Self Imposed Deadhead

[pjjjjj]

I was speaking to someone today who was telling me about an OO's payment arrangement with his driver, and I don't recall reading anything about this on EO, and wondered how this works with folks.

Who pays for the fuel used in unauthorized deadheading, if the Owner is paying the fuel on a 40/60 split?

For example, if the driver decided to deadhead 150 miles to home, instead of sitting around over a weekend waiting for no loads. And what if his next load out was on the Monday, picking up near where the driver had been, before he went home?

 

[nightcreacher]

Way back when,thats exactly why i started the driver pay for fuel split.At the time i had a H/W team,they would come home from where ever they were.
Now as far as 150 deadhead home,in a straight truck that would cost at least 60 bucks in fuel,not counting wear and tear on truck.If that team was making me enough money,and did their job well,i probably wouldnt say much,as that would be cheaper than paying for motel over week end.In a tracor that would be a whole different subject.At 4 buck a gallon,its would be cheaper to stay in the motel.Now if they had to go back from where they came,to get their next load,that load would have to pay enough to cover the 300 mile dead head.
This is the reason for the 60/40 split.If these drivers would figure out what thier pay is at 40% then add in what they pay for fuel in a week,subtract the fuel the fsc from the fuel,they would find it costs less than 21% to buy the fuel,and the better mileage they get,would be like bonus every week.
let me show you what a tractor would get:

100 mile dead head'

400 mile run

dead head pay wouuld be !5 dollars
load would be 868 .80
thats $883.80 plus fsc
at 60% drivers would get $530.88 plus $242.5 fsc equals $773.38
500 miles fuel cost would be at 6 mpg bout 350 bucks.subtract that from the drivers pay,drivers would have about 423.38 dollars for 500 miles of work,where you going to get a driving job for a team that would pay them $0.84/mile

 

[LDB]

Part of the answer would depend on whether they'd been away from home 3-4 days or 3-4 weeks. I've heard, and only have anecdotal information on it since I don't pay fuel, that owners will usually pay fuel up to a certain amount after a certain length of time away from home. I'd think if the owner had a good running team that hadn't been home in 3-4 weeks he'd probably buy 150 miles worth of fuel to let them get home. If they'd just left home the prior Monday that could be different. There's also the question of APU or not. If the truck is going to have to idle all weekend it's probably not much difference in fuel expense to drive home and back.

 

[pelicn]

Our owner pays for fuel, and we've never had an issue about going home. Year before last, at Christmas, we'd been stuck in Oregon for 5 days with no loads back. After checking with load boards, back hauls etc, still no luck. We told our owner we were headed home (to NC). He never asked about fuel, and when we got home, I wrote him a check for the fuel we used. Granted, that's an extreme situation, and we felt that it wasn't his place to pay for the fuel for us to go home.
Normally, he asks that we not deadhead home unless we are within a few hundred miles. We stay out 6 weeks or so now before we go home, and most of the time unless we have something specific to do at home we just wait until a load takes us close.

 

[ATeam]

I know fleet owners that got burned bad by paying fuel for drivers that turned out to abuse that aspect of the relationship, or, because they were not at stake for the fuel decisions they made, made bad business decisions regarding deadheading.

With fuel prices skyocketing as they have, fuel use could increasingly become a stress point between owners and drivers, where the owner pays for fuel. In a 40/60 arrangement where the owner pays for fuel, it is easy for a driver to burn up the owner's profits by driving around empty; be it to home, an express center that might have the same freight but a nicer truck stop, a side trip to a relative's house near a delivery, etc.

 

[terryandrene]

60/40 or 40/60. Owner pays for DH fuel or Driver pays for DH fuel. There are advantages for each, either way you go. The important thing is to have a written arrangement between the owner and the driver so that there will never be a controversy over the fuel bill.

 

[arrbsthw]

100 mile dead head'

400 mile run

dead head pay wouuld be !5 dollars
load would be 868 .80
thats $883.80 plus fsc
at 60% drivers would get $530.88 plus $483 fsc equals 1013.88
500 miles fuel cost would be at 6 mpg bout 350 bucks.subtract that from the drivers pay,drivers would have about 660 dollars for 500 miles of work,where you going to get a driving job for a team that would pay them $1.32/mile[/quote]



So the FSC would be $483.00 for 400 miles.. fedex is paying
great! Sorry couldn't resist.. something is screwed up here in the numbers .

 

[davekc]

Looks like fuzzy math indeed.

As for the 40/60 plans, I have recieved several calls from owners that are getting their clock cleaned. Especially where there are low FSC's, no generators, and participating in some of the items mentioned above.
I am also aware that there are some owners under this plan that charge their drivers to go home, or they give them a set number of miles and charge after that.

 

[nightcreacher]

100 mile dead head'

400 mile run

dead head pay wouuld be !5 dollars
load would be 868 .80
thats $883.80 plus fsc
at 60% drivers would get $530.88 plus $483 fsc equals 1013.88
500 miles fuel cost would be at 6 mpg bout 350 bucks.subtract that from the drivers pay,drivers would have about 660 dollars for 500 miles of work,where you going to get a driving job for a team that would pay them $1.32/mile

So the FSC would be $483.00 for 400 miles.. fedex is paying
great! Sorry couldn't resist.. something is screwed up here in the numbers .[/quote]
been corrected,wow what a mistake

 

[Suds43]

Looks like fuzzy math indeed.

