What Makes A Load "Good"?

As a rookie driver who now has four loads under his belt, I have a question for the more experienced ones on here. As a company and rookie driver, what aspects of a load make it good? What should I look or listen for so I can negotiate, and/or work with my fleet manager to improve miles and pay? Thanks in advance for any help. 😊

Leedoshuffler, put in a few months and do whatever they ask you to do right now like everyone said above. Over time you'll get a feel for the average length of your loads, the average miles that drivers are getting in a week, and the different places your company runs you.

After a little while you'll start developing preferences for where you like to run, the type of runs you like to have, and how many miles you'd like to get in a week. Maybe you'll hate the Northeast but love the Southeast. Maybe you like runs that average about 500 miles overnight or maybe you'd prefer those 1,000+ mile runs. Everyone has their own preferences.

After you've proven yourself a bit you'll be able to give your dispatcher the heads up once in a while if they accidentally have you "in a rut" so to speak. Maybe you wind up with three really short runs in a row all in the Northeast. It's hard to make good money that way and it's incredibly stressful. Assuming you make those runs (and all runs) on time and without incident you can give dispatch a shout and say, "Hey my friend. I've kicked *ss on three tough, short runs in the Northeast. You think you could toss a dog a bone and get me something out toward the Midwest or Southwest? I'm going to have a heart attack if I don't get out of the Northeast pretty soon!"

There are things to keep in mind:

1) Your dispatcher handles a lot of drivers. Often times they will unintentionally give you a few lousy runs in a row. Don't take it personally. It's just a symptom of how busy they are in the offices trying to keep everyone moving. Keep in mind that whatever it is you're unhappy about your dispatcher may be completely unaware of it.

2) A great relationship between a driver and dispatcher is give and take. They have a bunch of great loads and a bunch of lousy loads that have to be delivered every day. You're not always going to get the great ones, but you shouldn't keep getting the lousy ones either. There should be a balance. Keep the motto of "paying it forward". In other words, put in the hard work, run the cr*ppy loads, and then ask for them to return the favor, not the other way around. That's how you get great treatment. You don't demand the treatment of a king. You work like mad to prove you're an awesome driver and a team player. They'll recognize that and be far more willing to help you out because you're doing so much to make their lives easier.

3) If you feel you're not getting your share of the miles or good runs, speak with as many drivers from your company as you can. Find out for sure if you're getting short-changed or if it's something that's affecting everyone throughout the company. Often times a company will change software, dispatching infrastructure, or major customers and it can throw a kink in the freight for a few weeks. Other times the economy just hits a slow patch. Talking to other drivers at your company will give you a feel for what's going on so you can speak with your dispatcher about it.

A "good load" is the one you get there with no incidents, on time - and don't get hung up waiting too long at the shipper/receiver.

As a rookie (with 4 loads under your belt) - you go WHERE they tell you - WHEN they tell you - with professionalism and ENTHUSIASM (even if you gotta FAKE the enthusiasm part sometimes) - and get a rep as a "git er done" kinda driver - and this will get you the BETTER LOADS in the future.

Until you prove yourself - you are MEAT IN THE SEAT.

There is no "negotiating" to be done here. Keep your head down - do the job safely, timely and professionally - and as time goes on, and you build a relationship with your DM - you will EARN the flexibility of "special requests" occasionally - or at least the longevity to discuss miles and loads.

This is the logistics business. Load planners move freight all over the country. Scheduling is done by customer requirements and availability of equipment. To planners - you are just a truck number, that happens to be where they need them to be, when they need them to be there - without regards to your "personal preferences".

Rick

Hmm? Some of the responses were not quite what I expected. You would have thought I was Oliver at the orphanage asking for more gruel. I mean, really, the audacity of me to try and determine what makes a good load. I mainly asked the question because I had been given the option of a few different loads from our Driver Line up out of our main terminal and didn't know what to commit to. I, of course accept graciously all the loads my fleet manager gives me. First Brett, thank you for your professional and thorough follow up. As for the others.... Please next time just keep your two cents. I can do without all the lecture. This from another rookie driver and someone in company training. "Keep your head down", "You can't negotiate anything", "your just meat in the seat." I may be a rookie truck driver, but after 50 years of living I'm not a rookie in life. I made thru the marines, a college degree, and own another successful business. To come at me with this we've been doing this longer, so you just have to take the crud attitude is just childish. Like Oliver, I just don't know any better then not to go ahead and ask. It worked out though. After talking and working with my fleet manager I've gotten some "good" loads and over 2400 miles this week. Think I'll just talk to the truckers I personally know next time.

