Smith Transport - Roaring Spring, PA

Hey Y'all!

Yeah, I've been inactive for a while, but there were reasons for my "hiatus". But here I am, signed on with Smith Transport, located in Roaring Spring, PA. Now for those of you who are not aware of that city, it is right off of I-99, about 25 miles north of I-76 (about 12 miles south of Altoona).

I came here at the end of March, 2014, after leaving JL Rothrock. Why did I leave Rothrock? Well, in a nutshell, it wasn't my cup of tea. Yeah, I was home every weekend... yeah, they kept me running. But it just wasn't the kind of running I like to do. I also took a hit in my paycheck, but that can be expected when you are home as much as I was. I hold no ill will towards them, and it is a good fit for some people.... just not me.

OK, so SMITH TRANSPORT!!!

They have quite a few trucks, so no doubt a lot of you have seen their black tractors and trailers running up and down the road (primarily on the east coast). But they do have a few white trailers also. All in all, they have nice, well-maintained equipment. And if you have a vehicle problem, you simply send a Breakdown Macro over the QUALCOMM, and you will be replied to within minutes! Something I think is AWESOME!

So I contacted Joe in Recruiting (great guy... not your typical recruiter), and he laid out everything for me. And everything he told me was the truth. So we processed my application, and I got a phone call back the next day asking me how soon I could start. We worked all of that out and they FLEW (no, not a bus) me up to orientation. Then they had a driver meet me at the airport, who took me to my hotel, was handed a card for dinner ($10 at the adjacent Eat-N-Park), and I got ready for the adventure. Hot breakfast from their cafeteria at the terminal, and it was on. Physical, Drug Test, Pre-Trip Inspection test, Road Test, and then the "learning" began. 3 day orientation, which included the typical stuff, policies, procedures, and speakers. Very informative. Thursday afternoon, we were assigned our trucks and our first load. I was assigned a Freightliner Coronado, chromed out. Big Smiles! First load - Appleton, WI. BIGGER SMILE!!!

And things have just gotten better. But there have been some hurdles. (Isn't that true with any trucking company). Most of them have regarded my truck. "Smitty", as it was affectionately known, sporting 720,000 miles, had some quirks. Mainly, I was getting a lot of check engine lights, and they were temporary and very sporadic. Needless to say, it was somewhat concerning. But the big blow came when my APU failed. No worries with being uncomfortable though. I was told to idle the truck as much as I needed until I could get in.

So when I arrive at the yard, I check in with Gary (the guy in charge of truck assignment). I had talked to him earlier before arriving, and told him if he would like to put me in another truck, I'd be ok with that. And that's what he did. I was reassigned a 2012 Peterbilt 386 with all of the bells and whistles, including the PACCAR Telematics System. For those of you who are not aware of what that is, it is an in-dash system that shows certain gauges, stereo with Sirius, USB, AUX, CD, and Bluetooth (which I use my tablet to stream Pandora), and Bluetooth connection for my phone for hands-free. It also has a GPS system, which, even when inactive, still warns you of steep grades, weigh stations, and (believe it or not) upcoming high wind advisories. Pretty cool stuff.

OK, enough about my situation.... What about Smith?

Miles - depends on what you want to do, and how long you want to be out. Also helps to have a mastery of HOS and paper logs (not electronic... and don't expect it will be for some time). They want you to send in your ETA to the consignee, along with how many hours you expect to have available to drive when you leave (there's a macro for that), and they will preplan you (at least one, maybe more) on your next load before you deliver. One of my BIG kudos to them.... and a BIG reason why I came here. But yeah, you can make the miles if you work the system....

They have a floating pay scale, which, the shorter the trip, the more you make per mile. You would have to talk to the recruiter to get exact figures for yourself, but for me... if I run a trip that is 50 miles or less, I make pretty close to a $1 per mile. And as the trips get longer, the "add-on" gets smaller. But it's still pretty good.

You can work in one of two programs... home every week, or out 12 days, in 2 days. I do the 12 and 2 simply because it works better for Lisa and I. (and she will be hitting the road with me this summer quite a bit).

I get a week vacation after 6 months, and then another after a year. Then after 3 years, it's two weeks...

Full benefits after 90 days. Major medical, dental, vision, life (company pays for), and so forth and so on..... call the recruiter

Trucks are governed for new hires at 65, but then turned up to 68 after 90 days (after you prove you are not a fool). But in actuality, when I got this Pete, they had me run it by the shop and turn it up. So I didn't have to wait.

They do have a rider program after 90 days, but no pets.

Terminal in Roaring Spring is pretty nice... cafeteria, bunk rooms, driver lounge, showers, company car, full service shop, and a company store for "Smith Stuff". Reasonable prices too. And the food in the cafeteria is rather tasty. They also have a terminal in Wisconsin, one in Indiana, one just south of Atlanta, and then a few small ones in PA. Plus, we do utilize some USX yards as drop sites.

OK... so I have typed enough for now. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Not on the 'puter all the time, but I'll keep my eye out.


Y'all be safe, and I'll see you soon

ARF!

 

I look at it as upgrading, but so noted. I just don't have a habit of staying where I'm not happy. But I can see where you're coming from. Trust me... I'm looking for a a place to retire from. Hopefully this is the one

 

Pretty much anywhere east of the Mississippi, with high concentration in the NorthEast

 

I remember you well my friend. Glad to see you're still at it and things are going well for you

 

I should be pretty easy to pick out. Smith only has 5 of the Pete 386's, so if you see one, there is a one in five chance its me.