Carter Express .... My New Home

Sounds like a good plan. I think that would be cool to have the option to run all over or stay close to home.

 

Did you do all the driving ?
How long is the trip ?
Do you stop for fuel ?
Do you do all the backing ?
Average speed , are trucks governed ?
Do you know how many stops you made on the way down like food , bathroom , 30 minute break , switch drivers ?
How is it like sleeping in the truck ?
What about on ramps , off ramps and passing/lane changes ?

Sorry for all the ????? Just really sounds interesting.

Be safe !!!

 

Hey - how is it going?

I've been driving for Carter close on 2 years now so feel free to ask me what you like!

I like to be home weekends so I do mostly regional.

I usually start the week taking a Nestle refer out to the East Coast - 3 day roundtrip to upstate NY or east PA or 4 day to MA or NH - then I will get a broker load or company (auto parts) freight back. 9 times out of 10 I bring the broker load to the yard rather than deliver it which is a big plus!

I usually finish off the week doing a 2 day autoparts round trip to Canton MS (if 3 days out to NY or PA) or 1 day to Smyrna TN (if 4 days out to MA, NH etc). I always try to book the whole week in advance with my DM.

I have also done a lot of trips to Laredo. You can do it with one stop if the truck is set at 68 and the going is good.

Freight out of Laredo can be a bit unpredictable due to the border crossing that the incoming freight has to go through. However they do pay $100 per day if you are sitting. A nice Laredo trip takes a week and includes a day layover. Its about 2800 miles there and back.

Waiting time can be a pain with the refers. To save time I often split my break. I will stop for 8 hours in the SB on the way out and then go off duty for the final 2 hours while getting unloaded. Usually they are done in 2 to 3 hours. Anything over 2 hours and its $12.50 per hour for detention.

No idling restrictions but if you do it a lot you wont get a fuel bonus. They also have idleair cards so thats a good option if you happen to be in the right place.

 

Hello Drover , nice to have a driver put in some info. It seems like I have a lot of questions and will ask them as I go along.
Do you live in the Anderson area , I will be Iiving in the Kokomo area and I heard that you can't take the trucks home.
That would mean about 1 hour drive one way for me. I also heard someone say that after you are there a while they let you take the truck home so I still don't know.

Are the trucks comfortable to sleep in for a couple , I will be bringing my wife as soon as I can have a rider.
Do most new guys get the Volvo , automatic trucks.

what would you say a new driver can average per week on his paycheck.

do you fuel whe they tell you to and follow their route.

what all do the trucks have as far as accessories , apu , heater, air con . GPS , CB , stereo

i talked with Kelli the recruiter and went to Sage school just to check it out. Carter pays for the school so that is nice.
On a card Kelli gave me it said you need to pass a 2 year medical , I'm on blood pressure meds and think they just give you one year. I lost a few pounds and have not taken meds for about a month and my BP has been pretty good , only high if I drink a lot of coffee.

Thanks again for posting here.

 

Drover you say you can do Laredo with one stop , what do you mean by that. You mean each way ? If it is 2800 mile then you would drive 700 per day, seems like a lot for one day. But not sure.

are the Laredo trips easy to get , that might be a good thing to start out with.

do they have Qualcomm new or old

 

Well they are despatched with two stops but a lot of drivers do it with one stop. Its up to you. Its usually best to arrive in Laredo ready to start your break because its rare to get a load going back right away. Also the loads going back are first come first serve so the quicker you can get down there the quicker you can get on the road back. The return loads cant be done in one stop as a delivery is included somewhere within 150 miles or so of the yard.

Laredo trips are easy to get and a lot of drivers start out that way. Its close to 700 miles one way. I think its 680 which is 10 hours at 68 plus an hour for delays and so on. It is a lot of miles. Canton MS is also around 680 one way and rarely any traffic delays.

Refers pay 5c more per mile for the whole trip (even if refer off on the way back).

I have an ancient qualcomm though some have newer ones. They are for messages and elogs - no maps or navigation.

 

Hey Drover , you say Laredo is 700 mile so there and back is 1400 mile. But in post # 56 you said Laredo takes a week 2800 mile there and back, I am confused

Also in post # 57 I asked a lot of questions and then posted again on post # 58 so you probably missed my questions. If you get a chance you might check it out.

Thanks