Question about assigned run vs. extraboard

Dedicated, captive or assigned runs for some people is the kiss of death. The payroll becomes frozen while everything is the same old every day and night. Some plants do not thrive in this situation, they wilt, then brown and die after a while.

On the other hand it is a dream for some. Particularly if it is closer to home etc.

Tell your driver to quit looking at the exceptions, run the route. If the hours of service tells him to stop and stay, that is what he will do. Either in a sleeper, at home or in a hotel. He gets 70 hours to make his money like the rest of us. And considering that some of us are too stupid to make the less money working twice what a gas station person does... in terms of hours.

You go here. then there. Back to here. Then go there. Back to Here repeat. Either when he gets bored and sick of it in a month or when the body breaks down 50 years from now or less. It depends on how he is set up inside.

That's one small reason I don't run for Union Companies or anything with a strict structure of runs. I am not going to wait 11 years to finally get a plum. Im moving on. Ive already found many plums in trucking and one opportunity decades ago. Im one of those people who do well going here to there but I thrive running out west in the mountains during bad weather like that to be found in winter. The solitude, lack of traffic and so on are all pluses.

I hope your driver does well. He better not complain now that the ivory tower bosses saw fit to hand him something on a silver platter. Even though the payroll might be less. The Lord Giveth and he Takeths. You cannot have it both ways.

 

When I worked for YRC Logistics, I refused to bid on any runs and stayed on the extra board for the few years I was there. I was the top paid driver there even though I was way down on the seniority list.

 

He could do a lot worse than Estes. Yes line haul can be boring. If he has a family, and gets home frequently, that’s a big plus, if he’s in that situation.

My advice is stick with it for awhile. His paycheck should be pretty regular, if he goes to the board, it could be feast or famine. It all depends on his personal situation, his age, distance to his home terminal, etc., and what he wants for a career.

As far as weekend work, he might want to have a conversation with the terminal management. If he’s reliable, on time, and safe, they might be able to sweeten his assignment, without the drastic step of going to the load boards. The grass ain’t always greener!

 

Extraboard at any LTL makes more money cause you end up doing an extra day or only have your 34 hour restart off. Assigned bid means you are set on a schedule set days off that never change. Run never changes same miles you run everyday. Bids are generally off 2 days. Extraboard you can run the longer runs or shorter whatever they have. People take bids so they can plan life around work and will take a paycut so they can have more time off. LTL makes such good money you can still make 90k+ on a bid.