Ask a Feeder Driver, Feeder Driver FAQ

[Rick Ross]

9 days on with 6 days off is the current thing that everyone is talking about. Big money to stay out. How would vacations work??

Where are you hearing this? I've been hearing and seeing a trend to go with more shorter runs. 3/4 days total per week and under 4,500 miles.

 

[Indecisi0n]

Is that where you got the nickname "glad hands"?

Want to bang my pin?

 

[Non sequitur]

Avoidable

 

[barnyard]

Where are you hearing this? I've been hearing and seeing a trend to go with more shorter runs. 3/4 days total per week and under 4,500 miles.

I was asking another driver about how I could put my name out as a potential B driver. I work out of an outstate center and am not eligible to sign a FT feeder bid anywhere other than my center. The hubs are all an hour+ from my house and I will not do that drive daily, but would do it for a sleeper team bid. The other driver said that he had talked to a team guy that was on a 9 day on/6 day off run and that the was going to easily make over double what I currently make. My wife and I talked about it a bunch this weekend and decided that 9 days gone would be no fun. 3/4 day runs would be way doable and I would sign that kind of bid in a heartbeat.

My peak run is Su-Th and I see my feeder supe on Sundays, I will see if there is anything I can do about getting my name out there as a potential b guy. A temp was hired to run a peak job in my building and he was offered a FT gig, but in the hub and he is not interested in the commute.

After spending a month in feeders, my preference would be to not go back to package.

 

[Jones]

After spending a month in feeders, my preference would be to not go back to package.

Shocker..

 

[Rick Ross]

I was asking another driver about how I could put my name out as a potential B driver. I work out of an outstate center and am not eligible to sign a FT feeder bid anywhere other than my center. The hubs are all an hour+ from my house and I will not do that drive daily, but would do it for a sleeper team bid. The other driver said that he had talked to a team guy that was on a 9 day on/6 day off run and that the was going to easily make over double what I currently make. My wife and I talked about it a bunch this weekend and decided that 9 days gone would be no fun. 3/4 day runs would be way doable and I would sign that kind of bid in a heartbeat.

My peak run is Su-Th and I see my feeder supe on Sundays, I will see if there is anything I can do about getting my name out there as a potential b guy. A temp was hired to run a peak job in my building and he was offered a FT gig, but in the hub and he is not interested in the commute.

After spending a month in feeders, my preference would be to not go back to package.

Our sleeper supervisor once told me they try to come back through the domicile at least once in case of illness or family emergency. I've heard of a few instances where drivers are literally dropped at an ER while on the road.

My friends sleeper run was put on 5 days, 13 TA's and close to 6k miles for peek. About 2 days in they had a 10 hour breakdown on road and he said the only reason ICC didn't struggle with their schedule was because they pretty much hauled empties around all peek. Had they been hauling loads they couldn't have skipped TA's as easily to get back on schedule. Being out 9 days would make it hard to be on schedule if you had any type of long delay.

You should try to get at least on a run once as coverage to try it out. We've had some good feeder drivers go out in coverage and have to bail after the first trip back through our domicile.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[quad decade guy]

Our sleeper supervisor once told me they try to come back through the domicile at least once in case of illness or family emergency. I've heard of a few instances where drivers are literally dropped at an ER while on the road.

My friends sleeper run was put on 5 days, 13 TA's and close to 6k miles for peek. About 2 days in they had a 10 hour breakdown on road and he said the only reason ICC didn't struggle with their schedule was because they pretty much hauled empties around all peek. Had they been hauling loads they couldn't have skipped TA's as easily to get back on schedule. Being out 9 days would make it hard to be on schedule if you had any type of long delay.

You should try to get at least on a run once as coverage to try it out. We've had some good feeder drivers go out in coverage and have to bail after the first trip back through our domicile.

I hope it works out for you.

I've never seen any "built in possibilities for problems" in ANY UPS schedule. And going back through

domiciles for illness or "emergency's"? What if it took days to get back? I really don't think UPS

cares about any of that. This is why any sort of delay is so disastrous to any phase of operation

at UPS. Unload and up. Have a flat on road, good chance you run out of duty time and maybe

even be off the next day. I'm kinda surprised sleeper teams aren't sent out for weeks.

So, if a co-driver gets the es 2 hours into the start of the run, he has to wait 4 days?

 

[Jones]

Most of our schedules have enough slack built in that you can have a breakdown on road without it being a huge issue. One night I was pulling a set full of airs to phlpa and blew a tire on my rear, they got someone out there to change the tire and I still made the plane. Lost maybe 45 minutes.

 

[Rick Ross]

I've never seen any "built in possibilities for problems" in ANY UPS schedule. And going back through

domiciles for illness or "emergency's"? What if it took days to get back? I really don't think UPS

cares about any of that.

So if a drivers father has a heart attack and is struggling, how would that be handled with a sleeper team? Do they drop him off at the airport? If so, how does the other driver complete his run since the schedule is based on two drivers?

