Comcar reviews

Today was the first day of orientation in Tampa. I'll be working out of the Savannah terminal. I am the only one in class this week, so that's both good and bad. Good in that I can get personal attention, bad in that it would be great to meet some fellow new driver co-workers.

Started the day with getting a DOT physical, including drug testing (urine and hair follicle). We then did some Power Point presentations on various things along with taking a few written tests, and then it was off to do the agility test. I'm thankful I work out, because it wasn't easy trying to lift 75 lbs. to shoulder height. I can't imagine someone who doesn't work out doing this. The other tests were fairly easy. It was then back to the classroom for more presentations and paperwork. I signed my name so much today that now I know what celebrities must go through on some days.

The people who work there are very pleasant. One thing that I liked was Comcar seems to have a very driver-oriented culture where they take what we say seriously and make reasonable accommodations for the driver. There isn't much about CTL on this forum, and one former employee didn't like the low pay. Well, all I can say is they are starting me out pretty decent and the miles should be there, so I am hopeful to make the "low" $50K threshold that Chinatown mentioned for first-year drivers. 

Second day, more learning, more tests, and also had my road test. I passed and thought I did pretty well, but my orientation trainer told me I was going too fast! I never strayed over the speed limit and started and stopped real slow (at least I thought so), but mainly I was going around the turns too fast. So obviously tankers are different than flatbeds or dry vans. Going back to the yard, I failed miserably at backing into a space, so we went around to the other side and I backed into another one. Took me three pull-ups, but I did it. I still need work on that.

The automatic transmission was a real adjustment. It was tough mentally at first getting used to the fact that you could just apply the brakes and not kill the engine or lurch forward. Overall, the truck ran much better than the ones we had in school. During our pre-trip, I discovered a gouged-out area in one of the drive tires that my trainer said would not pass a DOT inspection, so I did at least one good thing. She also caught a couple of other things about the truck that needed attention (hissing brake chamber and potential radiator fluid leak). The trucks we had in school had nothing at all wrong with them except for the time I discovered grease on one of the brake drums, but that was obvious. Oh, and also the fifth wheel's air hose was pinched somewhat, and we had to move the sliding fifth wheel, which I did successfully (somehow).

I was asked to climb on top of the tank, so I did. I stood there and asked what I should do now. My trainer just said she wanted to see if I would do it, that's all. I didn't have a problem with it, but walking back and forth on the catwalk seemed a little intimidating, so I didn't do that. I guess I'll have to if I want to continue, obviously, but I don't anticipate any problems. I'm not really afraid of heights, but this does give me some pause.

Finally, there are so many valves and stuff on a tanker that I have no idea how anyone remembers any of that or what they're supposed to do, or what procedures and when. I guess it boils down to repetitions...but I'll need a lot of them.

I couldn't find much on the forums about Comcar or CT, so I would like to provide some information from a new driver's perspective. I'm currently on Day 3 of orientation, so some of what I'm about to write hasn't been validated personally by me. If anyone would like to chime in or correct anything, please feel free. Although I'm now a company employee, I am not speaking for the company in this post.

CT still has some Mack trucks, but are in the process of replacing all of them with new International ProStars. We're told that new drivers will get 2014 or 2015 Internationals with automatic transmissions, EPU's (Electrical Power Units that operate off a set of batteries), and 56" Hi Rise Sleepers. Hi Rise is actually the mid-roof size. The tractors will have CB antennas already mounted, so the driver can easily install his own CB. Unfortunately, the company does not reimburse for truck washes, so its the driver's responsibility to keep the truck clean inside and out. 

New drivers stay 2 to the room at the Comfort Suites, although my roommate was sent home leaving me with a room to myself for the rest of the week. The hotel has an indoor pool, small workout room, and business center. They provide a full hot breakfast beginning at 6:00 during the week and at 7:00 on weekends. Lunch is provided by the company, but you're on your own for dinner. There are a couple of diverse eating establishments within walking distance of the hotel, as well as a small truckstop next door. The company pays $0.20/mile round trip if you drive your personal vehicle, or you can ride the bus. They also will pay cab fare to and from the terminal each day if needed. Drivers of personal vehicles who allow other participants to ride to orientation will be reimbursed extra for saving the company cab fare.

CT's main terminal and training center is about 4.5 miles from the hotel, in Port Wentworth, GA. The building is fairly large, and most of the upstairs area is dedicated to orientation and training. The classroom is comfortable and sufficiently equipped. The instructor is knowledgable and professional, and provides water, softdrinks, and lunch (pizza and subs) each day. Orientation starts every Tuesday and runs through Thursday, beginning at 7:00 and ending between 4:00 and 5:00.

