Be careful what you ask for

[NoProblem]

I'm not trying to inform anyone of anything - except maybe indirectly "don't do what I did". Its me who is looking for information.

Like I said, I was hoping to find out what others would have done in a similar situation. I was actually kinda hoping that there was some resource out there, other than a load board for example, or perhaps somewhere out that way where expedite freight is more plentifull - something or somewhere that other expeditors can fall back on when they are stuck for days without a load - I suppose I was hoping in vain. Seems there is no such animal.

Folks were also worring about my log book. Don't. I fully understand the book and all that goes along with it and do not place the almighty necessity on it that some drivers do. To me, its a necessary evil, thats it.

As far as impressing anyone, I would think my first post would show otherwise.

So far, about the best advice I can surmise from these posts is: no more runs out west, stick with the shorter runs and stay east of the Mississippi.

 

[ATeam]

>So far, about the best advice I can surmise from these posts
>is: no more runs out west, stick with the shorter runs and
>stay east of the Mississippi.

In your case, running as a solo driver, I think you hit the nail on the head and reached a wise conclusion. Unstated in your post but important for expediter wannabees to think about is the reasons you got into expediting in the first place.

Some folks like to go home often and still make a decent living. For them, living in the freight lanes and taking shorter runs in them is the way to go.

Other folks enjoy the "see the country" aspects of expediting. For them, selecting a carrier with national reach and configuring their truck and themselves for the same is wise. By that I mean reefer, lift gate, security clearance, team operation, freight-handling equipment, etc. Such teams would have an increased ability to get a load back east after being sent out west.

 

[sandra50]

You dont have to tell its Panther 11 They do this all the time

 

[Dreamer]

>You dont have to tell its Panther 11 They do this all the
>time

Sondra... I hate to disagree.. but I can't see a company as large as Panther offering a single driver a 2500 mile, straight thru run....

Besides he said...

"They have some 25 or 30 trucks"

Panther has a 'few' more trucks than that...and a lot to lose from getting busted over something so stupid...

let's be careful to not post slanderous comments about companies here, just because there is a personal problem.


Dreamer

 

[orangesoda]

it sounds like target expediting

 

[davekc]

As far as I know Panther only sends teams out west. We have had runs back with no problem. If you can't get out of CA. why wouldn't you go to ElPaso. Freight there is usually pretty good.
Davekc

 

[gambler]

>In your first post you said"Am I crazy"?. I just did the
>math,if you did this run legally you would have to average
>93.25 MPH. In a 48 hour time frame you have a total of 28
>hours of driving time legaly. Wonder what kind of mileage
>you got at that speed. You know we all get tempted by the
>big bucks offered but think about the consequences. You
>could have killed some inocent people plus yourself.You
>could also be looking at extreme fines plus jail
>time,especially in CA. Your company should not have
>offered this type of trip to you operating as a single
>driver. If I was in your shoes I would have said I need
>another day and chances are they would have come through..


;-) About 3 seconds into reading this i knew the math was WAY off for this load.and in reading the "follow up" to you pointing this out he adds a few more hrs. however it still doesnt change the fact that this load was run illegally. this type of thing makes you a menace to all of us who are sharing the rds. with you. and gives a bad name to truck drivers as well as reputable trucking co's.companies like P2 and fecc t-state etc do NOT offer loads like this unless you have enough time to truly LEGALLY run them!! The last thing they want/need is a federal indictment because of something like this.You should be ashamed for evn running like this. im not tryin to be an a hole however this is exactly why this industry is in such a shambles.We need to stick together united and say we will not run illegally.is YOUR life worth the couple thousand dollars the load probably paid? i know mine is. Now as for the predicament of being out west as a solo.It is a major problem for sure especially if your driving a straight truck. In a semi there will always be some type of load available,but for strts. its much harder.even with a team!! My recomendation would have been to finish the load get your sleep and immediately looked on load boards. if nothing avail dont wait 2 3 4 days leave as soon as your capable(rested). yes it will come out of your pocket but by the time you hit tx,ok,ks,ne, or so you will be able to catch something.yes you will spend $300 in fuel but you will have saved 4 wasted days as well as $$ for idling,food,etc. and will still have time to "add" to your $$ for the week. try this next time you get offered a "legal" run to ca,
ps.for what it's worth there is some decent strt trk freight that comes regularly out of phoenix az. also!!