Hi, i'm new to this, I drive a cargo van, i was wondering when the loads are going to pick up. I've been doing this for three weeks now. The first week was ok I got 945 miles. the second week i got 765 miles and this past week i only got 490 miles. is this normal or will it pick up soon.I had one driver that had done this before with the same company in orientation said the company will build me up gradually, to get my feet wet. Is this true or can i look forward to getting more miles and loads.
slow loads?
- Thread starter lionheart
- Start date
We cargo van drivers anxiously await the busier period which we are now entering. Hang in there! To which carrier are you leased? Perhaps one or more of your fellow leasees will help get rolling in the right areas for your circumstances.
Terry
Terry
Thank you for your response. I am leased on with panther II,I have a 2005 ford E-250. Home is about 45 min. from charlotte,NC. Every one tells me i'm in a good area but i've been sitting all day. I called disp. and they told me two loads came out of charlotte today.when i went to bed i was first out and today no loads. Dont know what the deal is i havent turned down any loads sense i started and don't want to if I don't have to. If you have any more info i will gladly take it
I'm not with PantherII but I cann offer a couple of possible explanations for others getting the two loads from your area.
Might have been a long team load for which you didn't have the time for a break on the load. i.e. a quicker pickup and delivery.
Customer may have required an immediate pick-up and you were not the closest truck to accomodate the customer.
It's possible it was a hazmat B load for which a van is not eligible. That's not very likely but a common dispatcher excuse. If you're not yet Canada qualified with a FAST card, you may have been passed over for a Canada FAST load.
Hang in there. Panther will treat you well in the long run.
Terry
Might have been a long team load for which you didn't have the time for a break on the load. i.e. a quicker pickup and delivery.
Customer may have required an immediate pick-up and you were not the closest truck to accomodate the customer.
It's possible it was a hazmat B load for which a van is not eligible. That's not very likely but a common dispatcher excuse. If you're not yet Canada qualified with a FAST card, you may have been passed over for a Canada FAST load.
Hang in there. Panther will treat you well in the long run.
Terry
Not sure, but it may be an issue with van loads. My drivers arrived this morning in Charlotte and left within a hour from Orangeburg to Sterling Hts Mich. Hang in there as we are approaching the busy season. They are running a straight truck instead of a van.
Sometimes the requirement for a dock high truck will be an issue
Davekc
Sometimes the requirement for a dock high truck will be an issue
Davekc
Thanks for the heads up and thank you for all the info you guys are giving me its really helpful. I was told panther II was one of the best and that they treat there drivers really well. I told my self i would not be like some of the other people on here that only worked with p II for 3 or 4 weeks and talked about how bad of a company it was to work with. I myself have had no other problems (yet) not to say i won't but the dispachers i have worked with have always been very helpful and nice.the one problem i have had is being bored to death. I don't have a laptop and don't want to run my phone bill up. If any one has any suggestions i'm open to them.
lionheart,
I beleive in having games on board! I'm addicted to video games my self, but you have to avoid feeding the truckstop machines! If you could get a TV installed, you could hook up a game system to an inverter, or there are now several self contained classic games out there now. They run on batteries and plug directly into the tv RCA jacks. There is everything from classic Pac Man, old Atari games, Sega games, Dig Dug and other classic arcade games, to Madden Football etc. They run about $15-18.00 or so at Wal Mart, higher at truck stops. Hours of boredom avoided for the price of a pack of alkaline batteries!
I have Sonic, Pac Man, Tetris, and one that has several of the classic arcade games such as Galaga, Dig Dug, Chameleon Kid, etc.
Dreamer
I beleive in having games on board! I'm addicted to video games my self, but you have to avoid feeding the truckstop machines! If you could get a TV installed, you could hook up a game system to an inverter, or there are now several self contained classic games out there now. They run on batteries and plug directly into the tv RCA jacks. There is everything from classic Pac Man, old Atari games, Sega games, Dig Dug and other classic arcade games, to Madden Football etc. They run about $15-18.00 or so at Wal Mart, higher at truck stops. Hours of boredom avoided for the price of a pack of alkaline batteries!
I have Sonic, Pac Man, Tetris, and one that has several of the classic arcade games such as Galaga, Dig Dug, Chameleon Kid, etc.
