I use the split sleeper rules quite frequently, and have always been correct with them. Actually once I goofed and took a 1.75 hour break instead of 2 so I was in violation. One time the auditing computer rejected my logs for three days but I had split logged correctly and it had to go up the chain to some Des Moines log people who agreed that I was correct and the computer was wrong.

Regarding the 34 hour restarts you can log 8.75 hours per day on average 7 days per week and never reach the 70 hour limit. I did not find that convenient or particularly efficient. There have been a couple of weeks that I did not get the 34 hour restart on the weekend and ended up having to take extra time on a load during the week, so it didn't matter how hard I ran over the weekend to make the load early it screwed me up later.

Honesty is never a bad thing, but it only gets you so far. I always found getting home on fridays was a pain. I got used to it and just got a good book to read to pass the time. This is why I love my dedicated where I get home Sat about 2 am and leave out Monday at noon. It is predictable.

Of course you are. I never expected them to be courteous back though. I figure if I am professional and courteous and they aren't that there is nothing else I can do. I don't waste time crying, whining, or complaining over something or someone that won't do the same over me.

That is an inherent problem with any OTR carrier. I find it hard to blame TMC for an industry wide problem. I don't throw out all the waiting time, but I also find a book to read, or do some paperwork up ahead, plan how early I can get to my next destination and where I will stop and fuel. Three of the 14 hours cannot be used for earning money by making the wheels turn, so they are lost anyway. I usually figured on one hour to get unloaded and dispatched, then two hours to get loaded. More than the two hours to get loaded and I had a 2 hour break making split logging a possibility, so I just recovered that lost time. Being detained is going to happen no matter what kind of trailer you pull. If you want to buy into the notion that 2 fast food jobs will pay you as much as trucking then go ahead and do that. In this part of Maine I would have to work well over 100 hours per week in a daycab or any non trucking job to make what I earn at TMC.

The time you get home on Friday night reflects how early you left on Sunday. Leave late on Sunday so your ten hour break isn't up until 8 or 9 am monday morning and you won't get home early friday. Work sunday early enough so that your 14 hour clock expires at 4 pm on friday and that is when you should be home by. If you have to split log a couple of days during the week to get started earlier then do it. A person with a ticking 14 hour clock and fewer hours left gets dealt with earlier on Friday. If you have the hours left they will be used.

 

Hey carterbeauford,

Are you running linehaul or longhaul? Do you like it, or consider switching from one to the other?

I truly wonder how difficult it really is to start off in linehaul.

 

I did a lot of linehaul length runs on longhaul, and I didn't have any problems. It was nicer to have a 2 day 900 mile run than a 700 mile next day run, but I always took what I could get.

Your FM pays pretty close attention to you at first. If you prove you can handle anything they send at you then your FM will leave you alone for the most part. As always communication is the best policy, always be ready to give your best ETA when presented with a load, rather than find out too late that you can't do it. I had three rules:

1: Do my best.
2: Tell my FM what my best is going to be.
3: Stick by what I told my FM. If I told my FM the load would be there at 8am then it would be there at 7am unless traffic/weather held me up more than an hour.

So as long as you work hard and keep your promises then you will not have a problem starting out in line haul.

 

Thanks for the awesome information as always Rawlco.

Living near the Chicago area, I would think linehaul would work well for me also. My wife would like me home every weekend too.

Communication is a major factor in my current job every day. I consider myself honest and easy to get along with. I'm sure I will make it work out, once I do start my driving career.

Safe travels all.

 

I run linehaul, though my fleet manager tries to get me longer loads whenever practical, 1000 to 1200 miles. sometimes it's a real nice break to get up in the morning and just drive, especially out west. my trainer told me the best way to make money on linehaul is to take a long load for Monday or Tuesday and then work your way back home. I have done this several times and found he was right. so far I have been in 40 of the lower 48 running linehaul, only part of the country I haven't been sent thus far is the northwest.

define difficult, I think this job is relatively easy. some loads are a lot less stressful than others, say steel coils compared to shingles, but in the end it all sorta works out. again, your attitude is key. I was told the first month on my own would be pure hell and I would want to quit every day, but it wasn't at all like that. I learned, and am learning a lot of things the hard way, it is just the nature of the job. once you are on your own, things will fall into place, you will develop a routine and it will be second nature. longhaul actually is pretty nice if you don't mind being away from home, I like my hometime so linehaul works for me. you can make some real money if you don't mind running. I would consider switching if I didn't want to be home weekends, I am trying to get back with my ex fiance so I will stay on linehaul indefinitely.

if you're in NW IN you'll probably be hauling steel, steel and more steel. might work to your advantage being able to load close to home for the weekends. I hauled carbon electrodes in to Portage and coils out of East Chicago this week.