As for the 40/60 plans, I have recieved several calls from owners that are getting their clock cleaned. Especially where there are low FSC's, no generators, and participating in some of the items mentioned above.
I am also aware that there are some owners under this plan that charge their drivers to go home, or they give them a set number of miles and charge after that.

JMO, BUT, if the owner would put a generator in the truck the drivers wouldn't be idling to stay warm or cool...........problem solved.
Let's see the ones that are supposedly getting their 'clocks cleaned' stay in the truck for 3-4 weeks at a time and NOT have any heat when their trying to sleep, or sit in the truck with nothing more than a window cracked in 85 degree temps..............
Low FSC's are not the drivers fault........have the owner get on the companies A** and try to get something done about it.
Now, back on subject: We had an agreement with the owner about when to deadhead home. If we'd been out for the usual 3+ weeks and were within 150 miles of home, we'd put it in the wind.........then take our 4 or 5 days off. If we had to come home for whatever reason (other than scheduled time off) we paid for the fuel, no problem........but then again, that was when fuel was $1.30/gal. And that only happened once in 3 yrs. Had to come home for an unexpected court deal.
It's alot different today with fuel costs. Both owner and driver have to work together or their both doomed. It all comes down to communication between all involved, getting all the details straightened out BEFORE anyone starts driving for someone else.

 

[nightcreacher]

at 4 plus dollars a gallon,10 hours of idleing,its cheaper to stay in a motel

 

[davekc]

JMO, BUT, if the owner would put a generator in the truck the drivers wouldn't be idling to stay warm or cool...........problem solved.
Let's see the ones that are supposedly getting their 'clocks cleaned' stay in the truck for 3-4 weeks at a time and NOT have any heat when their trying to sleep, or sit in the truck with nothing more than a window cracked in 85 degree temps..............
Low FSC's are not the drivers fault........have the owner get on the companies A** and try to get something done about it.
=======================================
I do agree with the nature of expediting, you almost have to have a generator on a truck, or stay at hotels. I think many fleet owners just simply don't have the cash for a generator. All of our trucks have generators but I am mindful that many fleet owners are sitting on the edge of folding.
With regards to FSC's, it is a drivers responsibility if he is accepting low FSC loads. The carrier isn't calling the owner to accept/decline a load.
A carrier isn't going to change the FSC on some of these runs when they know some drivers will accept them with a 40/60 plan. If the driver desn't pay the fuel, many would care if the FSC was a penny or a dollar.
Additionally, I don't see where a fleet owner is going to change the FSC rate on certain runs. Since our drivers by the fuel, that eliminates that problem.
Knowing what it costs to run the truck is paramount in this situation.

 

[piper1]

Dave, you make way to much sense. You "get it".

Why are you in this business anyhow?

 

[davekc]

Dave, you make way to much sense. You "get it".

Why are you in this business anyhow?

I enjoy the madness

 

[rickd]

depending on where the driver is located and the distance from home, a rental car or a plane ticket may be more economical. I can fly from indianapolis to florida or vice versa for less than I could drive a truck. In some cases, a weekend discount car rental might be $45-$50 for two days, again, cheaper than driving the truck 400-500 miles. You have to consider fuel cost for the rental though, so you need to do the math.
I've also rented a car in situations where I knew I was "stuck" for a weekend (colorado, and arizona), just to go sightseeing. Stuck for the weekend doesn't mean imprisoned!

Incidentally, as an owner, I evaluate each situation separately. Sometimes I split the fuel cost for the driver to get home, sometimes I pay it, and sometimes I require the driver to pay it.
It depends a lot on how they've been running and how long they've been away from home.

 

[ericmoss37]

I have a deal that the drivers are to drive no more then ten miles to the nearest truck stop after the delivery. One of my teams called me yesterday and asked if they should move 50 miles to Atlanta because eleven loads a day were going out and only one from where they were. I told them no because your still on the Atlanta board at 50 miles away. Turns out they got a load going 25 miles east so it would have been 75 miles dead head instead of 25 miles. They got an 800 mile load from Georgia to Michigan so the system seems to work. I tell my drivers to stay close to your drop point because there is a good chance that another load will come out of the same place within 24 hours.

 

[pelicn]

I have a deal that the drivers are to drive no more then ten miles to the nearest truck stop after the delivery.

I hope you're flexible on that 10 miles, because sometimes that just isn't possible.

 

[x06col]

That, then, is an easy one. Go without the truckstop.

 

[pelicn]

That, then, is an easy one. Go without the truckstop.

Sometimes that isn't possible either Col.

 

[dhalltoyo]

I try to stay out of truck stops, but trying to string a poncho liner and take a field bath is a little difficult in a Walmart parking lot; especially if the temp is less than 70 degress. And I'd probably get arrested if I tried to do so.

If I am running ahead on time, I will shower when I have to fuel.

If I hang close to the drop off point, and its a Friday, and I know it is a low freight area, and I need to shower, I weigh the cost of a motel versus the fuel cost to the nearest truck stop, because personal hygiene is very important to me.