Hmm? Some of the responses were not quite what I expected. You would have thought I was Oliver at the orphanage asking for more gruel. I mean, really, the audacity of me to try and determine what makes a good load. I mainly asked the question because I had been given the option of a few different loads from our Driver Line up out of our main terminal and didn't know what to commit to. I, of course accept graciously all the loads my fleet manager gives me. First Brett, thank you for your professional and thorough follow up. As for the others.... Please next time just keep your two cents. I can do without all the lecture. This from another rookie driver and someone in company training. "Keep your head down", "You can't negotiate anything", "your just meat in the seat." I may be a rookie truck driver, but after 50 years of living I'm not a rookie in life. I made thru the marines, a college degree, and own another successful business. To come at me with this we've been doing this longer, so you just have to take the crud attitude is just childish. Like Oliver, I just don't know any better then not to go ahead and ask. It worked out though. After talking and working with my fleet manager I've gotten some "good" loads and over 2400 miles this week. Think I'll just talk to the truckers I personally know next time.

Whoa Leedo... Based non the first post, everyone who has responded has been, as an outside observer, trying to be pretty helpful. When you mentioned negotiating with your DM in your initial post, it raises a red flag -- most of the folks above, I'd wager, were only trying to help you avoid a common pitfall.

Now, to answer your question, what makes a load good, there are a lot of variables. Do you work on a sliding payscale? Does your company pay great shuttle/ local rates? How flexible are the pickup and delivery times?

All other things being equal, what I would consider a great load is a pickup early on day 1, about 1500 miles to drive over the next four days, and a receiver that doesn't care how early you deliver -- and gets you unloaded five minutes after you show up.

Now, does this ever happen in real life? Heck no! But, it might help you figure out what makes a great load in your opinion.

Hmm? Some of the responses were not quite what I expected. You would have thought I was Oliver at the orphanage asking for more gruel. I mean, really, the audacity of me to try and determine what makes a good load. I mainly asked the question because I had been given the option of a few different loads from our Driver Line up out of our main terminal and didn't know what to commit to. I, of course accept graciously all the loads my fleet manager gives me. First Brett, thank you for your professional and thorough follow up. As for the others.... Please next time just keep your two cents. I can do without all the lecture. This from another rookie driver and someone in company training. "Keep your head down", "You can't negotiate anything", "your just meat in the seat." I may be a rookie truck driver, but after 50 years of living I'm not a rookie in life. I made thru the marines, a college degree, and own another successful business. To come at me with this we've been doing this longer, so you just have to take the crud attitude is just childish. Like Oliver, I just don't know any better then not to go ahead and ask. It worked out though. After talking and working with my fleet manager I've gotten some "good" loads and over 2400 miles this week. Think I'll just talk to the truckers I personally know next time.

Hey Leedo,

I cant speak at all as an experienced driver. But what I can say is this. If you are given 2 or more options and asked which one do you want... you can go a couple ways to determine what is good for your.

for me... Good may be somewhere i havent been before, or i need more miles before the end of the week, or I need some rest so this one will let me sleep tonight...

but I may also ask my DM what they would take if they were in your shoes.

also about the other stuff... metaphor figuratively but based on true happenings. two men first day on the job equal experience. foreman comes up and says which one of you wants to be on my krew. one guy thinks about it the other guy says Im down...

the guy that spoke up went with while the other was the only option left. guy one wondered hmmm should I have waited to see the other foreman?

guy one makes great friends and gets to work on the ground level mostly stainless and working with the heat exchangers and pumps. guy two had to climb all day wearing a harness...

guy 1 gets to hide in the shade (its 115 degrees) guy 2 if hes lucky can hide under a hot beam.