Dreamer
I run a cargo van with panther and can't say I have EVER had a week under 1000 miles. Heck I only worked 2 days one week and still got 1000 in. Last week I headed home on Thursday after doing a short 200 mile run and had 1500 miles in. I however have not been in NC lately. I was down there a few weeks ago and got out the next morning. Not sure what is going on for you. Sometimes you can get dispatch to tell you where the towns are that they dispatch out of. If you are to far from one of those towns (over 50 miles) your truck won't even show up on the dispatch screen. I live 70 miles from Saint Paul MN. I sat at home from Thrusday to Monday with out a load (I would have taken something but wanted to spend some time at home). Drove to Minneapolis and 15 minutes later I had a load.
Kinda nice living outside of the freight lines, I can stay avaliable at home and not worry to much about getting a load offer.
Kinda nice living outside of the freight lines, I can stay avaliable at home and not worry to much about getting a load offer.
Merkurfan,
Something you said there just struck me 'strange', as I've never heard that before...
You said
> Sometimes you can get dispatch to tell you
>where the towns are that they dispatch out of. If you are to
>far from one of those towns (over 50 miles) your truck won't
>even show up on the dispatch screen.
I assumed, (OK, yes I know what that does..LOL) that all companies had standard layover points to choose from, even if you choose your own.. For example, FedEx calls them Express Centers, there is a list of them in the handbood, and tho you can choose which one you want, you need to be within 25 miles of one.
To me, it sounded like they leave you guessing as to what cities are their version of 'Express Centers'? Am I interpreting this wrong?
Correct me experienced Panther guys.. is this just part of the learning curve there?
Dreamer
Something you said there just struck me 'strange', as I've never heard that before...
You said
> Sometimes you can get dispatch to tell you
>where the towns are that they dispatch out of. If you are to
>far from one of those towns (over 50 miles) your truck won't
>even show up on the dispatch screen.
I assumed, (OK, yes I know what that does..LOL) that all companies had standard layover points to choose from, even if you choose your own.. For example, FedEx calls them Express Centers, there is a list of them in the handbood, and tho you can choose which one you want, you need to be within 25 miles of one.
To me, it sounded like they leave you guessing as to what cities are their version of 'Express Centers'? Am I interpreting this wrong?
Correct me experienced Panther guys.. is this just part of the learning curve there?
Dreamer
When you are reposititioned via the QC, it will tell you the city. If it is a paid move, you are requested to be within 25 miles of that city. Usually they will scan 100 mile radius when dispatching trucks. Then go out from there if no trucks are in the vicinity.
As you learn were the customers are, you will slowly figure out where and where not to sit. Remember that locations like Detroit will show you on numerous boards at the same time.
Davekc
As you learn were the customers are, you will slowly figure out where and where not to sit. Remember that locations like Detroit will show you on numerous boards at the same time.
Davekc
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Panther II folks. Does PII give you a list of layover locations in a handbook, such as FECC does?
Thanks. :+ :+
Thanks. :+ :+
Do a macro 8 on QC
You can then decide on 100,200,300 mile radius respectively
It will then list all of the "express centers" and how many trucks are there and how many loads per day (21 day average)
You can do one every 24 hours
Hope that helps
Davekc
You can then decide on 100,200,300 mile radius respectively
It will then list all of the "express centers" and how many trucks are there and how many loads per day (21 day average)
You can do one every 24 hours
Hope that helps
Davekc
Well i'm back home and just got my first settlement, it was terrible i only cleared $166 and that was for 3 pro's. If this keeps up i'm going to starve. I hope everyone's right and it picks up. Well i'll keep everyone posted on how its going maybe i'll do beter this week. It's saturday and i'm in first position. we'll see.
> 945 miles + 765 miles+ 490 miles = 2200 miles.
> settlement $166======== .075454545 per mile.
I'm just guessing but it was 945, 765, and 490 for the week so it may be the 945 was the 3 pros the pay covered. That's still only about 17.5cpm though which is way too low. For 945 miles in a van I'd expect the settlement to be for about $435 based on 945 times .77cpm times .6 for the driver's share. Anyway, no matter what the situation is at the moment, hopefully it will pick up well for you soon.
Leo
truck 4958
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
> settlement $166======== .075454545 per mile.
I'm just guessing but it was 945, 765, and 490 for the week so it may be the 945 was the 3 pros the pay covered. That's still only about 17.5cpm though which is way too low. For 945 miles in a van I'd expect the settlement to be for about $435 based on 945 times .77cpm times .6 for the driver's share. Anyway, no matter what the situation is at the moment, hopefully it will pick up well for you soon.
