Ryder Systems, Inc

friend of mine worked for ryder in florida. he seemed to like it. from what i've seen ryder generally contract's with an operation for 3 year's then pull out you may want to ask about that when you interview. in lewiston maine walmart contracted with ryder, after year 3 they were gone & the driver's were out of work.

 

I've heard a lot of bad things about them. They are always hiring for the CVS accounts as well. And I have heard once a contract is up the driver is out of work

 

same down here they hire out for save alot once its up u have no job try cardinal logistics pretty much same thing as ryder

 

Try Cardinal? What's the difference? Cardinal, Ryder, AIM, Penske, CEVA, RUAN, etc. All 3PLs. When the contract is up, typically 3-5 years, you may or may not have a job. Depends on if they are the lowest bidder or not.

 

they're not many local jobs that hire direct anymore. Its always a agency or 3rd party place like ryder hiring the drivers onto a account. once that contract runs its coarse ur out of a job unless they can flip u right onto something else. They might even have u bounce around filling in casually for vacation and sick time. dont do that. no consistancy and u never know what your doing the next day if anything. trust me im doint it now for centerline drivers. its pretty much the same #### as ryder minus leasing trucks. If your on a good steady fulltime account it can be good. if your not it most likely sucks. i got pulled from a account i was on for 5 years because it dried up. now im filling in casually and i work 2-3 days a week. i rather collect and look for a new gig all together. Im basically doing that.

 

As someone who's both worked for a carrier who leased trucks from Ryder, and as a former Ryder Integrated Logistics driver on a dedicated account, I'm gonna say avoid them. Here's a few items or policies I took issue with, your opinion on whether or not it matters will vary:

1. EXTREMELY top heavy with regard to management. There are so many layers of management that they have a hard time actually accomplishing things.

2. 3 strikes policy....ANYTHING that they do not like is a strike (depends heavily on local/region management's attitudes). Have a difference of opinion with management about something, anything? Be extremely careful how you express it. Is your equipment dinged up? Photograph and write up BEFORE you sit in it, or it's your strike. Late to an appointment? Strike. Complain about the manager's pet driver leaving cigarette butts all over the dash? Strike again. It only takes 3 to lose your job and everything can be deemed a strike.

3. Poor maintenance of equipment. This is also something that depends on the local shop you deal with, but RIL/Ryder System employees are typically treated like absolute trash by the shops. The only good thing I can say about their maintenance is that oil changes are done on schedule. That's it. Live in the snow belt and are concerned by the 4/32nd tread depth on your drives, with an impending snowstorm forecast? Nope, will not change a tire until 2/32nds (unless you crash, then they're gonna be rushing like mad to get service there with a different tire or 2 before the cops arrive). Air dryer not working well, is the valve stuck? They'll bypass it completely, and then you're gonna be draining water out of the air tanks at every stoplight. Bottom line, their maintenance of fleet vehicles is massively subpar, even compared to their less than stellar maintenance of their rental fleet.

4. Slip seat. You may like it, I do not. I have since made up my mind that I will NEVER share a truck with another driver who is not either family or a very close trusted friend. They are adamant about this one, even when there are more power units than drivers on a given account.

5. Slow slow slow. Ryder fleet trucks, per corporate policy, are governed at 62. However I've noticed a problem in every Ryder vehicle I've turned a wheel in...the speedometer is set 3 mph slow. E V E R Y S I N G L E O N E. I may have driven 50 or better individual Ryder trucks, and they all are this way. Of course, this results in your 62mph being 59mph. Try that on for size on the Jersey Turnpike, NY Thruway, or Masspike. No, they will not fix it. The excuses you hear will vary on this point. Dedicated accounts sometimes specify a different speed limit for their trucks, this does not apply to them.

6. I'll stop with this one, there are more random points of contention, but this one has gotten friends of mine fired. Ryder has a policy of middle management or safety staff from a particular region following drivers on their routes. They may confront the driver, photograph the driver, report on behavior, speed, load/unload times, anything and everything. I have personally called the police on what I deemed was a suspicious vehicle as it followed me to 3 stops and parked out of the way, only to be called back and told it was a coworker. A former driver colleague of mine was fired after being followed...he was assigned a rental truck (rentals go 64-67 mph) after his broke down on the side of the Masspike. He was then followed by a safety staffer, who proceeded to belligerently confront him at his next stop (almost getting a beating for his trouble, as he was not wearing company logo uniform nor did he identify himself as a Ryder staffer, and the said driver was on a high-value load and had been briefed to watch out for theft of equipment as another carrier for the same parent company had several drivers assaulted and the truckloads stolen). The safety guy berated him for going 64mph on the pike, stating that Ryder System employees must adhere to the governed speed of fleet trucks no matter what the capability of their assigned vehicle, and without regard to speed limits. This counted for several strikes, and my friend was terminated upon return.

The money isn't terrible, but the headaches (to me, anyway) are not worth it. I make quite a bit more since leaving them, with an assigned truck, reasonable maintenance, and no nanny following me around.

 

the company in jersey i was filling in for had all leased ryder trucks. all 2005 columbias and beat up bad. they all went 62 mph. its rough when everyones passing you by. forget bout trying to pass that occasional person going slower then you. I dropped my truck off at ryder in new brunswick nj for bad brakes and a bad 5th wheel. brakes pulled hard and didnt even stop sometimes. the 5 wheel was bangin all over the place with slack. the shop manager said we cant give you a swap until we check it out and we dont have time today. ok?? wtF? so i managed to get a rental swap and was just as big of a pos. but once i opned her up on the highway a instant grin on my face. 80mph. i didnt wana give it back after a few days lol. so nice to be able to do a safe speed of 68-70 and have the ability to power passed someone if u have to. that truck came from newark nj so someone musta paid a mechanic to turn it up. ive been in other ryders that were set at 68 but most 64. they have adds for drivers alot espically that cvs account in lumberton nj

 

They are heavy with volkswagon freight in northern alabama. roundtrips going to chattanooga. I see some on the landstar board at times....