West Coast Runs

[jjoerger]

We really like doing the west coast runs, especially driving across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and then coming into California. Or coming down I 15 from Utah. Nice long runs and beautiful scenery.
But, we never seem to be able to get a load back out.
We delivered on Thursday in St George, Utah. Went to Las Vegas and after not getting any loads on Friday or Saturday decided to deadhead to Ontario, CA. No decent paying loads on Monday or Tuesday and at last check there are 8 trucks checked in here. We have been sitting with three of them that have been here since Thursday. (Today is Wednesday) Some on less than 75. TVAL trucks too.
For us 7 days without a load is way too long. This is going to have to be our last west coast run. We can not afford to come out here and sit like this. It seems that FedEx would understand this and do more to get us moving.
Is anyone else having the same problem or feeling this way?

 

[dabluzman1]

Yeah, we have been sitting in Seattle since last Friday.
We had a load for last Sunday and it cancelled.
Since that time a few beeps mostly $2-300 and a couple
to Edmunton (good pay going to nowhere ).
I am writing off the west coast as well.

 

[layoutshooter]

We have done well and we have done bad going west. This time we got right out of L.A. the next day but had to DH out of El Paso. I no longer go out there if I have to be at home in 30 days or less. Too iffy.

 

[ATeam]

Western states runs might better describe what you are talking about instead of West Coast runs; that is if you consider West Coast states to touch the ocean.

We were surprised last month to sit for a week in California without freight but that does not dissuade us from servicing that market. With our CR, TVAL truck and driver credentials, we usually (not always but usually) are able to count on freight to appear, sometimes from long distances away.

However, and this is an important difference between us and many drivers, when we are in California or other western states, we don't feel a need to get back east. We have done lots of short runs in California that keep us occupied between the long runs in and out.

Yes, we have been burned by long sits in western states but it has not hurt us overall. We sat for a week last month but by month end, we were very pleased with our earnings; boosted partly by the long runs to and from California.

More to your question, as long as the pay was at our price or higher, we would not hesitate to take a run to the western states. There are risks to be sure but can usually count on our truck's "reach" to keep us moving or get us out.

Example: We just did a run from Cincinnati to Eastport, Idaho. Eastport is not exactly in the center of things (see map) and we had no idea what would happen once we delivered. We figured that if we were not pre-dispatched, we would deadhead a couple hours to Spokane and wait for freight there.

The money was good on the run and that us usually enough to get us to say yes. We leave what will happen next to the freight gods and our truck's reach. It's the bird in the hand thing. If there is no good reason to decline the load offer that we are looking at right now, we tend to take it, and tend to avoid talking ourselves out of it because something bad might happen later.

An hour before we reached the delivery, dispatch called and told us a return run was available at full pay. Deadhead would be zero. There would be a few hours waiting between the delivery and the pickup. We said yes, of course and now we sit in Cincinnati.

Had the return run not materialized, we would have gone to Spokane and I could very well be replying to your post from there.

I know many expediters play the game like pool, where you think not only about the current shot but about the next one too. That may be especially good thinking for dry box trucks but with our reefer, we have learned to count on "reach" too.

We get burned sometimes, as everyone does, but that's where our big sleeper and tourism goals come into play. It also helps to have a meaningful and potentially lucrative hobby (trading) with which to pass the time.

 

[fatboy1]

Yep we have sit a week out west before getting back. We also did the short runs (the I-5 shuffle as we call it) and when we park the same guys are at the truck stops complaining. we helped our bottom end by doing the short ones sometimes. Last week we brought a run out to Seattle,delivered on thurs. and was reloaded fri morn going back east. We are in Spokane,Wa now waiting.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

We picked up a load last friday morning in MI, going to the L.A. area.

I checked early in the run to find that there were already 4 D units there,so we were expecting trouble getting out of there after we delivered on monday.

But to our surprise,they hit us with a load offer on saturday while we were still in Nebraska, picking up in L.A. and going to the Sacramento area,all happening on monday.

It was fairly good pay and we couldn't figure out why none of the other trucks ahead of us and already there didn't want it.

Then p/u in Merced,CA on tuesday going to SLC and delivered this morning.Currently sitting #1 on the SLC board.

 

[ATeam]

Just for fun, I'll report here our West Coast runs as they develop:

11/01/10, Monday: (Reefer) Delivered in Foothills Ranch (LA suburb), first thing in the morning, a load that we picked up on Friday in Ohio.

11/01/10, Monday: (Driver Credentials) Deadheaded to San Diego and did a three-mile run. Got pre-dispatched to pick up a load Tuesday afternoon. Parked on the street near the short-run delivery to spend the night.

11/02/10, Tuesday: (Driver Credentials) Picked up freight this afternoon near San Diego and headed north on I-5 toward Sacramento.

11/03/10, Wednesday: Delivered at 03:00 local time in the Sacramento express center. Went out of service in the morning to sleep uninterrupted by nuisance load offers. Now awake, in service, waiting for freight.

11/03/10, Wednesday: (Lift Gate) Dispatched late this afternoon on a load that picked up a few miles north of Oakland and delivered in Monterey at 9:00 p.m. local time. On the way, we got pre-dispatched on a short run for tomorrow morning that gives us <75 status. Drove from the Monterey delivery to tomorrow's bay-area pick up. Parked on the street nearby to spend the night.

11/04/10, Thursday: (Driver Credentials) Completed a short run at 13:30 local time. Now in service with < 75 status, sitting in Salinas, CA, waiting for freight.

