DSL Dayton

Hey everybody, this is Rookmon1 chimin' in on the TR about my time with Dart. Been mad busy since I completed my training with a guy in their Nor-east shorthaul last december, working 6 days a week non-stop, but finally will type a report.

I'm a rookie driver: went with Dart above all because the job description i found listed at indeed.com was offering to new drivers a home daily, 1000 bucks a 5-day week (before taxes and deductions): plus i got roots in Minnesota where they're based at. Compared to everything else i was considering at the time, where i'd be out atleast 5 days a week, this was the best choice.

It's running for the big new P&G Dayton Mixing Center, typically doing shuttles back and forth from their Lima manufacturing to Dayton/Vandalia, right next to Dayton Intl Airport: I might get 1 or 2 loads going to customers in Indiana or Kentucky in a week. Dart recently bought into the old Emery terminal on the other side of the airport, and are almost ready to open their maintenance garage there (Dart Safety Lane - DSL), where I imagine many trucks and trailers will be brought there over time, saving a trip to Sellersburg or having to hire outside of the company.

Everything was slow in coming, from the recruiting process to starting with the new dedicated account - they kept me busy for 3 months running Ohio shorthaul - but have eventually lived up to their word: albeit I work 6 days a week (65-70hrs.) now in order to get over that $1000 a week measure - which is not so great - but I am patiently doing my bid and toting my worth, expecting that to improve quick enough.

Another thing I would add in is it is a challenge to make the 3 loads a day within a 12 hour day, under the slipseat arrangement they want us to keep. Many of us drive their CNG trucks which have to be refueled atleast once a day at practically the same place every time, which eats up it's share of time in a week. I see a lot of drivers still getting accustomed to the people-net cpu and other stuff, while many I have talked to about it do not utilize Dart's e-driver website / peoplenet online / and paperwork scanning using the Ufollowit app on a smartphone, which makes things that much quicker and easier....oh, and plug in a keyboard in the USB port in their trucks.

Well, that's enough for now. Peace B.

 

Alright. The maintenance garage is open now, and it seems like all the trailers are good to go, and any maintenance issues with trucks or trailers get addressed pretty quick.

It has not affected me as yet, but i think they are needing more trucks as they get new drivers.

They are in process of improving things at p&g, so we get in and out quicker, and they just increased capacity at the cng fuel station to accommodate multiple trucks better.

Seems like dispatch has been bogged down lately....don't know everything about it, could be that it's no big deal.

 

Another thing, slipseating is bogus (nothing against other drivers, but not all make good partners, either). I wish there was a way to score a truck of your own, seeing how often you wind up driving other trucks, not always being able to use most of your 14, or come back to your truck prepared the way you leave it, which alone would save multiple hours a week.