Leo
truck 4958
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Oldprof, they do not give you a list in the handbook, nor do they go over option 8 on the QC in orentation. For a new driver this is very frustrating. I remember about a week in I had drove hard all day, pod'd out on the qc and got a empty move offer 250 miles away. I rejected it because I wanted to sleep. Dispatch was NO help, they said "we are told to tell you to do what the computer says" I looked at my map and picked a city and moved to it. The next morning another panther driver showed me how to use the reposition guide on the QC.
I think panther does this deliberetly in orentation. They WANT a driver to follow the QC no matter what. None of us do. If I agree with the move suggestion I'll follow it. But if the repostion says there is a average of 1 run out of the town they want me to move to. I'll pick one with a higher average. BTW the only correct data in the repostion guide is the average runs perday. The avaliable and enroute is only updated once a day.
I've been running hard since last tuesday. I even got loads this weekend (got one in the van for delivery later today). If your still sitting at home something is very wrong and you need to call contractor relations.
I think panther does this deliberetly in orentation. They WANT a driver to follow the QC no matter what. None of us do. If I agree with the move suggestion I'll follow it. But if the repostion says there is a average of 1 run out of the town they want me to move to. I'll pick one with a higher average. BTW the only correct data in the repostion guide is the average runs perday. The avaliable and enroute is only updated once a day.
I've been running hard since last tuesday. I even got loads this weekend (got one in the van for delivery later today). If your still sitting at home something is very wrong and you need to call contractor relations.
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Thanks, Merkurfan.
This is one more bit of info to click on the printer-friendly page, print and stuff into the severely overloaded briefcase for future reference.
Thanks. :+ :+
This is one more bit of info to click on the printer-friendly page, print and stuff into the severely overloaded briefcase for future reference.
Thanks. :+ :+
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Merkurfan, and everybody:
Would you give me a specific example of option 8. Give a couple examples of what you can find from the QC, and what you would do with that info. Give me some info that would cause you to move, and info that would cause you not to move, or move to another place. Please be as specific as possible. (without giving away your secret fishin' hole, of course)
Thanks. :+ :+
Would you give me a specific example of option 8. Give a couple examples of what you can find from the QC, and what you would do with that info. Give me some info that would cause you to move, and info that would cause you not to move, or move to another place. Please be as specific as possible. (without giving away your secret fishin' hole, of course)
Thanks. :+ :+
Fishing.. Now that could be fun. Problem is, a guy would have to risk it, or buy a licnese in every state he drops a line in. Then of course you would need a campstove and frying pan to cook up your catch. or catch and release.
When you select canned message 8 it ask a radius. 100,200,300 miles. I always pick 300. Not because I will deadhead that far but because I have started a list of the places listed and average runs from the town perday. And it only lets you do it once per day (midnight to midnight)
Right now I am sitting in Dayton OH. When I send the message in the computer will reply with a message containing the name of every town Panther dispatches out of with in the radis I selected. So from here I would probably get Indianapolis, Columbus and some other towns. It will also say how many trucks are there, and how many are enroute to it. Sadly those 2 bits of very useful info are only updated once a day, and no one has told me when. So the only truely useful info is the town name, average runs per-day, and how many miles away you are.
What do you mean more info on the printer frendly page?
When you select canned message 8 it ask a radius. 100,200,300 miles. I always pick 300. Not because I will deadhead that far but because I have started a list of the places listed and average runs from the town perday. And it only lets you do it once per day (midnight to midnight)
Right now I am sitting in Dayton OH. When I send the message in the computer will reply with a message containing the name of every town Panther dispatches out of with in the radis I selected. So from here I would probably get Indianapolis, Columbus and some other towns. It will also say how many trucks are there, and how many are enroute to it. Sadly those 2 bits of very useful info are only updated once a day, and no one has told me when. So the only truely useful info is the town name, average runs per-day, and how many miles away you are.
What do you mean more info on the printer frendly page?
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Hey merkurfan.
Does canned message 8 only let you access that info once a day, or is it only updated once a day? What do I mean by more info on the printer friendly page? All this good info I get, I click on "friendly printer page", print it, stuff it in my briefcase, and I have it for future reference. No way could I possibly remember all this stuff I have gotten from this site.
Thanks. :+ :+
Does canned message 8 only let you access that info once a day, or is it only updated once a day? What do I mean by more info on the printer friendly page? All this good info I get, I click on "friendly printer page", print it, stuff it in my briefcase, and I have it for future reference. No way could I possibly remember all this stuff I have gotten from this site.
Thanks. :+ :+