Well I got done with my Orientation in Iowa and have been on the road for three weeks with my trainer. I have to tell you all that the securement and tarping is not nearly as bad as it was made out to be.
How ever I do see that with the HOS and TMC getting a little stricter with the logging procedures it will be harder to get five loads a week done. :roll: The big hurdle is either the 14 hour clock or the delays I have seen at the shippers which have been from 2 hours to 6 hours after a 2-3 hour bounce. :x This eats up the 14 hour clock and will start to eat up our earnings. It may end up being better to drop and hook a box van and actually drive 11 hours at XX cents per mile. :?
Does any one have any feelings about this or how to make it work better? Will the frieght prices go up due to the HOS restrictions. My trainer has had trouble recently getting 4 grand to the truck each week.

Freight has gotten cheap lately. It could pick up for the holiday season.

Delays at shippers are a fact of life. It would be good if there was some detention pay arrangement.

Dry vans have the same delays with live loads. The companies that are all drop and hook don't pay as much.

When I say drop and hook I guess I should expand. A buddy of mine found a company that runs coast to coast and at the end of a long three or our day run he says that its no big deal to wait a little while for the load or unload. Or the drop and hook works better as well. Any way the wheels need to be rollin to make money. I am just worried that there may be better ways to keep the wheels rollin.

Long runs are the key to making money. The less time you spend loading and unloading the better off you are. Figure if you do five loads per week you can wait up to 2-3 hours on both ends of load. That adds up real quick. The biggest problem is that you won't find too many companies if any that will run you 2,000+ miles runs as a single driver on a consistent basis.

Seahawk, I know what you mean. I worked for KTL (sister company) and dropped off a load of laminated fiberboard (not sure what kind it is exactly)(computer desk type etc) in Rhinelander WI, then had a 9 hour layover for a load of LP (Louisiana Pacific OSB board) which was 45 mins away. Then dispatch msged me saying I had to be there before 7pm(I got the qualcomm msg around 515pm (got there around 615pm) and the guard at the shack told me the plant closed down for the night at 5pm. Im like WTF!? Nothing to eat except ham n cheese sandwiches and sodas. Not to mention no gas station nearby for at least 3-5 miles and it being -30F. The truck they assigned me was total crap. The tractor brake knob in the cab kept hissing like it was having a massive air leak. I had to drop the pressure down to about 80-90psi and then let it build back up again, then itll stop. Told the guys in the shop in des moines, ia to take a look and fix it. they said they will. then I take the truck back out on another run and there it goes again hissing away.
Pays good but watch out for some of the trainers. One I was assigned wanted me to tailgate another truck about 4 car lengths behind it. I told him I dont like this and wanted to back off a little. He replied dont worry trucks dont stop that fast.

The HOS is hurting everyone and not just TMC. The way the HOS is setup forces a lot of people to do creative logging which is what causes a lot of the problems. I am glad to hear that TMC is coming down hard on this since it sounded like there are a bunch of drivers putting in 18 hour days all week long. Just not safe. The government needs to fix the HOS so that the driver has some flexibility. The way it is now does not appear to work.

Longsnowsm

It's definately easier with two people.

I can name 5 companies right off hand that haul exclusively east to west.... avg loh 2000+

9 HOURS!!!!!! OMG!!!
It's YOUR life so don't be a passenger, be the DRIVER.
I feel it's all about being proactive. If you are waiting for a reload, call and qualcomm you dispatcher regularily (often) and keep on top of him. He'll get you a load just to shut you up. Often they may forget about you till it's too late. There is ALWAYS freight available. GETTING it is another story. If your dispatcher does this to you on a regular basis, it may be time to change him/her. Did you stick around to WATCH them fix your truck? I would have and then I would have noticed that they didn't look at the problem valve. It's your truck (and life) so stay with it and speak up. "Uh hey man, you gonna fix that valve too?" As far as trainers driving a bit "different". Say something if you are uncomfortable or switch trainers. Four car lengths is a little close but not uncommon on the highway. That's about 80 feet and I regularily run that close if not closer to the truck in front of me. If I left a bigger gap I may as well park it because every 4-wheeler around would be jumping in front of me to the point that eventually I'd be stopped.

Just curious, are you still driving now? If so, who for?

Okay Marcel, why don't you give us all the names of companies that will run you 2,000+ mi. runs as a single driver.