The morning of day 1 consists of some basic company info, a DOT physical (regardless of whether you currently have one), drug screening, and agility and strength tests. If you have high blood pressure, are a likely candidate for sleep apnea, or are unable to complete the agility and strength tests, you'll be sent home. So, if you know you're likely to fail in one of these areas, you should get it addressed before showing up for orientation. The strength tests include lifting up to 115 pounds of lead weights in an egg crate to a table at waist height several times. You can use your body or legs to help lift the crate. Next you simulate pulling tarps by doing something similar to a pullup (must pull 150 pounds on the bar) and by yanking on the bar (must yank about 250 pounds). I'm 5'-10" and 165 pounds and had no problem with the strength tests. Next you climb onto the back of a flatbed trailer 3 times, do 5 squats, and kneel for about a minute. If you accomplish all these tests without your respiration or pulse exceeding a certain number, then you pass.

Also on the morning of day 1 we performed a pre-trip inspection of a truck and trailer, then drove for about 30 minutes. Since I wasn't used to pulling a loaded trailer, I tended to take turns too fast. The trainer wanted to see 10 mph or less in the turns.

The afternoon of day 1 was spent going through more company information and general orientation items.

Days 2 and 3 were similar, with a lot of company policies and procedures being explained. We were given the pay details and insurance information on day 2. Pay is as follows:

Base Pay - $0.28/mile

Availability Pay - $100/week (requires that you be at the customer on time each morning and be available to work all week (Sunday or Monday through Friday) 

Loading and tarping - $10

Unloading and untarping - $8

Detention - $9/hour after first two hours

There's at least another 7 different accessorial pay items. A pay increase is currently being discussed and should be announced within the next few weeks. Also, up to $295/week of your pay can be shown as per diem pay. During the first 90 days of employment, if your total including accessorial pay doesn't equate to at least $0.36/mile, then the company will pay you the difference, thereby effectively paying you the equivalent of $0.36/mile. This is less than some other companies, but CT offers two very big advantages over the higher paying companies. First is guaranteed hometime every weekend. The second is a very understanding policy on personal time. If you need to take some time off, just give them a little notice and take the time you need. CT doesn't seem to push its drivers to rack up a bunch of miles. They want you to start early enough on Sunday afternoon to get to your first customer before 10:00 pm Sunday night. You normally would take your 10-hour break at or near the customer, then be available for loading first thing Monday morning. You drive daytime hours all week and return home on Friday afternoon (sometimes Saturday morning at the latest). A very strong emphasis is placed on safety, and the company's preference is for drivers to get rest and not be fatigued.

Normally the company president would come in and speak, but in his absence the VP of Operations spoke to us on day 3. The next 7 days are spent at Savannah Tech for Advanced Driver Training Program. I'll update this section tomorrow.

So far I'm fairly impressed with Comcar and CT. Their orientation program and emphasis on safety rival that of any large company.

Ok, I just finished my second week with my driver trainer. This may be a lengthy post, but I'll try to answer a bunch of questions others may have.

Transportation to the orientation and Advanced Driver Training is either by your own personal vehicle reimbursed at $0.20/mile or by Greyhound. Bus transportation can be very lengthy depending on where you live. I understand that you could also fly and you pay the difference between the airline ticket and a Greyhound ticket. While at orientation, the company arranges for a taxi each day to and from the hotel and terminal.

I've asked a few people why they've been with CT for 8-20 years and their responses have all been the same. CT and Comcar are very accommodating. They guarantee to have you home every weekend, although sometimes you may not get home until Saturday morning and may have to leave Sunday afternoon. However, they really want you to get your 34-hour reset every weekend at home. They also are very safety-oriented and ask that you wear all your personal protective equipment anytime you're working around the truck and trailer.

CT requires a minimum of 3900 miles with a driver trainer, and my trainer said they also like to see 15 days. My first week was the week of Thanksgiving, so we only had 4 days (including Sunday) that week. He is comfortable that I'll be ready for my road test this week. I'll have about 5500 miles by the middle of the week and 12 days with the trainer. We'll see if we get routed by a terminal where I can be tested. 

I asked for a non-smoking trainer and they had a difficult time finding one that was close to my home and available immediately. I volunteered to drive 3-1/2 hours to his home, but the company will either reimburse me $0.20/mile for me to travel back and forth, or put me in a hotel for the two weekends. The first weekend I drove back home for the holiday, and the second weekend my wife joined me at the hotel near the trainer's home. If you insist on not traveling far to your trainer, they'll try to accommodate you as much as they can. They'll even pay the trainer extra to come to you and stay over the weekends.

