It's An Amazing Thing They Do

[ATeam]

Today, I tip my hat to the truck drivers who run dedicated runs cross country and back, week after week. It's an amazing thing they do.

Diane and I ran out of hours this morning when we delivered in California. We used them up on two rus; one from CA to PA and another from PA to CA. While the money was good, I'm not so sure we'd consider it a blessing if we were offered the chance to do it every week for several months in a row.

Drive. Sleep. Drive. Sleep. Drive. Sleep. Eat on the run. No time for outside interests. Very little time when you are not moving and you do not hear the truck running. Nightime, daytime; drive, sleep, drive, sleep, drive, sleep, eat on the run. No time to take a walk or exercise. No time to do laundry or other such things.

The long haul teams will use their HOS break to take care of a few personal things and get right back in their trucks and go, go, go. It's an amazing thing they do.

 

[pelicn]

We've tossed the idea back and forth about going back to tractor/trailer team runs because the "home time" is on a regular schedule. 3 weeks out, 1 week home. BUT...when we figure in what those 3 weeks would be like, you'd need a week home just to recouperate. We don't mind running hard, but with Expedite, you do have the option of saying "out of service" we need sleep!
I also tip my hat to those people that can keep up that kind of pace.

 

[themagicoen]

When I first learned to drive truck with Covenant Transport I was teaming with my team partner and a trainer - 2 big guy and little me in a small tractor for 3 weeks. On top of that the trainer had contacts within covenant to be able to run 3 people of of hours each week, talk bout non stop running, for 3 weeks the truck wasn't stoped for more than 30 mins. 8000+ miles/week.

 

[sixwheeler]

I like the Drive Sleep Drive Sleep scenario. Running with my nephew its a far cry easier than sitting around doing nothing in some truck stop. The truck we drive doesnt have any kind of air ride cab or sleeper, and when coming off a long 10 hours of driving getting slammed in that sleeper is a little rough. Alumibunk mounts their sleepers directly to the frame with some angle iron supports, no shocks, nothing. Other than that the California runs are great, Northern California has got to be some of the prettiest country on the planet.

 

[Streakn1]

If you've never run an 18 wheeler as my wife and I did together for three years, you don't know how spoiled we expediters really are. Trust me, being spoiled is a good thing.

We did five turns a week for Midwest Coast Transport hauling Hersheys Chocolate from Oakdale,CA to Salt Lake City,UT. First we would take an empty 53' reefer trailer from SLC,UT over Donner's pass in the winter to Oakdale,CA. Lots of fun pulling an empty on ice! We saw more wrecks than I care to remember on Donner. Then we would drop the empty at Hersheys, pick up a loaded trailer (44,000lbs of candy) and haul it back over in the snow and ice to SLC, only to do it four more times each week.7200 plus miles and out of hours at the end of the last run. Then we got to rest a day only to do it again and again, for 32 cpm team split in a company truck.

I have to give anyone credit that puts up with that.I thank God my wife talked me into expediting and then buying our own DR-unit. If they only knew, do you think the others would want what we all have over here? Oh, and any time I get cabin fever sitting in the truck waiting on a load, I just remember those days hauling candy and grocery warehouse!x( x(

 

[DanJ]

I gotta give all you guys credit for the work you do. I've been at my job for 19 years now, at a large Canadian courier company. I do a daily linehaul run (about 250 miles a day round trip). I've been having thoughts of career change flashing through my mind lately. 2 lines of work I've been interested in based on what I see every night on the highway are the new truck haulers (piggybacking the new tractors) and expediting.

I can't even count the number of expediter trucks I see a night, from Panther, Fedex, Thompson, TST and many others. I think those expedite straight trucks are about the coolest thing out there in trucking right now, and I haven't even seen many of the ones like A-team's rig out this way.

Of course, reading the various company websites just makes it sound to be the cat's meow. Thompson Emergency advertises upwards of $1.40 or so a mile for a van. 600 or so miles a day in a van? Easy. How can you not be rolling in the dough, right? LOL I'm sure many of you have heard that one already.

Somehow in my googling, I found this board. This place should be required reading for anyone thinking of buying a truck and hitting the road. Nothing like a reality check to those with dollar signs in their eyes after reading a company website. Here I was thinking I could buy a little GMC van, run hot loads between auto plants here in the Toronto-Detroit corridor, and make a decent living. Probably only have to be away from home a couple days a week at the most. Well, I'm sure there are some people doing that, but they've probably been at it for years and know all the tricks.

Anyway, from what I've read on here, this doesn't seem to be the line of work I need to be in right now, what with my 5 year old twins at home and all. But it still interests me very much, and who knows, maybe by the time my kids grow up, my company will have followed Fedex and UPS into this business.

 

[mrgoodtude]

We like the drive sleep scenario as well,
Lets see, run till you get tired enough to sleep in a bouncy truck "excellent".
Know your revenue is being made for the week "choice".
Having 34 hrs to catch up knowing you won't get pinged for a "singles" run at .90 a mile...PRICELESS
Really if we are waiting for a load both are usually up and one has to struggle with irregular sleep cycles when we do finally get that load.
Mike

 

[marvinkwagner]

Good Evening

If FedEX Could see to it I do there Dedicated Runs From East Cost to West Coast Back to East Coast.

I'd do it in a Heart Beat.

I dig the long runs.

If you got the right partner it's

Very Relaxing.

Kev

 

[nightcreacher]

kev
you can get those dedicated west coast runs,fed ex ground,and what ever they are calling watkins that they have bought,both have dedicated west coast turns

 

[DanJ]

>kev
>you can get those dedicated west coast runs,fed ex
>ground,and what ever they are calling watkins that they have
>bought,both have dedicated west coast turns

I think Watkins is now called FedEx National LTL.