Guy 1 spoke up while the majority of rookies will not. Guy 1 had it made in the shade.

another metaphor. safety meeting, anyone have something to say? everyone with their thumb up their but but one guy decides YEAH you know what can we get some ice cream?

everyone laughs. but guess what? that guy now gets to ride around on a buggy delivering electrolyte popsicles to everyone and still get his journeyman wage.

want another... lol... if you feel that you can negotiate. try it. all your going to find out is if your able to or not able to. your not going to disappear because you said well how bout this... the most theyll do is remember awee yeah your the guy that tried to negotiate...

I know your not trying to negotiate... but hey. I say do whatever you want and see what happens. you have all the life lessons so im sure your not lacking wisdom ... but again. I dont know you, what your capable of or even if your really a driver lol... you could be just pulling our chain to have a conversation for all I know... again just do what YOU want to do.

As a rookie driver, I highly suggest that you DONOT negotiate w/ your boss(FL, DL, DM , etc). Coz you don't have an option.

For rookies, every load IS a good load. But, when you have like 3-6 months of PRODUCTIVE driving, you will see those long range loads ends in a reasonably "short" time will be your favorite.

My $0.02

A "good load" is the one you get there with no incidents, on time - and don't get hung up waiting too long at the shipper/receiver.

As a rookie (with 4 loads under your belt) - you go WHERE they tell you - WHEN they tell you - with professionalism and ENTHUSIASM (even if you gotta FAKE the enthusiasm part sometimes) - and get a rep as a "git er done" kinda driver - and this will get you the BETTER LOADS in the future.

Until you prove yourself - you are MEAT IN THE SEAT.

There is no "negotiating" to be done here. Keep your head down - do the job safely, timely and professionally - and as time goes on, and you build a relationship with your DM - you will EARN the flexibility of "special requests" occasionally - or at least the longevity to discuss miles and loads.

This is the logistics business. Load planners move freight all over the country. Scheduling is done by customer requirements and availability of equipment. To planners - you are just a truck number, that happens to be where they need them to be, when they need them to be there - without regards to your "personal preferences".

Rick

No such thing as a bad load... Just some better than others. I agree with Ricks post above.

Leedoshuffler, put in a few months and do whatever they ask you to do right now like everyone said above. Over time you'll get a feel for the average length of your loads, the average miles that drivers are getting in a week, and the different places your company runs you.

After a little while you'll start developing preferences for where you like to run, the type of runs you like to have, and how many miles you'd like to get in a week. Maybe you'll hate the Northeast but love the Southeast. Maybe you like runs that average about 500 miles overnight or maybe you'd prefer those 1,000+ mile runs. Everyone has their own preferences.

After you've proven yourself a bit you'll be able to give your dispatcher the heads up once in a while if they accidentally have you "in a rut" so to speak. Maybe you wind up with three really short runs in a row all in the Northeast. It's hard to make good money that way and it's incredibly stressful. Assuming you make those runs (and all runs) on time and without incident you can give dispatch a shout and say, "Hey my friend. I've kicked *ss on three tough, short runs in the Northeast. You think you could toss a dog a bone and get me something out toward the Midwest or Southwest? I'm going to have a heart attack if I don't get out of the Northeast pretty soon!"

There are things to keep in mind:

1) Your dispatcher handles a lot of drivers. Often times they will unintentionally give you a few lousy runs in a row. Don't take it personally. It's just a symptom of how busy they are in the offices trying to keep everyone moving. Keep in mind that whatever it is you're unhappy about your dispatcher may be completely unaware of it.

2) A great relationship between a driver and dispatcher is give and take. They have a bunch of great loads and a bunch of lousy loads that have to be delivered every day. You're not always going to get the great ones, but you shouldn't keep getting the lousy ones either. There should be a balance. Keep the motto of "paying it forward". In other words, put in the hard work, run the cr*ppy loads, and then ask for them to return the favor, not the other way around. That's how you get great treatment. You don't demand the treatment of a king. You work like mad to prove you're an awesome driver and a team player. They'll recognize that and be far more willing to help you out because you're doing so much to make their lives easier.

3) If you feel you're not getting your share of the miles or good runs, speak with as many drivers from your company as you can. Find out for sure if you're getting short-changed or if it's something that's affecting everyone throughout the company. Often times a company will change software, dispatching infrastructure, or major customers and it can throw a kink in the freight for a few weeks. Other times the economy just hits a slow patch. Talking to other drivers at your company will give you a feel for what's going on so you can speak with your dispatcher about it.

