Crete Carrier - A Year In Review - Fall 2013 Going Forward

I'd make them a deal...I would come back and drive one if: 1) $0.75 cpm (paid by the hub) 2) guarantee I will never have to do a sleep study, no matter what 3) 7 days off every 6 weeks 4) 4 weeks paid vacation a year 5) never given a load under 500 miles and average over 2500 miles a week 6) Ray gets down on his knees and asks nicely. 7) show me where the wings are forming on new born piglets, because pigs will have to fly within 6 months (under their own power, and not after drinking Red Bull)

 

That's funny about needing volunteers for the drivecams.
The tactic of 'here's your new truck, that just happens to have a drivecam BUT YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!'
must not be working too well?

The jerks tried to pull the 'sleep study' thing on me also one time when I turned down a load that picked up and delivered in the middle of the night.

I guess they forgot they had already given me one, sold me the cpap machine, and I was using it?
(Which is the reason I can't adjust my sleep schedule dramatically....can't sleep at strange hours)

The safety bs they come up with is just that. Bs.

Try telling them 'I don't feel well, I need to rest today.'
They will threaten you with pulling your safety clearance, and making you get a new dot physical where you are.

 

I would have played dumb and took the test again, thus costing them another chunk of change...when they try to sell you another CPAP, just look dumb and ask "what's wrong with the other one you sold me, it's seems to be working fine"...

They tried to pull my safety clearance once...until I reminded them that doing so would result in me deadheading home 400+ miles to clean out the truck...and they couldn't do a thing to stop me because I knew where the plug was for the qualcomm antenna, and they wouldn't know I did it until my truck was parked cross-ways in the driveway of Deland, with the keys on the seat. And it was all over not taking my 9th load in 2 weeks up to the NE. I was in the old Century class and asked them for a week away from there to recuperate from all the overweight loads I was being forced to haul on those frost-heaved roads. After safety and I spoke about what I meant about hauling overweight loads(exceeding equipment limits),...the threat was lifted, security clearance restored, and I didn't see the NE for months.

 

No, the threats of the sleep study and having to get a new dot physical in the middle of nowhere are mostly bullying threats to get you do something.

The sleep study does cost you at least a day of missed work, so it's never free, and it actually costs you a full nights sleep, since they do not let you sleep all night.
If you get stuck with cpap, you can count on about 3 days with no pay, plus the cost of the machine.

If you have sleep apnea, get treated. I'm just XXXXing about the way crete handles it.

 

My conscience would not let me roll with this trailer...glad I didnt. There was break in the weld at the bracket. Waiting on a new tank now. Another quality Wabash production. Will have to deliver tomorrow.

 

Failing sleep pointes study and having sleep apnea are not the same thing.

 

Wouldn't you know it....

TA got a tank. Wrong one (not their fault). One is having to be shipped here, and Crete wants the old one returned via UPS (warranty, as this trailer is just over a year old). Now, it will not arrive until at least 1030 Friday morning. Receiver is open til 1500 M-F, and I'm 191 miles away. Not happening.

So now Im wondering if I'll even make it back to Marietta this weekend. And I don't blame Crete for this. This is squarely on the collective shoulders of Wabash Trailers. POS QC....so now, I'm just trying to maintain a calm demeanor and take it as it comes.

If I ever do go total O/O, you can make book I'll never own a Wabash piece of crap.

 

They're all getting q/c issues. We have some Great Dane's over here that are 1 step above scrap metal...and I'm not sure how good the Hyundai trailers are since they are also a budget car manufacturer. I mean 2 models of their cars are on Consumer Reports 'car manufacturer that owners will never buy again' list, you can only imagine how fast a trailer would fall apart.

 

I picked up a nearly new Wabash unit back not long after I started with Crete. They had completely forgotten to put in the springs in the left rear brake assembly. The bottom shoe was gone. Of course, how many drivers had this trailer before me? But still...

Oh, and the brand new one....at the factory...that had to have its running lights repaired before I left with it....

 

This talk about trailers rings a bell, a few years ago I picked up a loaded newer trl at the time, I do the usual check and all the lights work...4ways and Left/Right as I am walking back to the cab I notice that somethings not adding up. The left blinker is blinking on the trk but when I go back to the trl, the trl right blinker is on and vice-versa. The darn trl wiring was backwards.......Yepper that was a looong unfruitful day waiting on breakdown to send somebody out.