When I can catch up with a friend he is going to help me do that.

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Thank you. I am making slightly more than I was as a company driver and running fewer miles. I like the freedom to tell my FM that I don't want to go somewhere and if I need to I can DH home from say....Indy.



make sure your only dead heading home when it makes sense. and only taking loads to where you want to go doesn't always make the load coordinators happy.

you have to remember your dispatcher is like your secretary. the load coordinators are the ones that will make or break you, you have to make them happy. my response to a load i don't really want to do is "i don't want to do it, but i will if they need me to"

you have to look at the big picture and not at each load.

i have been with them for almost 10 years, ive thought about leasing on with someone else but it doesn't seem i can make the money i make here.

good luck!

Feel free to post here more often. It is always good to hear some quality information from the owner operators too. Are you running linehaul or longhaul? I was also curious about why you are wanting to leave? 10 years is a long time.

Safe travels.

I do long haul mostly, you can run what ever length of haul a guy wants to as long as the freight is available. you just have to let your dispatcher (secretary) know what you want to do.

The reason i have been looking to work somewhere else. Is because a lot has changed in the last few years. Its all about your priorities.

Some people want to be home every weekend, and make as much money as possible, but the priority is to be home every weekend.

I like to make as much money as possible, and go home when i need to, or when its convenient. But the priority is to make as much money as i can.

The last couple of years it seems if your not looking to go home every weekend, they have a hard time keeping me busy.

i have looked at a lot of other companies, and i have decided i am going to stay put, for the reason i haven't talked to anyone that can compete with the money i make here. and $$$$$ is the priority.

Does that slight bit more include health insurace or no ?...How much freedom can one really have to turn down loads /choose their own when pulling company freight under same companies authority?...not bashing you ,but it just seems like a typical lease/purchase plan offered at company XYZ .

Seems like TOO MUCH CHROME has it's ups and downs like any company. I pulled for ATS this whole summer doing Oversized windmill blades from Houston to NW Indiana, and got home on most weekends. I just wanted ot say thanks to all the TMC drivers who chatted with me up US41 and so on... it was a good time and I will see you guys back on the road in April, till then I'm taking my 6 months off and leasing van :)

I told my FM I wanted to try longhaul, and got all linehaul loads last week. ended up almost stuck in Omaha for the weekend, bribed a guy to unload me on his day off, then bounced to Des Moines for a 1000 mile John Deere load, so I at least stayed busy and made some money.

I think I will try home this weekend.

I knew that truck looked familiar. Those windmill blades are pretty awesome. There is an interesting article on hauling them on page 21 of this months "Road King" mag.
Nice truck. Like the lowrider.

I've been hearing that a lot lately. Not just TMC, but a majority of flatbedders are saying there are just not that many longer mileage runs available right now. Hopefully when the economy picks up, it will go back too "run as hard as you want" and possibly give us all more options.
Keep us posted if you get more longhaul runs. I find it interesting. Thanks for the good posts also.

Yes, really enjoyed it, and look forward to getting back onto it again this comming spring, untill then I just picked up a '05 9400i that I'm going to play freight hauler with till then..... we will see how long that lasts LOL!!

Not sure if your one of the guys I spoke with on the radio but either way, i always enjoyed talking to a fellow skateboarder for those LONG SLOW hauls up that old dusty (and sometimes flooded) road..... keep on doing what you guys are doing, and you will prevail, god knows someone has to in this country!!