Until you prove yourself - you are MEAT IN THE SEAT.

Hmm? Some of the responses were not quite what I expected. You would have thought I was Oliver at the orphanage asking for more gruel. I mean, really, the audacity of me to try and determine what makes a good load. I mainly asked the question because I had been given the option of a few different loads from our Driver Line up out of our main terminal and didn't know what to commit to. I, of course accept graciously all the loads my fleet manager gives me. First Brett, thank you for your professional and thorough follow up. As for the others.... Please next time just keep your two cents. I can do without all the lecture. This from another rookie driver and someone in company training. "Keep your head down", "You can't negotiate anything", "your just meat in the seat." I may be a rookie truck driver, but after 50 years of living I'm not a rookie in life. I made thru the marines, a college degree, and own another successful business. To come at me with this we've been doing this longer, so you just have to take the crud attitude is just childish. Like Oliver, I just don't know any better then not to go ahead and ask. It worked out though. After talking and working with my fleet manager I've gotten some "good" loads and over 2400 miles this week. Think I'll just talk to the truckers I personally know next time.

Hmm? Some of the responses were not quite what I expected. You would have thought I was Oliver at the orphanage asking for more gruel. I mean, really, the audacity of me to try and determine what makes a good load. I mainly asked the question because I had been given the option of a few different loads from our Driver Line up out of our main terminal and didn't know what to commit to. I, of course accept graciously all the loads my fleet manager gives me. First Brett, thank you for your professional and thorough follow up. As for the others.... Please next time just keep your two cents. I can do without all the lecture. This from another rookie driver and someone in company training. "Keep your head down", "You can't negotiate anything", "your just meat in the seat." I may be a rookie truck driver, but after 50 years of living I'm not a rookie in life. I made thru the marines, a college degree, and own another successful business. To come at me with this we've been doing this longer, so you just have to take the crud attitude is just childish. Like Oliver, I just don't know any better then not to go ahead and ask. It worked out though. After talking and working with my fleet manager I've gotten some "good" loads and over 2400 miles this week. Think I'll just talk to the truckers I personally know next time.

Whoa Leedo... Based non the first post, everyone who has responded has been, as an outside observer, trying to be pretty helpful. When you mentioned negotiating with your DM in your initial post, it raises a red flag -- most of the folks above, I'd wager, were only trying to help you avoid a common pitfall.

Now, to answer your question, what makes a load good, there are a lot of variables. Do you work on a sliding payscale? Does your company pay great shuttle/ local rates? How flexible are the pickup and delivery times?

All other things being equal, what I would consider a great load is a pickup early on day 1, about 1500 miles to drive over the next four days, and a receiver that doesn't care how early you deliver -- and gets you unloaded five minutes after you show up.

Now, does this ever happen in real life? Heck no! But, it might help you figure out what makes a great load in your opinion.

Simply a good load is one you deliver on time and ern money from.

Beyond that its just personal preference. I like light loads because its easier to manage my time.

However, I've only worked as a company driver. If your an o/o you will want to consider both ease of travel and what you'll be getting paid. A flat bed glass load may seem nerve racking, but the price could be just right.

Snappy has put it all together for you, Leedoshuffler. First, I don't believe you can get better answers than you get here at Trucking Truth. Sure, talk to other truckers. But most of the people here are simply adding their two cents to your question.

"Good" is a relative word. What is a good load for one driver might be sucko to the next one. Snappy's 1500 miler would be considered the best simply because the money is in the miles. (An equivalent back haul makes it better!) The hassles of picking up and dropping off are just the cost of doing business.

To me, a "good" run is simply to hook up a pre-loaded trailer, take it to the destination via interstate roads, and drop it off without needing an appointment. Oh, and a preplan 15 miles away, waiting for me to get to it. Did I say 1000 miles? No, but I don't have to wait.

In your original post, you used the term negotiate. You may have noticed the reaction here. For your first year you will rarely get a choice. (I'm in my second month as a solo driver.) You could turn down a plan for a good reason, like your home call is coming up and a trip to Florida is just going the wrong way.

Leedo.., everyone here is here to help. You'll get many different opinions, but no TT member is out to put you down.