As an otr trucker, what is a bad or good haul?

Question

I recently heard two truckers talking and one of them said he quit one company because he kept getting "bad hauls." What are some examples of a bad haul and a good haul in the trucking world?

Answer 1

my brother use to drive a rig and he said he didnt like to haul steel or logs, you have to keep checking your load too much, so he pulled box.

Answer 2

A good company will keep a driver moving...as long as the truck is moving, the driver is making money whether he is an owner operator or a company driver. If he is getting a lot of short runs that require a lot of wait time (wait to be unloaded or wait to be loaded) then he is getting bad loads. A good haul is one that lets the driver get miles.

Answer 3

The previous answer is right- a "good haul" is one with plenty of miles and a short wait time OR a drop-and-hook (where you just drop the loaded trailer and pick up an empty) instead of a live unload.  If you're doing all drop and hooks, the length of each haul doesn't matter- it only takes 10-15 minutes to drop and hook and you're on your way making more miles.  

Some places, grocery warehouses especially, can make a driver wait 4-10 hours, sometimes more, to be unloaded, have the load palletized and inspected by the quality control person.  I'm sitting at one as we speak and one driver has been sitting in a door since 4 AM (it is now 3:50 PM).  

For owner-operators who are leased on with a company, a bad haul can be one that doesn't pay well, or a load that brings the driver to an area without any good paying, out-going freight (south Texas, Vegas, parts of California, for instance).  A bad haul can also be one where the truck breaks down en route, and the costs associated with repairs completely eat up the owner/operator's profit.  That's generally nothing to do with the company, however.