During orientation and Advanced Driver Training, one of the new drivers is named "Top Gun" or "Top Dog", or something like that. That person gets a CT baseball cap. Everyone also gets a trucker's road atlas, a hardhat, leather gloves, safety glasses, and a reflective vest. When you get your own truck, you'll have to buy your own CB if you want one, speed handles for the winches, a pole to place corner protectors on tall loads of sheetrock, and a ladder if you need one. Anything else that you need for load securement will either be provided or you'll be reimbursed if you have to purchase it.

My driver trainer is about 62 years old and has been driving with CT for 8 years. He is a very nice guy and has a gentle way of correcting and teaching me. We keep the inside of the truck neat and clean, and we both get showers every day. Both of us can comfortably go for an hour or two without saying anything, then we'll have a good conversation, then quiet again. It fits our personalities very well. We've been in a hurry just about the whole two weeks, so I typically eat cold Pop-Tarts while walking to the truckstop in the mornings, grab a can of BeanieWeanies while waiting to be loaded, and then eat cereal or oatmeal at the truckstop when we stop for the night. We usually don't leave more than 30 minutes of our 14-hour day on the electronic log, leaving at about 6:30 in the morning and stopping between 8:00 and 8:30 at night. On most days, we'll drop a load in the morning and pick up a new load in the afternoon. I drive nearly all the time and ended Thanksgiving week with 1600 miles and this week with 2200 miles. In the next post I'll list the places we've been and the number of miles we drove.

The trainer's tractor had some issues, such as no engine brake, a check engine light that kept coming on, and a broken mirror bracket. On Tuesday of the second week we were routed by an International dealer so we could drop it off for repairs. The loaner truck isn't a condo, so now we have to find a hotel each night for me to stay in. It adds some inconvenience, but it's nice to be able to sleep in a private bed. Also, the loaner truck is similar to the one I'll be given, so I'm able to check it out and dream about getting my own truck.

As far as I know all the Comcar subsidiaries have the same home time policy. They did not do hair follicle drug testing when I started 4 months ago.

Here is a current compilation of my stats in 2015. The first number is the total (hub) miles driven, the second number is the number of paid miles, and the third number is the logged "On Duty" hours for the week. Keep in mind that On Duty hours doesn't include all the waiting at the shipper and consignee.

2015, 1717, 46

1854, 1580, 47

2301, 2170, 54

2825, 2509, 54

2376, 2118, 50

2482, 2383, 50

1701, 1468, 37

2176, 1998, 48

2462, 2380, 55 (Worked the weekend)

2779, 2534, 59

1669, 1569, 42

2336, 2172, 54

2762, 2630, 59

This year has averaged 2094 paid miles/week.

Hey everyone, hope all is well. i just wanted to give an update on my situation over at CT. 

so, I don't want to discourage anyone but I dislike this company very much. don't get me wrong they are not the worst company out there but they are definitely not the best. i will be leaving them the first week in july, i'm only waiting that long because i can't really go anywhere else or really get insured with less than 6 months experience. 

don't beleive what anyone at the company tells you. from the recruiter that comes to your school, to the people who paint the "perfect picture" at orientation down to the dispatchers. why they lie is beyond me since you will see the truth as soon as you get out there on the road but they do. now with that said, from talking to drivers at other companies, this happens everywhere. I guess it's the trucking industry. 

with all that being said, if you're fresh out of school, ct might be ok for you. the plus side of things is they did take me right out of school and i have learned a lot. my trainer was really good and still helps me to this day if i call him. the biggest plus is the "per diem", with this you will probably make the most money out of school at CT. just be prepared to take a lot of crap. just keep in mind you need that 6 months. after that skies the limit out there

there is a lot of stuff. lots of little stuff but it takes a toll on you. the biggest one is that in orientation they will tell you that you get home early friday and leave sunday afternoon. That is total BS. i haven't been home before 5pm yet. and i've left before 9am sunday for the last 6 weeks. just hope you don't get home saturday because they'll still expect you to leave sunday, smh. 

but like i said there is a lot of little things. maybe it's just me, maybe you wont have those issues. again, they're not bad for a starter company.

As far as other companies, i actually am going to get my own truck through a lease purchase. my buddy put me on to them. He made good money with them then went on to start his own company and now has 4 trucks. i'm following in his footsteps basically

The numbers given in the earlier post are not for everyone. I work there and i definitely don't see the miles he listed. Sometimes get a good week but most times i get like 1800. Again, if you're fresh out of school, it's not a bad place. But, if you have experience and options, i'd advised against it. 

Also, you get micro managed a lot with them. i thought i got into trucking to get away from that but i guess not. They have the wingman system and it pretty much tracks how you drive. If you break hard, for any reason, it sends a message to the terminal then they call you and you have to talk to the safety department. And just last week, they started a new thing where you get in trouble if you go over 70 mph. do it 3 times and you could get fired. it's crazy since 70 is the speed limit on most interstates lol