We have about 15 sleeper runs and the longest any are out without coming back through our domicile is roughly 48 hours. That will change when we get the coast to coast runs we are supposed to get, but even then it will be under 4 days for us.

Most feeder runs have time to make up for issues, it may not be built into the schedule but it's there.

 

[Indecisi0n]

Most of our schedules have enough slack built in that you can have a breakdown on road without it being a huge issue. One night I was pulling a set full of airs to phlpa and blew a tire on my rear, they got someone out there to change the tire and I still made the plane. Lost maybe 45 minutes.

I lost my airlines and it took them 4 hours until I was up and running . It was like a clown show from them trying to fix it to getting it towed .

 

[ManInBrown]

I lost my airlines and it took them 4 hours until I was up and running . It was like a clown show from them trying to fix it to getting it towed .

I spent 6 hours on the side of the road one night. Five of the 6 hours were because idiot management couldn’t figure out what to do. Tow, send the nearest building mechanic out to have a look. They are complete idiots.

 

[Indecisi0n]

I spent 6 hours on the side of the road one night. Five of the 6 hours were because idiot management couldn’t figure out what to do. Tow, send the nearest building mechanic out to have a look. They are complete idiots.

That's what I went through that night . They kept going back and forth . The load ended up being late because of them .

 

[quad decade guy]

So if a drivers father has a heart attack and is struggling, how would that be handled with a sleeper team? Do they drop him off at the airport? If so, how does the other driver complete his run since the schedule is based on two drivers?

We have about 15 sleeper runs and the longest any are out without coming back through our domicile is roughly 48 hours. That will change when we get the coast to coast runs we are supposed to get, but even then it will be under 4 days for us.

Most feeder runs have time to make up for issues, it may not be built into the schedule but it's there.

You tell me. If a team drivers dad is dying.....best we can do is 2 days? 4 days?

On my run, a flat really anytime/anywhere of an hour from the building or more, you're are getting

a ride(run out of hours). A simple flat is at least 3 hours. Every day is at around 12 hours.

 

[Rick Ross]

You tell me. If a team drivers dad is dying.....best we can do is 2 days? 4 days?

That may have been a bad example but I'm saying our sleeper supervisor told me they like to get runs back through the domicile in case of sickness or emergency. All of the runs in our building come back through at least once during the week and about half come through twice during the week. I'm sure the onset of 7 day delivery is going to change many sleeper runs because things that could go ground may need to fly all or a portion of the distance every day.

I have no clue what the second part of your response means. I'm not familiar with the term flat as it pertains to UPS.

 

[quad decade guy]

That may have been a bad example but I'm saying our sleeper supervisor told me they like to get runs back through the domicile in case of sickness or emergency. All of the runs in our building come back through at least once during the week and about half come through twice during the week. I'm sure the onset of 7 day delivery is going to change many sleeper runs because things that could go ground may need to fly all or a portion of the distance every day.

I have no clue what the second part of your response means. I'm not familiar with the term flat as it pertains to UPS.

Bro- a "flat" tire? I'm sorry I thought most people called "flats" "a flat".

 

[burrheadd]

Bro- a "flat" tire? I'm sorry I thought most people called "flats" "a flat".

you seem to have a lot of trouble with the English language

is it not your first language

 

[Rick Ross]

On my run, a flat really anytime/anywhere of an hour from the building or more, you're are getting

a ride(run out of hours). A simple flat is at least 3 hours. Every day is at around 12 hours.

Bro, most people who drive trucks wouldn't confuse a flat with a blowout.

If you had a flat while driving most likely you wouldn't know until you got to your TA. It sounds like you must be in BFE since every day is "at around 12 hours".

 

[quad decade guy]

Bro, most people who drive trucks wouldn't confuse a flat with a blowout.

If you had a flat while driving most likely you wouldn't know until you got to your TA. It sounds like you must be in BFE since every day is "at around 12 hours".

Bro, most people who drive trucks wouldn't confuse a flat with a blowout.

If you had a flat while driving most likely you wouldn't know until you got to your TA. It sounds like you must be in BFE since every day is "at around 12 hours".

Ok. I'd bet most any feeder driver would know what a flat is. But hey I seem to have trouble

with the English language....So, a tire can only "blow out"? Can't go "flat" driving down the road?

I guess that only happens in "bfe"? Come on. And yes, we have long feeder runs.

Really? We are arguing over what a "flat " is? And any vehicle with a pneumatic(look it up)

tire can't pick up a screw, nail, piece of anything in the world to make a tire go "flat"? Like

on your old bicycle? When you get some more education and experience, please let us know...

 

[quad decade guy]

you seem to have a lot of trouble with the English language

is it not your first language

understand no

 

[Indecisi0n]

Do you guys not purge the air tanks on trailers when pre tripping during really cold weather? I find that sometimes when you do that the valve get stuck.