6530 Driven Miles - 16days - I'm Tried (an Update)
Topic 650 | Page 1
Steve, sounds like you are running hard, man..averaging over 400 miles a day..it's no wonder you're tired..but it also sounds like your DM likes you...Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your vehicle, but I would think if you let your FM know in a timely manner, and the fact that your truck is at the terminal , he should cut you some slack..hope everything works out for you...
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.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Be very, very careful about extending your home time for any reason. A lot of drivers try to do that and it's going to cause you problems down the road.
If getting you back on the road on time becomes like pulling teeth you're soon going to find that getting home at all will suddenly take an Act of Congress to make happen. And trust me - they don't believe any excuses you give em whether they're true or not because everyone has 1000 excuses why they need one more day at home.
Keep in mind that the driver/dispatcher relationship is a give & take kinda thing based on trust. You do favors for them, they do favors for you. You make them look good, they'll take care of you. If they start to feel that you're taking advantage of them, the favors are going to dry up. Your miles will drop, you'll find yourself hauling a lot of lousy freight, and you're going to have a heck of a time getting home.
I would do everything you can to get back on the road on time. That's one of the most frustrating things for dispatchers to deal with and they don't take kindly to it.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
I was gone from home from MAY 1 - MAY 31. I got "home-time" for a couple of days to attend a family event with my family and extended family and all worked out. So during the month of May I my daily ave was 383miles per day for my actual working days. I had a couple of ZERO days and a couple short days. One zero day was because of the memorial day weekend. I ended up sitting from 6pm on Sun until 10am Tues morn - that just was soooo frustrating. Oh well... It seems each week (if not daily) there is a small mistake or a challenging situation I learn from. The craziest thing however was hauling 44lbs of peanuts to Georgia from Arkansas. What the heck, doesn't GA grow their own peanuts?
The craziest thing however was hauling 44lbs of peanuts to Georgia from Arkansas. What the heck, doesn't GA grow their own peanuts?
Is 44 lbs a typo? That's funny! 
I gotta agree with brett.. You scratch dispatches back and they will scratch yours.. I don't know how many times thats helped me out. I was sent to the bay area (150Mi) from where I shut down bobtailed picked up a trailer that was left at a customers, took it to the terminal (85mi) went home for the weekend and dispatch gave me a nice load when I came back from home time to TX.. ahh nothing like 1800mi plus.....
Those days off do take there tolls.. I was up in dallas the other day and had to do a 34 restart just so I could pick up and deliver the current load I'm on... I hate sitting. Even when its time for my 10hr break.. lol
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Dealing With The Boss Driver Responsibilities First Solo Months On The Road Hard Lessons Learned Life On The Road Truck Driving Lifestyle Truck Driving Stories Trucker's Family Matters
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So I stayed out for some extra days so I could attend an family event. As the days wound down and I was looking forward to "hometime" I was running out of hrs and couldn't make it home. SO I dropped my truck off at a different terminal and my family picked me up. I've had the chance to be with extended family this weekend and share my experiences as a rookie truck driver. This trip had me going to MA, southern LA, Dallas, back out to the East coast and across the I80 toll road too many times to count. Over-all it was good but ended the time tired. I'm supposed to be back in the truck tomorrow night to head out again on MON morning, but we've encountered an issue w/ our personal vehicle so we're waiting on a diagnoses from a shop. I might need to call my Fleet Manager and show up 24hrs late - don't want to do that, but I might not have a choice. My favorite state to go across has been UP state NY along I86
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.
Fleet Manager:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.