JRayl Transport

I've been with JRayl (Akron, OH) since January of this year (2015). I was one of the first drivers to take their safety / refresher course. I was paid a sign on bonus immediately after I passed the training and went out over the road for 3 weeks with an experienced driver. In a very short time I was known by name, not a number.

I passed my first DOT Level 2 inspection in my last week of training OTR... they have an awesome group of mechanics / maintenance staff in Akron!
The company cares about their drivers, safety and equipment.
They are setup to get drivers home every weekend for a 34 hour reset, minimum.
They pay Practical Mileage for CPM - either no-touch or extra pay for handling freight - or they offer a guaranteed salary (gross) per week of $1000 for no touch, or $1200 for handling freight (for drivers with a minimum of 1 year of OTR experience).

I probably avg. about 2400 per 5.5 days (1 week).

There's a mixture of old and new trucks (with new ones coming in all the time), as well as diesel and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).

I started out in a 2007 International 9400i diesel and paid mileage, and now drive a 2013 Peterbilt 384 CNG on salary.

For every problem, or complaint I've ever had, about anything, I've found someone not only willing to listen, but to do something to try to help / correct it. I've been able to reach out and find help in every department in the company and get help / support, no matter what or when... including management, planners, backhaul, dispatch, night dispatch, safety, payroll, and especially maintenance.

Road service / repair is handled quickly, no matter what it is, and they have a national account with Goodyear Road Service, which I've had to use a few times.

If there's anything you think should be looked at on your truck or trailer, just talk to someone in the garage. There have been numerous times where they've dropped what they were doing to fix something right away... otherwise write it up when you get back off of the road - it'll be taken care of by the time you get back to work, or you'll get a loaner if it takes longer.

Trucks can not be taken home though, they have to be returned to the yard you got them from.

If you live near one of the terminals, or have seen their advertisements, and wonder if they are for real, or what they're like to work for... I'd tell you to give them a try - I'm glad I did!

 

I don't know anything about how other terminals operate, where they run, their freight or anything else... all I really know about is the Akron terminal. The company has 4 terminals, (Akron OH, Danville VA, North Liberty IN, and Sunnyvale TX)... and although I've been to all of them, it's not often that I go to other Terminals.

 

I heard that Safety is supposed to be monitoring loading / unloading and logs, so you have to be on duty, not off duty. Not sure how that's working out, since I don't touch freight. But in any case, I've talked to a lot of drivers that like the J.Fab runs. They get paid extra to unload trailers and it adds up in a week... and the loads are light weight.