Great Plains Transport - A company that cares about drivers... NO BS.

I wouldn't say it's on shaky ground, in fact it's gotten better, and most things have smoothed out. it's just been a screwy week for me, a lot of it is out of Gpt's control. Personally I'd choose Gpt, Holland is similar but both are completely separate from each other and likes to push that "hey we got free cable tv in our trucks"deal. This company is actually pretty laid back and doesn't bug the drivers unless something urgent comes up or a driver is royally screwing up(I would assume anyways hehe ). They don't mess with that "driver cam" garbage like 90% of the industry seems to be jumping on. The equipment is probably the best you'll find , they get rid of the old stuff after about 3 years. They have inverters, refrigerator/ freezer, APU, and satellite radios. freightliners have condo sleepers, some are 10 speed gearbox and some are auto's, the Volvo's are also condo sleeper with the lower bunk convertible to a table& seats, and the better stereo system(in my humble opinion ). They run e-logs and very good about running legal.

Basically they require staying out 3-4 weeks since we run all 48 states, but you get 1day off per week out(I usually stay out anywhere from 4-6 weeks).

One thing about switching to reefer... the good thing is if you like long runs the average trip length is about 1400 miles average. You might do a 1500 miler, then maybe a short run or two if they need to move you to where the good stuff is or you're short on hours, and then turn around and do a 2000+ run. We do carry chains but even after 1.5 years here I haven't had to chain up yet, basically most western states want you to carry them whether you use them or not. Plus if there's a recession there's still a good demand for food products. The bad about reefer is you might see really funky delivery times and long waits at the docks. I was a dry van runner myself before I came here and found the longer runs more enjoyable.

 

All sounds as pretty much what I'm wanting,only thing worries me is how reefer can be as to loads andunloads taking so long possibly making you late for your next pick up or delivery as I've read so many reefer posts plus having a couple reefer friends as they to share the tales of how F'd up things can be. Myself I'm one who likes to do their job being on time to pick up's and delivery 's and enjoying this industry because I give 110 % to the job so I can enjoy the drive. Of course dryvan...my first gig now has been great,no BS,just get your marching orders and do what's right and your left alone! I merely want the longer runs and if I'm gonna do otr I'd like to venture West and see as many of the 48 that I'm not going to be able to do with my current gig,I knew this up front as this was a stepping stone to see if the lifestyle first was for me,that I believe I can adjust to it,now I want the rest of the experience. Truthfully I'm just nervous the hecticness of reefer could sour my hopes of enjoyment. Thanks for your reply as I've followed you since you started this, as its much appreciated!

 

Regarding the reefer side of trucking. Only believe about half the negativity you hear on these forums about reefer. I've made much more money with reefer than in dry van. But I don't mess with "regional carrier" fleets. Also, stick with meat haulers or dairy/frozen haulers. Avoid regular produce haulers and you'll do okay.

 

Copy that,granted I to want to make a fair wage but it's also VERY important I enjoy the job first! I do know you can't always trust what you hear as I learned in my last local job and now this otr job in that it solely is what you make of it. To be honest and I believe this would be most agreed by other drivers is that I wouldn't be so overly cautious if it wasn't about chasing miles and the hour glass we must adhere to.

 

Only believe half the positive post regarding reefer, it takes a different breed to run reefer and dealing with all the nonsense.... odd hours, long waits, lumpers ect.

 

You'd be equally correct,just seems one has a better chance of seeing more Western states and the 48 with reefer. I guess all one can do is give it a try.

 

I haven't hauled all that much produce, usually frozen stuff, dairy, now and then you might haul some poultry or dry stuff. I very rarely ever see fresh meat loads and I don't miss that too much at all. As for long loading/ unloading times, it can vary greatly, some places will get you in or out quickly, some not so much. One thing I do is if I know I'm going to be stuck at a place overnight and I have time is I'll stop and wash up, and maybe grab bottles of water or whatever else I need. One thing here is the fridge and inverter allow me to stock up on fresh, dry or frozen foods and I have a small microwave to heat food up with. It makes a huge difference and I don't have to worry about getting stuck with nothing to eat.

 

Appreciate your input, these posts surely help one in a BIG decision to make.

 

I should have clarified the "pro-meat hauler" comment. I've had good experience with people who hauled a lot of Cargill and Tyson fresh meats, however they were largely drop-hook at 6 major plants and the d/h makes a huge difference when dealing with meat plants. But there are a number of "meat haulers" that would be good to work for, and plenty more where it would suck to work for.

 

Spoke with Kevin in recruiting yesterday, liked what he said as I kinda hammered him with a list of questions, he didn't seemed bothered understood I was trying to eliminate the "you never told me that" only thing I don't care for is the Fueling at Loves as number one priority. I am with a company now which has a fuel routing when,where,how much. Though I do follow it as we get a bonus for it but sometimes your stopping in truck stops twice or three times in one day depending needing to scale asap then fuel somewhere and then to shutdown. I understand why they do it but on elogs it just is a pain. I'm surprised in reefer they would implement this as you guys have it rougher out there. Kevin did say Ta/Petro as a secondary. Maybe driverless trucks are not so far off as I thought...