Running A Load Up In The Northeast

I thought some of you might enjoy going along with me on another load.  I'm going to document this load as I go along.  When I have the energy and time I will jump in here and give you a running commentary on how it's going.  Hopefully that will help someone see what it is really like being out here on the road trying to "git er done!"

I've got a load from Delhi, Louisiana with a total of five stops, or locations to deliver to.  Well, actually it only has four stops, but I get paid for two at the consignee (the final destination for the load), Stanley Access Technologies.  Have you ever heard of Stanley Tools?  Stanley Access Technologies is just another division of the Stanley company - it is involved in security systems and automatic doors.  They are one of the biggest customer on this account.

This load was ready on Saturday, but I chose to take a 34 hour break so that I could re-set my 70 hour clock.  I explained the details of my hours to my dispatcher and he agreed that it was the best option for me to take and still be able to get the load delivered on time.  I know it sounds crazy, and I really don't want to have to explain all the details in this post, but had I left on Saturday, I would be working on what we call re-cap hours and I would have been just short of the necessary hours to make it to my first stop and I would have ended up about fifty miles from the first stop and had to shut down and wait until after midnight of the day that I was supposed to deliver, and then deliver it the following morning.

My first stop is in Queensbury, New York.  This is a new customer that I have never been to.  I called them while on the road this morning and set my appointment with them for Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.  The receiving clerk told me that time would be "awesome."

Here's the plan:

-First leg: 645 miles to Greeneville, Tennesee, where I'll get some rest at the T/A Truck stop there on I-81 @ exit 36.

-Ten hours later (the required rest period) we start the second leg, which will be another 600 miles to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where I will sleep at the Petro Truck stop.

-The third leg, approximately 235 miles, will get us to our first stop in Queensbury, New York.  Here we will unload three "bundles" of extrusions and then we will make our way over to Southington, Connecticut to get ourselves parked on the premises at Yarde Metals.

-Fourth leg: We have a four a.m. appointment at Yarde Metals for Thursday morning.  After we unload there we will move over to Bristol, Connecticut and unload six bundles at Reed & Stephanow Machine Shop.  Then we make our way to Farmington, Connecticut to unload the remainder of the load at Stanley Access.

By the way, early this morning I sent an email to my dispatcher informing him that I will be empty by noon on Thursday.  These are done from the truck with our on board computer.  You always want to communicate this way, because it leaves a record, or a paper trail, as it was once called in the days of paper, that can back you up if there are any misunderstandings. That is four days in advance notice based on my current plan.  This is one of the keys to success out here - communicating good accurate information early with your dispatcher, so that he can keep you moving.  If I were to wait around until Thursday morning or maybe Wednesday afternoon to let him know my plans, I may be sitting around waiting on my next load.  It limits their choices of what they can get for you.  Of course I am accustomed to these routes and I pretty much know what I can accomplish out here.  There are many variables, but running at night eliminates many of the possible problems and delays with the crazy traffic in this part of the country.  If some problem develops in the trip I can always update my dispatcher with that information.  Once a driver has developed a foundation of trust with his dispatcher, and they know that he will usually be able to do what he says, it frees the dispatcher up to put better or more critical loads on you.

Truck drivers use a phrase that says, "If you are not turning, you are not earning." Simply put, you don't want to waste your time out here sitting around waiting on being dispatched a load.  You are already away from your family.  You might as well capitalize on the time you have out here to support them, and try and do your best for those folks whom you are making these sacrifices for.  One of the best things you can do for yourself out here is to communicate well with your dispatcher.  Anyone who has looked into truck driving as a career has seen all the cry babies on the internet complaining about how their company left them sitting somewhere without a load, therefore not making any money. Trust me, these trucking companies are in the business of moving freight, they want you moving.  It is a prime example of the misunderstandings that exist out here of how to thrive in this business. Usually the problems that we see drivers whining and complaining about are the fruit of their own mishandling of the important details of this job.  I can say this with authority, because I had considerable success at one of the companies that is slandered all the time on the internet by it's overly critical drivers, Western Express.  I learned so much while I was there, and discovered that all the cry babies out here were basically cutting their own throats by their poor trip planning and execution of their responsibilities.  Trust is a powerful thing in this business, and the only way you can build it is to perform at the highest levels on a consistent basis.

Right now I am sitting in Greeneville, so I have already managed the first leg of this load.  Our next stop is the Petro in Scranton.  Last night I started driving from Delhi at 11:30 p.m.  After driving all night and passing into a new time zone, I arrived at Greeneville about thirty minutes after noon. I'll start driving another all-nighter tonight at around 10:30 p.m. Today went well. I will let you know about tomorrow.  For now, I need to get some good rest!