May Trucking

Hey popeye1, just a little friendly warning to you...Watch Crete!!!! they may have a better than avg. pay scale, but their equipment sucks, and they are starting to have a freight shortage, we have lost some of our bigger accounts. I am sitting in LaVergne (Nashville) now. My truck has had 10 breakdowns that cost me anywhere from 2 to 5 days since July 1. They won't swap me out of this truck, even though I got it from someone who swapped out because of all the problems. The problems, they said, were all taken care of. Not - it's a lemon. Have had 5 trucks in my almost 4 years here, 4 have been junk. 1 of the 5 was new. The only one that was normal (only breaking down once in a while) they took away, it was a pre-EGR lease truck, and because it wasn't breaking down, I was putting too many miles on it, it was going to cost them on over mileage charges on their lease. Since then, they have gone back to buying their trucks instead of leasing. (I think they leased until they could see what the new '02 engines were going to perform like) Which tells me they buy enough equipment to cover the loads expecting a certain number to be broken down... maybe they should spend a little more on better spec'd equipment...quality beats quantity in my book.
Plus they are very picky about logs, if your still training here, make sure your trainer here teaches you the 'Crete' way to log. New drivers are watched even more closely than the rest of us. They use the GPS in the Qualcomm to verify your log. The positive side to this is, if in any kind of incident, your logs won't be an issue, which protects you and the company.

Best 'o luck here... I am currently looking to move on, but can't seem to find any company where I can make a decent living, or that runs far enough west. (even once in a while)

 

Don't even get me started on the broken down trucks that they have.

The Mechanics in the yards only take care of the basics. Not sure why they are called mechanics.
one of my buds had to quit for a day to get another truck that wasn't breaking down.

 

Landstar??? are you kidding. I leased my truck to them for 8 mos. Then the bank came and got the truck. The internet loads are only the table scraps the agents can't find anyone else to stick it to. My cell bill was anywhere from 300 - 500 a month calling agents because most of them shut down their toll free line when Landstar made it mandatory for drivers to have a cell.(usually over 3000 min. and less than 500 min were calls to home) I tried everything anyone would recommend to succeed there. Short hauls, long hauls, LTL, even tried to teach my wife to book loads for me ahead of time so I didn't have to sit for hours with a cell phone burning a hole in my ear. They say it takes 6 mos to learn their system and get enough agents to trust you. I have talked to drivers there that say 18 - 24 mos is more like it, you better have a reserve fund. Unfortunately I spent most of my reserve fund on the previous company when they were bought out for the second time and freight went flat...again, and was desperate. If you succeed at Landstar, you are the exception, not the rule.
I may complain about Crete a lot, but I still make the best money of my career here, and they do have a legitimate purchase program here (not a lease to own, an outright 'reasonable' finance plan to sell new or used trucks to their drivers) The only bad side is they require the trucks they sell to drivers to be governed the same as company trucks. I think that is to protect their interest, because if you bring your own truck here to lease, they don't govern you then. And their pay scale for O/O's isn't too bad either. I am seriously thinking about cashing in my profit sharing and buying a new Classic, but I want to see who wins the White House next year. Because if it's Hilary, I will pass. Most of my troubles were caused by the economy from her, I mean her husbands administration.

 

Trucking is so tight everywhere, everyone is STRAPPED, now the mexican trucks are gonna be able to do it cheaper, fuel in mexico is around 50 cents a gallon cheaper also

 

No I'm not kidding! I got my loads on my own with the last company I was with so I'm used to it.
You can have all your loads planed before you leave the house. You have to work like anything else.
I haul a stepdeck, so the pay is far better than Van freight. I have a great cell phone plan and it includes this internet phone card that I'm using now.

It's a business expense that you need to plan for when running your own show.

With as much freight as Landstar has it's hard not to bring home great money.
Landstar isn't for everyone. I've found that a lot of the drivers that quit had gotten so used to being babysat while they were company drivers that they weren't used to working for themselves.

I'm glad that Crete is working for you. I've heard good things about them from three of their drivers while riding a bus to orientation over a year ago.

 

It doesn't matter how cheap fuel is in mexico, unless they have 500 gal tanks , then they can't haul any heavy loads. They would still have to buy american priced fuel, pay american rates for permits and ifta, pay american rates for repairs, hire the same high priced lumpers. The only freight that will really be affected is the stuff some companies had dedicated accounts for on freight coming out of mexico like car parts or clothes, or companies that hauled export back. And refer/produce loads. That and I have head that some of the container fleets have built docks to unload the ships in mexico. At least thats the way it is suppose to work. NOW if the government can keep track of these trucks to make sure they come in deliver, pick up their return loads and leave. Not like the Canadian drivers are getting away with. With the expenses of the US, there won't be as many mexican trucks here as we might think. Last report I heard, only a hand full of trucking companies have been inspected and cleared to get in. A bunch have quit and a bunch more have been rejected because of their equipment, or the inability to provide driver info needed. It's just like what is already going on here. Your company has a contract to haul, when it comes up for renewal, someone like JB or Swift comes in, under bids you. But within a year or so, your company has it back, because your company got the loads delivered safer, and on time. I work for one of the higher priced freight haulers. We lose accounts all the time to cheaper companies, but have them back once their customers can't get their stuff quick enough. In the JIT world, customer service wins in the long run. I wouldn't worry about the freight shortage, it's the safety factor that is the biggest cause for concern.

 

Just recently, my s/o was reimbursed for a multi course breakdown mode. He was just about ready to put in his two week notice til that happened. It was hard to give it time to see if they were going to make up for the hardship caused by a faulty truck but they came through. Now if the truck he has stays the course for a few months at a time, then all will be alright I think.

 

I'm Going Through The Application Process With May Right Now. Maybe I Should Reconsider, The Biggest Reason I Have Chosen Them Is Because They Still Have Alot Of 379 Peterbilts Which Are My Very Favorite And There Aren't That Many Companies That Have Many Of Them. Please Advice Me If Anyone Knows Of Other Companies That Do. I Want To Run 11 Western States Is All Though Thanks

 

Semi Is To Truck What Semi Is To Chocolate

 

HA HA Love it SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!


So you've been drivin' Pete's for a while?