 

nothing like a good long read first thing sunday morning!!!!

 

Thanks a lot.
By difficult, I meant the stress level of loading/unloading and making tighter deadlines almost every day. Trust me, I consider myself a hard worker. I am willing to put 100% at anything. I just never had an OTR trucking job before. If I do get hired, I will definitely try starting off in linehaul. Getting home on weekends would be very nice, and I am not afraid of hard work.

Safe travels.

 

that part of the game is not bad, as I understand it things are pretty relaxed at TMC compared to the way they used to be. of course they would run their trucks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if it were possible/legal, but for the most part I have plenty of time to make my runs.

your best bet is to get unloaded early in the morning and you should get your choice of freight and have enough time to bounce to the next shipper, get loaded and run. of course it doesn't always work out like that, just stay in communication with your fleet manager.

the worst part is the lack of internal communication, I was questioned at for not turning a 130 mile same day run, it went something like this:

ended up in Norwood, MA in the afternoon, swapped trailers and ran a Home Depot load up to NH. got empty at 6PM, fleet manager called and said bounce to Buchanan, NY, load before 9PM. I said impossible, I have to take this steel trailer back to Norwood to get my nice aluminum trailer back. he said there are no steel trailers at Home Depot and it was news to him they had to have the trailer back. I made it back to MA about 8PM, swapped trailers and made it as far as I could towards NY on 90 before I got real tired, 11 hours were up in half an hour so I parked for the night. got up the next day, made it to NY about 11AM or so, it was 1PM before I had swapped trailers again, strapped and fixed all the lights on the new trailer, I simply was not going to make it 130 miles through all the small towns on route 9 averaging 15MPH before the consignee closed. advised fleet manager of this, he said OK deliver first thing in the morning, which I did. no sooner did I get empty than, NASTYGRAM!

only wish the left hand knew what the right hand was doing sometimes. this is the only time I have had a real problem with not being able to make a delivery on time, mostly due to the fact that it was physically impossible and while my truck is real nice, it can't go backwards in time. I think fleet managers need to spend some time in a truck, they have no clue the effects of geography and countless other variables on productivity. sometimes it is frustrating to be asked, with all seriousness, "320 miles, 3 hours, think you can make it?" I guess the moral of the story is stay the hell out of the northeast if at all possible.

Rawlco you weren't the guy I talked to at Norwood Tuesday night were you? said he was from Maine, didn't remember your location until now.

 

I've been in my own truck for almost a month and I have to say it's been pretty challenging, but also rewarding. Been wanting to do this for a long time and it feels good to be doing it. Not sure how I'll feel once the novelty wears off, but for now I'm doing the best I can.

The one thing that bugs me to this point is how my FM just tells me about one load and offers no options or anything. It feels odd, and I called the other day for a load after unloading first thing in the morning, and spoke with another FM because mine was in a meeting. We spoke about 3 different loads, where they were going, how much they were paying, if I wanted to get home that weekend, etc. It felt great to be offered options (options are always good) and like I had some control.

The next day I spoke to my FM and told him what had taken place and how I appreciated being offered the different loads. I asked him if we could do the same and he said he will when there are options. I find it hard to believe the one day I talk to someone else is the one and only day there were options.

If I feel something could make my job easier or better I try to implement it. Unfortunately, I feel that my FM and I are subtly butting heads.

He has been getting me loads back home on Fridays, but I have to start running illegal starting Thurs. and that puts me back home at 1am last Sat. and 10pm last night. The first two Fridays I was home by 5pm and thinking, man this job is pretty cool.

At the pace I've been running the past couple of weeks I don't know how long I'll be able to do it. The kicker is the money is not like I thought it would be. So far I've been bringing home around 550/wk. (running the northeast, some VA, NC) It takes the wind out of my sails to come home and see that amount deposited after busting my ass all week.

We'll see what this next week brings. Good luck to everyone and hope it's a good week for you.

 

That was in fact me. Too bad we didn't realize it at the time. :lol:

We rarely deal with any linehaul drivers that drop and hook to the steel trailers, so I imagine your FM was confused. Usually you linehaul's will live load. I have taught the office people at Norwood about putting in those special instructions for you temporary drivers but they don't do it. The other side of the coin is that your FM should know that trailer 220xx is a heavy steel fontaine with no side boxes, or at least my FM could tell the difference between trailer types from the number, he even usually knew which were 96" and which were 102"

By the way there are only two TMC drivers that live in Maine as far as I know, so I should be easy to find. :wink:


(edited to fix quote)