Dot Transfer Driver or Crete Regional or Local Private Fleet

My experience with Crete was dog ####. Equipment was mediocre. Pay was hit or miss good; $1800-2000 when they ran me well (Walmart Cheyenne), less than a grand when they’d park my butt and hang me out to dry for a day or two (happened a lot). Got the impression from the very beginning that they don’t really give a ####. My truck was in GA when I live in FL; another driver who lives nearby the Georgia terminal got sent to DeLand. My truck wasn’t detailed or serviced when I got to it; most of my orientation class had immediate truck problems. I waited two days before my truck was fixed; two days in the truck without curtains nor any of my gear or home stuff. No I didn’t get paid for that. They never paid me back $50 for the locks they made me buy on their behalf nor for the fuel I had to buy when my company card got locked ($200 in fuel; I sent receipts). And they charged me $300 for detailing their truck when I quit. I detailed it myself before returning it. Micromanaging, pennypinching scumbags. If you can go there, you can find someplace better. They’re a big company so maybe you’ll do much better. But I doubt it.

I know little about Dot Foods but they seem good. If you’re wanting hardcore OTR (out 6-8 weeks plus), might consider other options too. Tyson was pretty good to me. Going from Tyson to Crete was like getting into an abusive relationship; worse mistake I made in my career, besides clobbering some people’s cars. Climate Express, Holland Enterprises are other popular companies on here.

Of the three, Dot appeals to me. Hope that helps

 

If you make a decision without talking to the drivers at all 3 companies doing that work right now, it will be a big risk. Have each company give your contact info to a driver working on the account they will be hiring you for and ask for him to call you and you ask him to describe the work, pay, customers, schedule, everything. Don't give any hints what you are expecting or wanting and then ask what he dislikes about the job at his company.

Only what is happening on that account and that company right now is important. Only you can weigh how much less money is worth a lot less hassle, or the other way around. I did something like the last option at another company and stayed for a long time, but I never was trying to max pay. I wanted minimum hassle and less than 10 hours per day.

 

Is Dot the Dot foods company?
If so, that's the one I'd choose.
Edit:
Ok, missed that in your post. It is Dot Foods, so I'd go there.

 

My buddy who is sick of our last company (he's still there, I'm not) did a lot of research on DOT Foods and he is convinced they are perfect for him. I trust that driver.

 

The company can only give you stats on terms of yearly pay. It's usually their highest earner, or the top 3 percent of their highest earners. How much money you make o contingent on how well you work, and how efficient you are. You'll need to tailor your expectations. Crete seems most realistic to me. Those numbers are achievable at 2500 miles per week. If you're going home every 2 weeks for only a 34, then that's manageable.

 

DOT is a private fleet their trucks are just a means to an end. They're not chasing freight for profit like contract carriers who are sensitive to freight downturns. The numbers for DOT are on average. You'll be making $100k+ within 3 years at DOT driving no touch freight and home weekly doing it. The work and paychecks will always be steady. You could get home daily and off weekends if you'd sling freight for them and make well over $100k from the start. I would almost always pick a decent private carrier over a contract one.

 

Former Dot driver. They're everything they say they are. A lot has changed, since I was there. The pay has increased quite a bit, so $100K is easily achievable for someone willing to run open dispatch…meaning you’ll go anywhere, with no set schedule. Having onsite, zero-cost medical facilities is huge. However, they have inward facing cameras. If you can deal with that, they’re going to be your best bet. And, with the recent Lytx lawsuit, maybe, the inward cameras will go away. If they do, I’ll probably go back to them. Me getting sick and having to deal with that for 3yrs is the only reason I left. The cameras were added while I was gone.

 

Can you expand on this? Is the Lytx lawsuit something related to DOT Foods, or related to something else/another company in the industry?

I guess I'm wondering whether the lawsuit you're talking about will just affect DOT foods, or if it'll affect all OTR companies in the US for drives who live in their trucks?

 

I doubt this will be the last we’ll see of these lawsuits, given the greed of attorneys.
Drivers settle class action with Lytx over in-cab surveillance, data gathering