Would you take it

scooby0048

scooby0048

This page left intentionally blank
I'm not starting one of those need advice threads, just curious what others would do. Satellite route up for bid. I thought about it but it's just not worth it to me but another guy really wants it. We talked about it but the pros just don't outweigh the cons.

Average stops between 25-40 stops. Lots of mileage between 300-400 everyday. Satellite center is 45 minutes away so you will have to drive there yourself.

Pros:
Way less stops (more seat less feet)
Only 4 businesses with no bulk
Managers will not go there except for safety ride
You are the only driver so seniority and vacations are never an issue

Cons:
Drive your own car 40-50 miles each way everyday
Later start time, later finish time plus drive back home
Lot of miles driving to stops
A 14hr day means you could be out until 0100hrs
90% driving on dirt and unmaintained roads
Sparse cell coverage
Very extended emergency response time (medical, police, tow trucks)
 
T

Turdferguson

Guest
Most of the satellite routs around here were bid on by people who lived close to the area so made sense for them to take them. To me it is too easy to get screwed over on one of those routs and while it is nice to not have management breathing down your neck, you won't be able to complain about what and how much work they give you
 
O

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
scooby0048 said:
I'm not starting one of those need advice threads, just curious what others would do. Satellite route up for bid. I thought about it but it's just not worth it to me but another guy really wants it. We talked about it but the pros just don't outweigh the cons.

Average stops between 25-40 stops. Lots of mileage between 300-400 everyday. Satellite center is 45 minutes away so you will have to drive there yourself.

Pros:
Way less stops (more seat less feet)
Only 4 businesses with no bulk
Managers will not go there except for safety ride
You are the only driver so seniority and vacations are never an issue

Cons:
Drive your own car 40-50 miles each way everyday
Later start time, later finish time plus drive back home
Lot of miles driving to stops
A 14hr day means you could be out until 0100hrs
90% driving on dirt and unmaintained roads
Sparse cell coverage
Very extended emergency response time (medical, police, tow trucks)
Click to expand...
Is that one of those deals where another driver drops a TP50 off somewhere and you pull up and offload it? If so then whoever takes it should be prepared to be screwed often by other drivers. There will often be "surprises" left on the trailer in the form of packages that the drop off driver didn't want to run.
 
scooby0048

scooby0048

This page left intentionally blank
Overpaid Union Thug said:
Is that one of those deals where another driver drops a TP50 off somewhere and you pull up and offload it? If so then whoever takes it should be prepared to be screwed often by other drivers. There will often be "surprises" left on the trailer in the form of packages that the drop off driver didn't want to run.
Click to expand...

No the satellite has a car parked at a rented out garage and another driver shuttles the load to the satellite driver's car. Well, after reading what I wrote, almost like that but the shuttle driver starts their route by heading backwards to our center and he picks up all the day before outbound and previous day's DIAD from the satellite driver.
 
9.5er

9.5er

Well-Known Member
Our satellite routes were gobbled up quickly by some of the older drivers. They seem to have pretty good dispatches when I used to pull the trailer to them. Haven't been that way in a couple years so I can't say how good or bad they are now. If given the chance I'd jump on one just to get away from management.
 
Brownslave688

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
Later start time later off time is about the only viable con I see.

The rest is pretty petty stuff. Most SAT routes I know of barely get 8 hours though.
 
M

ManInBrown

Well-Known Member
What are the areas that satellite routes makes sense? I know in the middle of nowhere but how prevalent are they? When I think satellite...I think outside Vegas in the desert. Pahrump. Areas like that.
 
Brownslave688

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
ManInBrown said:
What are the areas that satellite routes makes sense? I know in the middle of nowhere but how prevalent are they? When I think satellite...I think outside Vegas in the desert. Pahrump. Areas like that.
Click to expand...
I'd say most centers have a few of them. I could even think of a few more routes that's they could turn into satellite here.
 
Brownslave688

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
ManInBrown said:
How do they handle Pick up pieces on a satellite route. Feeder sweeps at night? Air driver?
Click to expand...
Different in different places. Here they pull a tp60? Out to the drivers with all of their packages. The satellite drivers have to have all pick up pieces and their diads back to the trailer by the time the guy pulling the trailer back gets there.
 

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