Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

Don't think that way with Central. If your husband quits, there are 3 people who just finished training who will take his truck. There's a whole crop of 20 people starting on Monday who want to make it through school, and get in a truck, and there's another 40 people who are talking to Central about attending school.

Central wants to keep the drivers they have that stay compliant, out of accidents, and deliver on time. It's cheaper to keep them than to recruit more. But, they will get rid of folks who cause problems, or who think they deserve more than they're getting. Often, it's by starving them out by giving them no milage.

I know you're the wife, and not in the truck, but don't pass the attitude on of "they should be glad they have him" to your husband. It will get him nowhere.

 

Smadronia is right-attitude will not work at Central!

This is a whole 'nuther world out here-there is no way to explain it unless you have done it, what was accepted in the real or corporate world no longer applies here on the road.

 

The way things are done in the trucking industry was the second hardest thing I had to learn to deal with. The first was giving up a lot of the stuff you didn't know you liked having.

 

They've never asked why you're off of their route? I've wondered about that. My husband's GPS will often be a more direct route than the one given to him on the Quallcom but he is under the impression he will be in trouble if he goes off their route.

 

Usually if you check your routing and then the more direct route, there will be somewhere along way that there is a restricted route or a low clearance.
All part of trip planning. You will figure it out as you "slingshot" across country which ones you can shave off 100 + miles or so.
Often it just has to do with better roads, fuel stops and some routes are better than others. GPS can often put you in a field or will tell you after you have turned that it's a restricted route.
Regarding missing things you didn't realize you liked having-
Commercial laundrys, shopping anywhere other than walmart, your bed, real food, don't think I will ever fully adjust.

 

Just wanted to post this for all the new drivers that maybe reading this forum as no one ever told me this in training. I was in Phoniex to pick up a load and had time between to get some recalls done on my truck at a dealer. So went to the dealer to get them fixed. When I got back in the truck my HOS was all messed up. Why? Because the mechanic had to drive the truck for 15 min to test some things so when he did I was still loged in as the driver and it put me on line 3 for 15 min and started my 14hr clock early. I can still make the load on time by doing a 8/2 split so am ok there. So just so you know whenever you go to a shop or a dealer to get the truck looked at always log yourself out of the truck, so if they have to test drive it won't show up on your HOS.

 

If it's not a weekend you can call safety and explain... They can change the log. They have done iy for us when we have forgotten.

 

On the out of route thing, I tell new drivers 2 things. 1 don't miss fuel stops by going out of route. 2 don't have any issues, accident, late, that stuff. If you do, then they may question why you are not on the route.

 

Make certain if he goes out of route he verifies the route with an atlas. If it isn't a truck route, there will be problems like low bridges, power lines, tickets.... As a lease idiot, I went out of route and the qualcomm wouldn't send me fuel routing. First time that happened. I took a southern route to miss snow in Vail. I ended up calling fuel department to get prices.

 

How about home cooked meals, sitting on the same commode that you did the day before, waking up to find your wife next to you????