How did you manage that, if I may ask ? How many days do you stay out, and how many days do you spend at home ? How many miles do you average every day, what is your average speed, and how long do you need to wait to get loaded / unloaded ? Also, how much does Knight pay ?

Lastly, since you're from PA, what lanes do you run ? Does Knight keep you busy if you're from the Pittsburgh area ?

 

Believe it or not I am home just about every weekend.

Usually once per month I might stay out a week and a half because I am on a long trip, but usually I get home every weekend.

Sounds a bit impossible I know, but because Knight doesn't let you set around waiting for loads your time is spent driving, not on line 4.

I never touch freight, hardly ever live load or unload, mostly drop and hook. These companies that expect you to sit for hours loading and unloading are a joke. Figure if you live load and unload everyday you will waste in minumum of 4 hours per day, if your lucky. That's 20 hours a week, which equates to about 1,200 miles of driving you are losing.

So take your average 2,400 miles week and add 1,200 miles to that and you can easily hit the 14,000 mile mark.

I can run anywhere I choose to run. I just decide where I want to go and my dispatcher gets me there. There is no shortage of possibilities.
I try to run south during the winter months, then south and west during the summer. It changes from time to time, but because we have terminals all over the country it's pretty easy just getting drop and hooks out of terminals.

The funniest part though is I probably have one of the slowest trucks on the road. I set my cruise at 64 mph and that's what I run all the time.

Do the math....64 mph x 11 hrs. per day = 709 miles per day = 3,545 per week (5days) =14,180 per month. This is just 4/ 5 day work weeks.
Even if I stay out just one weekend a month I can go over the 15,000 mi. mark quite easily.

I know some of you will say you can't average 709 miles per day every day, but try running with me sometime and I will be glad to show you.

All day long I have the super-truckers passing me 5-6 times per day running 10-15 mph faster than me, and at the end of the day they have used way more fuel than me and are still behind me when the day is over.

My truck is still at the break-in stage (only 50,000 miles) and I am averaging a little over 7 mpg. My philosiphy....Keep the left door shut and drive. Period!!!!

 

Thanks for your prompt response, Dollarshort. What kind of cargo do you guys mainly haul, and who are your primary customers ? Do you guys haul into Canada, and if so, are you paid anything extra ? Likewise, how often do you get to haul in the north-east & NYC ? Can you refuse loads, or are you forced despatch ? What's the pay like ?

 

Dollarshort, you are getting great miles. Getting rid of msot of the live load/unload would make the day better. A few years back I spent most of the day at dock waiting to get unloaded in Huston.
The 64mph sounds good but would not work so well out west where people are afraid to let trucks go over 55 or 60. I always liked it when I got out of the west coast so I could run faster and also in the winter you don't have to throw chains as often.

 

For the most part if you can put it into a dry van Knight will haul it.

I have hauled hay, bulk feed corn, lumber, and a few other things that you would not think of being hauled in a van.

 

The part I like about a 64 mph truck out west is you can set your cruise and set back a drive all day in the slow lane and never pass anyone :lol: It's actually pretty relaxing. 8)
I see 75-80 mph trucks pass me 6-8 times a day and I just laugh :lol:
They hollar at me on the cb and make fun of my slow truck, but that's ok, I laugh all the way to the fuel pumps as I average about 7 mpg.

I have been hauling just about anything that can fit in the trailer.

Beer, soda, paper, Kelloggs, refrigerators, tv's, snacks, gatorade, oil, medicine, shoes, clothing, diapers, car batteries, etc.

I am in St. Louis now picking up a load for Proctor And Gamble that will get me home tomorrow evening.

Miles for this week.....2,975 :P Left out Monday at 11:00am and will be home Friday evening. 8)

 

The fastest truck I ever drove was set at 70 mph. Everything else was anywhere from 60-65 mph.

To pass the time I would keep track of all the "fast" trucks that would pass me in any given day. The record was held by one BBR who passed me 11 times in 10 hours.

Where I used to really laugh is when I would have one blow past me and a few miles up the road he is taking a break courtesy of the state police as they wrote him out some paycheck killing safe driving award.

To this day though, my favorite slow truck story occurred while I was having dinner one night at the Joplin Petro.

I ended up striking up a conversation with another driver who asked me who I drove for. I told him Knight and he then asked me how I could stand driving such a slow truck and also asked me how many miles a week I ran. I told him it was somewhat relaxing as I did not have to worry about the bears any and that I typically ran between 2500-3000 miles per week.

He then tells me that if he did not run at least 4000 a week he was not making any money. I then asked him how much he made a week runnning that many miles. He tells me that he takes home around 850-900 per week.

I started laughing at him because my last check was 980, and I sure as hell did not have any where near 4000 miles on it. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

So U.....you drive the red trucks with a K on em still???

 

yeah knight is a good company I was with them for 5 months... debating on going back with them. only job I remember not complaining about... decent company.

 

Well said! Quite honestly it's the most fun I have had since I started driving in 1998.