Stay Away from Conway Truckload!!

You are more than welcome to start your own thread here if you disagree with what you are reading. That being said, admitting fault has nothing to do with any of this. I am posting here in an effort to save others from making the same mistake (hey, there's a fault for you) that I did. And, nope, didn't get fired.. I quit. I have a family to support. And I think that what is of particular interest here is the fact that no other posters other than myself are saying to anyone considering a future with Conway Truckload to personally go to any truck stop and talk to as many drivers as possible about their experiences at Conway. Could this be just coincidence? Or is it possible that I might be proven correct? And, by the way, for what it's worth, I never was late on a load and I did have a perfect safety record. Still do.

 

It isn't bad advice as long as you factor in that unless you catch a driver going to/coming from the fuel island, you will be asking a driver that is already sitting. In statistics, this is called a biased sample...

Disclaimer: I've only worked for con-way for the last ~4 weeks so I don't have a large enough sample to venture a guesstimated miles/week. I will say that in my first 3 weeks I ran 1800 (went home 1 day), 2200, & 900 miles. This week I will easily exceed 3000. I averaged over 3300 miles/week at my last otr company (also elog 65mph trucks), but aside from that 900mile week I've been making as much or more here despite the lower miles (with detention pay & 37cpm here vs no dentention pay & 28cpm there)

 

You are on the right track. Don't sweat the bad week. Look for monthly averages and you should see it average out to the advertised averages.

 

Surfer Joe, may I ask what that agenda might be? Thanks.

 

Naturally, I am reading as much as I can and talking to as many drivers as I can. I would like to see more people posting actual numbers here with supporting evidence. Everyone who gets fired or quits because they are unhappy will post negatively. In fact, most people don't take the time to post happy experiences; that's just human nature. I myself might have several months before I even attend a school, much less sign on with a company, to make my decision. I appreciate all of the posts I have read and will read in the future just as I appreciate the posters taking the time out of their day to relate their experiences. We all have agendas. Mine is to get on with a strong company and make good money. All input is much appreciated.

 

Thanks for the numbers.

 

Being that I am new to this site, are posts "nested?" Or simply sorted by date?

 

Old dog, I cant stress enough that you should go and talk to drivers in person. I'm sure there is at least one large truck stop near you. It would be best to speak with as many drivers as possible so that you can sort out the bee ess. Make sure that you ask about AVERAGE miles over a period of time. Also ask about layover pay( do they really receive it?) detention pay, etc. Also ask about how much time is spent just sitting, and sitting, waiting for your next load. If so, have they spoken with their fleet manager about this? Did it help? If not, did they go a fewer steps up the ladder to get anything resolved? Did that help? Does this go on year round as opposed to what you might be hearing otherwise? How about equipment? Do new drivers get relatively older trucks, therefore requiring "shop time" to the tune of three, four, or even more times a month (each time in the shop= 1 to 3 days at a time)? This could amount to as much as nearly a half a months' worth of shop time, per month, while on duty. And yes, it does happen. It happened to me and I spoke to Truck Assignments (no luck) and then to Saul Gonzalez about it and he told me that there was nothing he could do. But dont take my word for it. Go and talk to the drivers. Park at the truck stop and get yourself a coffee and wander around a bit. Tell them you're thinking about coming aboard. Again, talk to as many as possible; some might try to recruit you as they are paid a "finders fee", as it were, by the company if you are hired. Not all drivers will be as interested in making money off of you inasmuch as trying to offer you some friendly advice, however. At least thats what I'm hoping; some of these drivers are pretty financially desperate. Good luck!

 

Since I just finished organizing my trip sheets, I figured I'd update the numbers for those interested now that I have 8 pay stubs:

Average miles: 2206 miles/week
Average pay/mile: 39.53cpm (my base rate is 37, but there is extra pay on placarded hazmat, extra stops, detention, & layover)
Average gross pay/week: $872.20
Average pay per hour on-duty or driving: $19.38/hour
Average pay per hour away from home (includes breaks, sleeping, etc): $5.14

Though no fault of Con-Way, my truck was at 3 international dealerships a total of 8 days (same problem -- finally fixed though) and twice I took 1 day home time (really closer to 4 days total though because the 1st day doesn't count as home time unless you were home by 7 am). So if you consider that I was available for work 6.5 weeks out of that 8, my miles/week rate is actually running around 2715 (how I judge operation's utilization of me & my truck) and I could typically expect to gross $1004.55/week -- not bad for the slow time of year.

Like any company, Con-Way Truckload isn't perfect so I do have a handful of very minor gripes, but the pay is accurate & fair and the operations team seem to be doing a fine job of keeping me moving considering the season. I fully expect the miles & overall paychecks to increase.





PS: I am of course not including the pay con-way gives me to write positive blogs about them










PPS: only kidding, of course I included it.














PPPS: Truly kidding, I haven't been paid to write anything. (How do I sign up for that?)

 

I've talked to Conway driver's team and solo at stops...they do pretty good...meaning 2500-3500 miles a week...