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[quote user="jeaton"] 124 hours on the schedule-5 days-is a long time, but I suppose if the  customer(s) are happy... I was curious. Mapquest says that an automobile would make the 2785 mile highway trip in 41 hours (that non-stop of course), but that is an average speed of almost 68MPH.  Maybe a team on a truck running 20 hours and then 4 hours down each day makes it in about half the rail time.  I don't think the train service is going to get anything but the products with longer shelf life-potatoes, carrots, onions, but I guess those are the main product out of that area. [/quote] Awright here we go. One truck. One driver. Empty at Seattle Monday Morning 10 AM. Winter of 1998. That driver is me. From Seattle Washington empty into Yakima is about 5 hours give or take a little bit. To get loaded will probably take a day at Yakima. From Yakima to Boston is about 4 days in good weather. That means I should be in Boston Friday morning logs and DOT hours be damned. A team can and will get from .... LA to Avenel New Jersey in about 2 and one half days. Ive done it with the wife co-driving. We can make  one complete round trip in less than 7 days. That is about 7000 miles drop and hook. We would cook on the move, eliminate and use chemical toilet on the move and everything else is self sufficient for 4 weeks. Stopping only to get fuel. With 300 gallons we can perform 800 miles in winter and up to 1400 in summer depending on which interstates we take. Everything has to be perfect with the shippers and recievers ready when we get onto thier property. paperwork and trailer swaps take 30 minutes max. Unload and reload by forklift in 1 hour flat. That is gravy. I plan my trips at 25 mph average. The trucking company computers plan at 45 mph average. Whadda pipe dream. Late loads and alerts begin to be generated when said trucker is under 35 mph average during a trip. All tracked by satellite in real time. I average 20-25 mph for the entire trip from the moment I get the orders from dispatch to the moment the reciever stamps "recieved in good condition" on the bills and I can race for the messenger to get my pay. So a 3000 mile trip at 25 mph average needs 120 hours for everything including load/unload. If the dispatch says you only have 70 hours to do it, immediately tell them "No can do" even though it's been done before. If you are a team of two drivers, go for it. Going to be a hot run! Get going! Teams I plan average 40 mph. A little bit better but still not much better than one sleepy single. Trains can swap power and crews and roll 24/7 and beat trucks cross country. But sometimes truckers can and will beat that old train from LA to Boston in under 60 hours flat. But it's something to behold. Dollar trucks and route planning to hit major areas at night to avoid rush hour and other problems is the key. Dollar truck = one capable of 100+ mph. None of that urban driving or 65 mph split speeds crap. Now that I managed to scare you with this stuff, I have to say that it is not necessary to be trucking in a enviornment of time or late pressures. To be late on a load will probably cost you your job as the company risks losing that account because the shipper can and will find any number of starving drivers willing to make the run for less. THAT is the great flaw in the trucking. Railroads. They stop when the crew hogs out on the law with maximum work hours and cannot move one inch more. The trucker who stops when he is dead on the law will probably find himself out of work and a young 90 day wonder put in the cab.
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