Every Day Is An Adventure
Topic 19710 | Page 2
Sorry for the late reply.
After all that was said and done, I was told to try and bobtail in and see what happens. I got there and was told I couldn't bobtail in, I HAD to bring in an empty. I called my DBL and told him (I actually heard him mutter s**t), he told me that he'd see what he could do. I got kicked off the property for loitering so I bobtailed a mile up to a small circle k and waited for about another 45m.
Got a message stating that there were no empties within a 180m radius of Savannah! So they just took the load off of me and gave me a different load picking up in Augusta.
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
Delivered my load this morning to a Dollar Tree DC in Savannah GA at about 0700. No empties so I put in the exception and start the chase. It's now 1130, I've been to 5 different locations, each one either no empties or can't release without an inbound. I've bobtailed 40m all in the Savannah area and wasted a whole 1.5h on my 11h clock for nothing. My 14 is about to catch up to my 11 on top of all this.
Worst part is that my next pickup is just a drop and hook. I don't even need the damn trailer as far as I know, and judging by the satellite view, it looks like a damn drop lot! At least it's a beautiful day...
I know how you feel. This was one of the main issues that drove me away from the mega truckload carrier that I started out with (I won't name them, but they are one of the biggest). It's not the trailer searching that's the problem, but the companies failure to compensate fairly for it, if at all. Free trucking --- one of the biggest problems at the mega truckload carriers. Trailer searches, detention at shippers/receivers (company advertised that they paid detention, but rarely did), and other delays beyond the drivers control adds up to significant lost wages every week. I couldn't take it anymore and moved on to LTL trucking. Why is it that LTL and other segments of the trucking industry are able to consistently pay drivers for all the work they do, but the large truckload carriers are not?
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
Rajinder wrote:
Why is it that LTL and other segments of the trucking industry are able to consistently pay drivers for all the work they do, but the large truckload carriers are not?
It's an apples to orange comparison. Because with very few exceptions a primary or domicile terminal is always in the mix with LTL and many Dedicated regional assignments. Take my job for instance. I return to one of two Walmart DCs worst case every other day with either an empty or vendor backhaul. All of the inbound trailers come back to the DC,...that's where all of the empties and loaded backhauls are parked and originating outbound store loads retrieved. Hub and spoke type operation, with all of the spokes eventually routed back to a hub.
I typically don't like to use the word never,...but in my case; "I never need to search for an empty" and I might just work for one of those huge mega-carriers you are referring to...
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Delivered my load this morning to a Dollar Tree DC in Savannah GA at about 0700. No empties so I put in the exception and start the chase. It's now 1130, I've been to 5 different locations, each one either no empties or can't release without an inbound. I've bobtailed 40m all in the Savannah area and wasted a whole 1.5h on my 11h clock for nothing. My 14 is about to catch up to my 11 on top of all this.
Worst part is that my next pickup is just a drop and hook. I don't even need the damn trailer as far as I know, and judging by the satellite view, it looks like a damn drop lot! At least it's a beautiful day...
I know how you feel. This was one of the main issues that drove me away from the mega truckload carrier that I started out with (I won't name them, but they are one of the biggest). It's not the trailer searching that's the problem, but the companies failure to compensate fairly for it, if at all. Free trucking --- one of the biggest problems at the mega truckload carriers. Trailer searches, detention at shippers/receivers (company advertised that they paid detention, but rarely did), and other delays beyond the drivers control adds up to significant lost wages every week. I couldn't take it anymore and moved on to LTL trucking. Why is it that LTL and other segments of the trucking industry are able to consistently pay drivers for all the work they do, but the large truckload carriers are not?
I actually did get paid for all that screwing around in Savannah on the trailer search. My weekend DBL threw in 2 trailer search pays ($30 ea) because of the headache it caused me. Hell, $60 for just bobtailing? It may have been more profitable to actually drive deadbeat or loaded miles (same pay rate), but I'll take it. I love driving, and bobtailing in an automated is pretty much like driving a tall car so....
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
C.T. how r u doing...giving u an update brother. I start orientation on the 18th (Father's day). Shoot me ur name by email I'm gonna put u down as my referral. Hope to see u out there...b safe
You could always join the flatbed brotherhood lol
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Part of the problem is there are drivers who will just go to where they know MTs are at and grab the first one they see. Dispatch doesn't even find out the Trlr the individual has until they send the move empty confirmation message before sending their loaded call message.