Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

I put a set of aftermarket oil/temp/volt in my bronco and all I used was a electric drill to punch a hole in the fire wall and my truck wouldn't start.. replaced coils/plugs/ignition.. whole nine yards. Went to reading my hanes one day and saw that fuel shutoff switch section and sure enough that stupid switch was out... Luckily haven't had any problems out of my mustang.

 

Woo Hoo - moving/rolling again!! Watch out here we come!!

 

OK, new guy here. About a year ago I thoroughly researched driving, and ended up picking central to drive for. My boss offered me a promotion and more money to keep me around, so I stayed here in Tampa. Well things didn't go as planned, and I only got half my raise, none of my promotion, and spend 5-6 nights a week in hotels anyway, so it's time to go trucking! My biggest concern is mileage. I browsed the last 20 pages of this thread looking for the mileage you guys are getting and didn't find anything. Central says about 2750/wk, but I know how recruiting works. Are you single drivers getting enough miles? I need to average about 2250-2500 to make it really worth it, and i only plan on going home 3-4 times per year (no kids or GF, to visit). Is this realistic with central? I'm committing to 2 years if I go, so its a big life decision, and I have to be sure it's the right one. Any help on mileage would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

Hubby and I run team... but once you get your wheels under you then 2500 is probably do-able... however, you will need to stay on top of your trip planning and communication with your DM... after you have been running a while if your DM isn't getting you the miles you want, you can change - or even go dedicated... sometimes that helps, sometimes it doesn't... but just keep working it until it does

 

Thanks Lady K! I know teams is a whole different world, but any inside info is better than what I have. I have no problem communicating, and I'm sure I can learn the ins and outs of trip planning.

 

Yeah - we don't have to trip plan quite as strictly as a solo - because there is another log book

 

See if you can make it on lower miles for a few months before you commit. I've been with them for 8 months now. Miles started getting a bit better around the 3 - 4 month then started improving after that. I am doing now around 2200 -2300 a month. I stay out anywhere from 3-4 months at a time as like you I have no family to go home to. As Lady K said communication is the key. Do your trip plan and let your DM know when you will arrive at 99. Also review your trip plan every night when you stop to see if you are a head of schedule or behind or right on. It is not only important to tell your DM when you will be late but also important to let them know when you are early. I started getting more miles because I was early let my DM know and would drop and hook in drop yard and on to next load. Once you get good communication with DM going then miles come. I think the first few months it takes both of you "feeling" each other out so not as many miles. Plus you as a driver are learning where all the shippers and cosigners are and what is around them. Is much easier to trip plan when you know for sure where you can park and where you have to search for parking. I think eventually 2500 is do able but I wouldn't count on it right away. So make sure you know what the min. is you can make it on and go from there.

 

I can make it on very little. Once I move into storage, I only need about $1000/month post-tax to pay bills and feed my face, but obviously I'm looking for more than that. I travel for work now, and pull an equipment trailer, so I'm used to planing trips and making sure I'm on time to appointments, but those trips are only 50-200 miles. As long as the learning and earning curve aren't two long, i think it will be fine. When you say you're doing 2200-2300/month, what does that mean? Certainly not 2200 miles, thats like McDonalds wages.

 

I think he meant a week. Im brand new and had 2100 miles my first week. Central is a good company my only complaint was I had a horrible trainer who used me just for miles.

 

2100 miles your first week doesn't seem bad at all. I expect there's a lot of trainers who do it as nothing more than a paycheck pad. Central even advertises it that way. I'm going in expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I'm not leaving until 22APR, so any more mile updates would be most appreciated. The better picture I can get the better.