Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

Im an old Central Reefer guy too. Went to their Fontana school back in 2005 and went on to other places in 2006. Other than the company driver pay scale, no complaints with them. Would go back if they paid more.

 

Guess I could've been more specific...sorry everyone....what I meant by seeing more Central trucks vs FFE trucks....does that necessarily mean I could possibly get hometime more often than not?

I do realize to make a decent check, you typically wanna stay out 3-4 weeks at a time....and what I was wondering was, since I don't see that many FFE trucks up here in MN...instead of 3-4 weeks at a time...would it be more like 5-6 weeks??

That's what I was getting at....was wondering if my assumption was right.

Thanks again everybody, I do appreciate it!!

 

Well I called central this morning and thay still don't hire in my area of Fla. I would have to move to Orlando if I wanted to get hired on

 

Just get a P.O. box and expect to never get home!

As far as going teaming, if LadyK says they are averaging 4500 there is no way in hell I would advise you to go team!!! A solo driver can run 4000-4200! When we ran team we were doing 7000 a week 6000 on a bad week! You really want to split 4500 miles? That's about $400 take home a piece! You can make that night shift at Denny's!!!

So unless you two new guys really love each other I wouldn't advise the whole team thing.

One more thing, Central puts their husband/wife teams in front of anyone else. So if LadyK and her husband are running 4500 a week you guys will be running 3800-4000. Definitely not worth it.

I recommend you guys run solo for 6 months and see how you do. Make your decision once you know the industry and the freight and your DM a little better.

On a side note, teams must live close together otherwise hometime is a logistic nightmare!

 

When my husband upgraded, he basically got what ever truck was available... If he had asked for a specific type, they might have complied, but if it wasn't available he would have had to wait... Waiting means no money! As for the heat/AC ... There are bunk heaters and in the Freightliner we have right now an opti idle. We had an inverted installed so we could run our electrical stiff (fridge, microwave and a printer/scanner) and charge our Phone and laptop.

 

Not trying to be negative toward you Maxxmeister but if home time is a concern at all I would look into another profession. The standard across the board is usually 4-6 weeks and if you are getting different info then you are being lied to. Recruiters tend to embellish home time because this is the concern of most new drivers. Plus if you aren't willing to stay out a minimum of 4-6 weeks you are going to make any money for it to be worth your time.

Home time will always mess up three weeks of pay whenever you go home! The week going home is slow, plus the 3-5 days you stay home and then the week going back out is slow. So you don't really make much money for those three weeks.

 

Chompi is correct, but I would temper the advice to say maybe OVER THE ROAD is not a good fit. Maybe a local job would be better.

I really believe that you need to find the right fit for your situation. What might be perfect for LadyK might drive you crazy.

On the flip side, I LOVE what I'm doing now, but we slip seat. I enjoy it, you might love it, but LadyK and Klingon might say, "Good for you, but moving into a new truck every morning is not for us!"

Look for that good fit. Even if it means taking a not so perfect job in the meantime while you are looking.

 

Lastkidpicked, (another former colleague) is right! You really need to find something that will best fit your situation. There are so many different types of trucking. From freight, to pulling for a carnival, hauling cows, oilfields, pulling for Nascar or CBS Sports, heavy haul, flatbed, etc... you get the point. There are even gigs out there where you just pick up stacks of new trucks and fly back home.

At least you are doing the right thing by doing your homework first.

On a side note; be weary of recruiters, both school and company! They are salesman and like to embellish on the industry.

Example:
Recruiter: Home every weekend!
Actuality : Home on Sunday afternoon 3-5pm!
Recruiter: Home every 10-14 days!
Actuality: Home every 4-6 weeks if you want to make a dime and every time you go home it messes up your pay for three weeks!

You get the picture, take them with a grain of salt!

 

SO true about slip seating!! We are in a rental truck right now and are going nuts... LOL! We miss our 13 speed and each time I think 'oh I just will grab ......' I then I remember it's in OUR truck it is like having to live in a hotel instead of your house

 

Well, as I was checking the new posts on here, my recruiter called me and let me know that their MVR came back clean so I'm definitely in the clear on that. He also said that he would be calling me either tomorrow or the day after to do a "security phone interview" as soon as my DAC came back. (It will be clean as well, I assume, as I don't have any "verifiable" trucking experience.

As for my questions, I suppose I had them answered. Christian said that when you upgrade you can choose from the trucks they have on the yard. He also said that the lot was full and he had a good view of the overflow lot and it contained a few petes, internationals, freight shakers -shudders-, and kw's but he doesn't know what specific models look like. I don't know if Central has any T2000s, 600's 800's or whatever the new equivalent is but I do know they have W9's so there's hope for me yet. Now, about the idling situation, he said that some trucks come equipped with the APU/Climate Control and some don't, it's really just a gamble on getting one. He also said that if you have a truck without one, "they will route you to the nearest truck-stop without an idling restriction." I find this hard to believe considering H.O.S., and the possibility of having to drive WAY off route, burning excess fuel and work time. Grain of salt, indeed.

Either way, I'm still coming to Central and I'm still as happy as a fat driver at a comp'd buffet, haha! Hope to meet everyone soon.