A Gordon Diary:

Discussion in 'Motor Carrier Questions - The Inside Scoop' started by Russian Rabbit, Feb 21, 2016.

  1. Russian Rabbit

    Russian Rabbit Road Train Member

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    A friend of mine has started to drive with Gordon, so we thought it would be a good idea to start a diary for analysis purposes.

    First, the company is Gordon Trucking headquartered near Seattle:
    http://www.gordontrucking.com/

    What i know so far:

    The Not real good stuff first:
    Trucks governed to 60 mph!
    Starting pay for someone with less than a year experience (which is what s/he has) is .33 cpm. This in itself might not necessarily be a bad thing, but, as we'll see in sec it's not turning out to be a positive thing.
    .01 cpm extra for all miles if you have hazmat which s/he ain't got---yet.

    Now,The good stuff:
    New (no older than 36 months i think) Freightliner Cascadias WITH APU's .
    i think most also come with inverters and refrigerators but would have to double check.

    Tip top safety rating.

    Very professional staff. Decent people. No greasy slimeballs etc. This seems like the type of company that does things the right way (well, for the most part as we'll see in a sec)

    1st week: (Note: i am not putting the weeks in true order coz i'm trying to protect privacy. Also i'm referring to my friend as s/he, also to preserve privacy)

    McCarren NV deadhead to Reno NV 9 miles
    Reno NV to San Bernadino, Ca 449 miles
    San Bernadino, Ca deadhead to Redlands, ca 10 miles
    Redlands to Mendonta, ca 200 miles.
    Mendota (del and pickup in mendota) to Mesa, AZ 500 miles.

    Total miles for the week 1168

    S/he is on i think they call it California regional or west coast regional division.

    Any questions feel free to ask. We will try to get the correct. answers to you.
     
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  3. Captain Zoom

    Captain Zoom Road Train Member

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    I just left Gordon, not mad at them, just several personal reasons (family and geographic reasons)--neither of us wanted to end the relationship but they couldn't give me what I needed for my family.

    Overall they're a good company, standard corporate BS now and then but I've seen FAR worse. I've been driving 10 years so my pay was a lot higher, they actually pay better than most. I recommend getting your hazmat as it will pay for itself quickly if you run hard.

    Their trucks have TriPak APUs and inverters but no fridges except the red ones (team trucks and trainer trucks).

    Keep us posted! If you do your job right and don't try to run outlaw you'll enjoy your time there. I had my issues a few times but overall I liked working there. Just don't cross the safety lady in Fontana. And for God's sake don't go over on your hours.

    Good luck!
     
    Lonesome Thanks this.
  4. Scooter Jones

    Scooter Jones Road Train Member

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    "Total miles for the week 1168"

    Racking up those miles @.33 I see. $385.44 in one week?
     
    HotH2o Thanks this.
  5. Captain Zoom

    Captain Zoom Road Train Member

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    If I remember correctly your first week out of orientation is always short. I think we'll have a better picture in a couple of weeks (if OP keeps up the thread).

    That really is kind of a lousy week, though....
     
  6. Hick

    Hick Heavy Load Member

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    APU or EPU? Just wondering because that hogwash with 'get the cab the temp you want going down the road and the EPU will keep it at that temp' doesn't work well IMO. Drove a 2015 FL with that junk and will take a TK diesel any day over it.
     
  7. Russian Rabbit

    Russian Rabbit Road Train Member

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    Yeah........and that's why we're concerned.........

    Remember, these weeks are not posted in true order---i'm just trying to preserve privacy here.

    APU.
     
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  8. Captain Zoom

    Captain Zoom Road Train Member

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    I'm hip. Well, freight is scarce everywhere right now. Hope it works out.
     
  9. BackIsSore

    BackIsSore Road Train Member

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    What's Gordon's top scale? Their HQ is just down the road from me, but never bothered or needed to talk with them.
     
  10. Russian Rabbit

    Russian Rabbit Road Train Member

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    Not exactly sure---will research. i think it's .43cpm if you have 10+ yrs experience and then you get .01cpm mile more every 12 months of service. You also get .01 cpm more for ALL miles, if you have hazmat irregardless if you ever haul hazmat.

    So let's say you go in there with 12yrs experience with a hazmat endorsement and have been there 5 yrs.

    .44 + .05 = .49cpm

    Again, not 100% solid on this and we'll research this.

    Also, you get detention after 1 hr. The problem is s/he only gets $9.00/hr. We're not sure if it's higher with more experience.

    The other problem i see with Gordon is not so much the cents per mile but the actual miles you can get per week/per month.
     
    BackIsSore Thanks this.
  11. rachi

    rachi Road Train Member

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    Do they do orientation in the Fontana, ca area for drivers who live in so cal?
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2016
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