Bait and Switch!

Well, just about the time I got started moving this load toward Connecticut I got a message saying they wanted me to go to Albuquerque, New Mexico and swap loads with another driver.  This is somewhat disappointing but all you can do is follow the instructions dispatch gives you.  They don't ever explain to us why they need to change the plan, and there could be a million different reasons, but I must admit I was looking forward to that nice lengthy run.  I don't mind not having to go to the North East, and I really do enjoy being out West, so I was glad to see that the load the other driver had was bound for Imperial California.  Immediately upon getting the loads swapped I realize that this is Friday and the load I just got is scheduled to deliver on Tuesday morning, which means I've got a load with only about seven hundred miles and four days till the delivery.  That's not good.  So, I start contriving a plan of how to make the best of this situation.

While I'm driving I'm running scenarios in my head trying to come up with the best way to handle this load.  I figure out that I could go ahead and take a 34 hour break and reset my seventy hour clock, that way I could stop running on my re-cap hours - that would be a positive.  That still leaves me with an extra day that is wasted time before I deliver, and as a truck driver who is having to spend his time away from his family I want to make the most of that time as being productive toward the purpose of supporting my family.  So I decide to give the customer a call and see if I showed up a day early would that be acceptable and could they have the equipment available to unload me?

By the way, this load is two large base sections for some very large light poles.  The kind of poles you might see at a coliseum where they hold sporting events such as Baseball or Football games.  Here's a look at what I'm moving across the Arizona desert and into Southern California.  Imperial California is near the San Diego area.

After speaking with the contact person whose phone number was on the Bill of Lading papers, I find out this is a construction site, and they would be glad to have me show up first thing Monday morning.  So my plan is formulated to drive into Holbrook, Arizona and take my 34 hour break at the Hopi Truck Stop, (everything in this area is run by Indian tribes) then that will put me within a distance that I can drive the rest of the way on Sunday (today) to get to the destination, where if possible I will sleep on the site and be ready to get unloaded first thing Monday.  The reason for sleeping at the site is so I can get unloaded first before any other trucks start arriving.  Little things like this make such a big difference in this job.  The earlier you can be ready for a re-load the more likely you are to get it quicker, and the more likely you are to get something that is good for your paycheck.  This truck driving gig is very much performance based pay, and those who succeed at it have got to understand how the game is played.

We will just have to see what kind of loads I get after this one - the trip to Connecticut was an excellent run, and it was disappointing to be switched off of it, but I've got a sense that all is not lost.  My new dispatcher has been doing a great job so far, so I've got to trust him that this will turn out well.