get the hang of how this all works so that you can survive your first year. Don't start imagining they are putting barriers up to bar your success. That mind set will crush you, just as it has thousands of other rookie drivers.

If they say you MUST follow their route - then you pretty much have to take that at FACE VALUE.

You'll have time to ask YOUR TRAINER how strictly they abide by that. But MUST doesn't sound like "hey, we'd like you to take our route unless you think you can do better".

Obviously - when you check the route - if there's an issue with a low bridge, construction detour or something else that would make their route unsafe or impossible - by all means bring it to your DM's attention.

But as OS elaborated - being in orientation, is not the time to start second guessing whether YOU can pick a better route than the company assigns you. Since you are getting paid the miles that the load assignment specifies - "better routes" do not make you (or the company) more or less $$.

Rick

The rand mcnally tnd730 gps has a cool feature (probably the Garmin too) where you can download a program to your computer, and then plan out your route then download it to your gps unit. This might make route planning easier, since the rand mcnally gps has all of the same information as the actual atlas book..I think.

This way, you know all the roads you are taking, as given by your route solution should be good roads, and you can stay in route as much as possible.

I always double check my atlas because I don't trust this new Garmin as far as I can throw it once I'm off the interstate. It's already sent me into a restricted area once where I got pulled over and turned around to the correct route.

I also check google maps and look for trucks on the roads I'm supposed to be taking. I'm a little paranoid about getting into a sticky situation.

I've also learned to ask other drivers about better possible routes.

If my GPS directions are wrong or send me into a bad area I always send dispatch and let them know. I also try to send them the correct directions. I also make a note in my notebook that I write load info in, just in case I have to go back there.

Shippers also can request and pay for a specific route. If they are paying for that route, you drive that route.

I also check google maps and look for trucks on the roads I'm supposed to be taking. I'm a little paranoid about getting into a sticky situation.

Chickie; you may not want to rely too much on that strategy going forward. For one, those pictures are a slice in time, not now. Second, I've noticed that the aerial views google maps are using for L.A. have almost all the traffic removed - no trucks, no cars. Take a look at S. Sepulveda Blvd just north of LAX to see what I mean. It may be that google is planning to remove vehicles from all its overhead views, and is piloting that effort with L.A.?

Michael writes to Chickie;

I also check google maps and look for trucks on the roads I'm supposed to be taking. I'm a little paranoid about getting into a sticky situation.

Chickie; you may not want to rely too much on that strategy going forward. For one, those pictures are a slice in time, not now. Second, I've noticed that the aerial views google maps are using for L.A. have almost all the traffic removed - no trucks, no cars. Take a look at S. Sepulveda Blvd just north of LAX to see what I mean. It may be that google is planning to remove vehicles from all its overhead views, and is piloting that effort with L.A.?

Michael Chickie's strategy is not only sound, it's all but foolproof. You cannot evaluate the merit of one paragraph about Google without considering her entire reply.

Michael writes to Chickie;

I also check google maps and look for trucks on the roads I'm supposed to be taking. I'm a little paranoid about getting into a sticky situation.

Chickie; you may not want to rely too much on that strategy going forward. For one, those pictures are a slice in time, not now. Second, I've noticed that the aerial views google maps are using for L.A. have almost all the traffic removed - no trucks, no cars. Take a look at S. Sepulveda Blvd just north of LAX to see what I mean. It may be that google is planning to remove vehicles from all its overhead views, and is piloting that effort with L.A.?

Michael Chickie's strategy is not only sound, it's all but foolproof. You cannot evaluate the merit of one paragraph about Google without considering her entire reply.

It doesn't always work. I've noticed that a lot of the pictures don't have much traffic on them, but while I'm on the roads I see tons of trucks. It's more for my peace of mind.

I've also learned not to trust the satellite views in regards to space. The pics always look like you have a lot more room than you do. Case in point: I went to JBS in Plainwell MI. The route I took, following my GPS, had me make a right turn. I initially skipped the turn because there was a ton of traffic and there was no way I could swing it wide enough to clear the telephone pole. On the satellite view it looked much wider. I ended up coming back at night and it was no problem. But the security guard gave me an alternate way to go when I left that avoided going back through town.

Whoa there, G-Town. I'm only remarking on looking at google maps for trucks. The assumption being that if a trucker is on the route than another trucker can make is just another piece of information on a route. Sure that is a good thing to, so is using the street view option so as to check out signage - signs and low bridges are easy to spot. What I'm noting here is that google has removed trucks and cars from the overhead images of L.A. Check it out. It's very apocalyptic to see the streets and freeways without any traffic.

Jake I feel what u saying. I figured it would be something in that sense the company wants to save $$$$. But I would think using turnpikes would be better for truckers. It is what it is ? I will learn routes and routines as I begin driving. Thanks

It is always about fuel savings or avoiding tolls. For example my company advoids the pa turnpike like the plague simply because of cost so there is that. They also like us to run 90/94 through Chicago for the same reason. Now if there is a bad accident in Chicago where they shut down the road or if we have to run out 90 for a stop then we get to use 294. And today my route has me running us 30 to 283 instead of taking the turnpike. If I find a route that really doesn't make sense I call my fuel and route dept and tell them my route and they check it out and usually let me take it.