11/04/10, Thursday: (Lift Gate) Two hours after today's earlier delivery, we were dispatched on an ASAP pickup/straight-through run. Pickup 140 miles away. Delivery completed at 9:00 p.m. local time in the Ontario express center. Parked on the street nearby to spend the night. In service, waiting for freight.

11/05/10, Friday: Two offers received and declined (low pay). We remain in service and available to haul freight. 20 hours of dwell time now, no action.

11/05/10, Friday: It is now sundown at the Ontario TA where we came for fuel and showers. There are at least six FedEx Custom Critical straight trucks parked here. Some must be dispatched as they are not showing up on the Ontario board. We just arrived and have not talked with any drivers yet. It looks like there might be a FedEx breakfast tomorrow morning. Our friend Jack Dixon who likes to keep track of West Coast activity tells us 18 trucks got dispatched out of Ontario and LA today, compared with 25 last Friday.

11/06/10, Saturday: In service, waiting for freight. Laying over at the Ontario, CA TA. No load offers received today. Dwell time when we turned in for the night: 44 hours.

11/07/10, Sunday: In service, waiting for freight. Laying over at the Ontario, CA TA. A little after sundown, no load offers received. Dwell time: 68 hours.

This completes a full week in CA. While we would have liked to run on Fri, Sat and Sun, we are delighted with the gross revenue from the six deliveries made this week. If we made every week what was made this week, we could take 20 weeks a year off and still exceed our financial goals. The layover time was not unwelcome and put to good use.

11/08/10, Monday: (Reefer) Dispatched at 9:00 a.m. local time on a run that picks up tomorrow and delivers in New Mexico. Deadheaded 100 miles to spend the night near the pick up.

11/09/10, Tuesday: While waiting to pick up today's load that delivers tomorrow in New Mexico, we got pre-dispatched on a reefer load that picks up the same day, also in NM.

11/10/11, Wednesday: Delivered a reefer load near Santa Fe, NM. Picked up a reefer load in Albuquerque, NM.

11/11/10, Thursday: Driving cross-country with reefer freight on board. Load delivers on Friday.

11/12/10, Friday: Delivered in Rochester, NY the load we picked up in Albuquerque, NM.

This concludes the most recent series of runs that took us to the West Coast and back. It is fine to be back east but we would have been just as happy to remain in the western states. We have no reason to be anywhere in particular until we go home for Christmas.

 

[jjoerger]

Here's how ours went.
We delivered on Thursday in St George, Utah. Went to Las Vegas and after not getting any loads on Friday or Saturday decided to deadhead to Ontario, CA. No decent paying loads on Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday we did a <75 in hopes of using it to get out of there. Thursday we accepted a few loads but did not get them as there were 5 other trucks with <75.
Friday the same thing. We called planning and got a relocate to Dallas over the weekend. Monday at 0800 we were dispatched to IL and enroute we got a predispatch going to IN.
So we sat on the west coast for 8 days and made $300. As soon as we made it back to the middle of the country we were moving again.
Most of the western state runs required a lift gate or reefer. As we had neither there were very few load opps for us. Unfortunately we don't have a truck with the reach of Phil's. Fortunately as long as we stay east of the Mississippi we don't need all that equipment to stay busy.

 

[iceroadtrucker]

I was doing CA runs when I was Driving a Tractor with a 53Ft trailer.
Then I got the Opportunity to drive a Tractor and Pull a 48ft Trailer.
Needless say I have yet to be to CA in this Truck.
The lack of monitary monie thats made from those runs takes the cake. Better half stated Her concern.
Runs to California back or Latter Alagator.
Starting now.

 

[ATeam]

A couple weeks ago I listed our recent West Coast experience here. That might not have been the best test since it began with a nice run into Los Angeles.

Today, the Friday before the week in which Thanksgiving falls, we delivered a load in Salt Lake City that was picked up in New Jersey. We were half expecting to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Mormons but got a load out instead.

It was a load we turned down earlier today because of low pay. A few hours later dispatch called to sweeten the offer, saying we were the closest qualified truck, even though we were over 500 miles away from the pick up. With the sweetened pay, it was lower than what we normally accept but not by much. With the holiday coming, we took the load and began our deadhead to the Monday pick up. That delivery will leave us in a better express center.

This experience and that listed above is the norm for us. Getting stranded for a long time without freight would be the exception.

When I talk about the reach our truck has because of its driver credentials, lift gate, reefer and other equipment, it's more than just talk. It makes a difference such that we don't have western state concerns that many other drivers do. It also helps to feel no need or urgency to get back east.

The West is not for everyone, as many posts in the Open Forum indicate, but if you are mentally and physically equipped to service this market, it ain't half bad.

 

[MissKat]

Phil, were you all on I 80 Thursday headed West out of Des Moines? I thought it was you driving and maybe Diane in the jump. In the AM. and there was a D unit parked on the offramp about 2 miles ahead of where I saw you. Of course I am now a mere 18 wheeler driving for Western Freightways, LOL but I still waved.

Miss Kat

 

[ATeam]

Phil, were you all on I 80 Thursday headed West out of Des Moines? I thought it was you driving and maybe Diane in the jump. In the AM. and there was a D unit parked on the offramp about 2 miles ahead of where I saw you. Of course I am now a mere 18 wheeler driving for Western Freightways, LOL but I still waved.

Miss Kat

I checked. We made a fuel stop at Walcott and left there at 9:30 a.m. eastern time, and headed west on I-80. I was driving. Diane was in the sleeper cutting some serious zzzzzz's. Sorry I did not notice your wave.