CRETE - A Year in Review

I think we need a support group.

 

ET, Thank you for all the posts you have made here, I have taken notes on how to maximize my miles each week. My average is still not as good as yours but still not bad for this economy. I have been getting between 2600 to 3200 miles per week all summer. The most important thing I have learned from you is to be creative. For example I got this crappy 3 stop 600 mile load with 3 days on it, it was a drop and hook pick up in the afternoon so I busted it to pick it up and to get as close to the first stop as possible before shutting down. The next morning after the 10 hr break I made to the first stop at 10 a.m. a day early, this stop only had 10 boxes so it was not a problem for them to get me unloaded. The problem was at the second stop because they were getting the majority of the load and they unload it by hand. I got there around noon and checked in at the dock, and sure enough the guy was very hesitant, so to sweeten the deal for him I offered him a case of cereal if he could unload me that day. I ended up with a couple cases of so called damged product that a customer rejected a couple weeks earlier. He then called the front office and got the ok to back me into the dock. They got the trailer unloaded in time for me to make it to the final stop that evening. The next morning the last stop had no problem with unloading their part of the load a day early. By getting rid of this load a day early I was able to pick up an extra 500 miles. So ET if we ever meet up I owe you a steak dinner and not one of those TA steaks.
I was put into one of those new Prostars last week and it is nice. One thing I really like about it is the qualcom talks to you, so when driving down the road and a message comes in all you do is push a button and it reads the message to you. No more looking for a place to pull over only to find out someone has a truck for sale.

 

If my wife didn't blow her knee and hip out at work we would be trucking with Crete thanks to Evertruckerr! I promised him lunch or dinner if he's ever up my way just because I enjoy reading his posts so much. I live vicariously through you guys, you know. I loved OTR and, if circumstances permitted, I'd be out there with ya!

As for your luck in the three drop run, that is awesome! I had a few of those in my day and when it went right, it was fantasic. Running for Panther, we had two drops on a monster run from Mississippi to Los Angeles. The first stop was in Louisiana and they let us drop a day or two early. That allowed me to do a little more sight seeing on the way to LA. I even got to visit the dinosaur place that was in Pee Wee's Big Adventure!

 

Hey Evertruckerr!! Was that you in the Sioux falls area on I90?? Blue truck with a Crete trailor? I am not a driver any more but travel a lot, just wondered. drive safe.

 

Well, it took them nearly 2 weeks, but I did finally get an approval from Crete. That's the good news.The possible bad news is it might not be until November before I could start there. I'm not sure about that though, getting sorta two different stories.

A lady from the safety department called me friday and told me I had been approved. Great! Then I informed her that I graduate from my training school Sept. 4th and take my cdl test on the 15th. She told me that that would be no problem, provided I pass the test on my first try (if not, I'm disqualified) and that after I pass the test I should call her and she could schedule me for training. But the soonest a trainer would be available would be November. She also gave me the number of the recruiter I needed to talk to to answer all my questions. The feeling I got from him is that I could start soon after I pass the test, provided of course I pass it the first time.

Crete has been at the top of my top 3 list for a while now, but now I don't know. I'm a little put off that it took 2 weeks to get approved. All my other pre-hires I got back with in hours. Also, the other two companies on my top 3 list have no problem if I should have a problem passing my test the first time (which I do not anticipate having a problem passing the test, but you never know how things go), and can also get me started the following week. All three are really good companies (although one may be concidered a bad company depending on who you talk to) and I feel I would be happy at any one of them. I have a really tough decision to make in the next week or so. Any opinions?

 

I still don't understand the almost obsessive attraction that people have with this company! As an almost 6 year veteran of this place, I'm telling ya' they're not that different then any other company out there. Except they have slower, more underpowered, less maintained equipment. I recently picked up a 217### trailer(not an old trailer, but not a new one either) that was so rusted, the only thing holding the tail lights in was the heavy layer of paint that use to be on the metal, that had long since rusted away... It didn't rust overnight, so the so-called trailer inspectors had overlooked repairing the decaying p.o.s. trailer for a while - I guess the 'stick it to the next guy' way of doing things doesn't only apply to the drivers, but to the shop's as well.

A word of warning to any Crete's... in contrast to my much earlier posts about the shops I've had good luck at, I retract my praise for the SLC shop. Went in there a few weeks back. Was way overdue for a 'b', my apu needed service, and a list of little things needed some attention(not safety related, just needed attention). After it was done, I pulled back in front of my trailer so I could deliver the next day, and my apu, which was running fine before I took it in for service, wouldn't start. Checked the unit's safety switch, off... Flipped it to 'on', and tried again.... no go. Back in the shop. Turns out, they had accidentally bent the contacts on the back of the switch when they changed the oil filter making the control unit think the switch was off. But, while it was in there, they decided 'lets screw up more stuff'(I'm only guessing about the discussion, enough was screwed up on my truck, I find it hard to believe that it all got screwed up accidentally). While they had all the cover panels off the apu, they decided to change the idler pulley, but had to wait until morning to get one. It wasn't making any noise or vibrations that I could see or hear, but they seemed to think it needed it. Then, while my truck was being held hostage, they decided to put new steer tires, and a front end alignment while it was sitting there. Funny, the 'B service' tech didn't seem to think it needed it, I didn't think it needed it when I 1st brought it in. I guess I drove the front tires off of it while driving across the yard and back. After it was all done, I made my delivery, and the next load was Ogden, to 3 stops south of Ontario, CA. Enroute, at my 1st pit stop on the way down to S-Cali (a couple hundred miles of driving later), I hit the brakes like normal to exit the interstate, and the steering wheel almost shook out of my hands. It didn't vibrate under normal slowing, but when hitting the brakes enough to slow for a ramp, or for traffic, it was worse than any 4-wheeler I've ever driven with bad brake rotors(you don't use much front brake pressure unless you're applying moderate pressure to stop or quickly slow so that the single steer tires don't lock - or trip the antilock-). Plus after SLC replace the pulley on my APU, I turned on the APU in the 100+ temps of Vegas, the belt on the APU would squeal on initial startup of the A/C compressor. They had me stop in Las Vegas to have it checked. Turns out, the lug-nut of a mechanic lowered the thing without having the lugs tight enough, and bent the alignment tabs on the hubs. The hubs need replaced. The bad news, hubs are on national back-order, and would be weeks before parts were available. Crete's instructions, center the wheels as good as they could and I was to proceed with my delivery, and to get it through the next company shop to see if they had parts for it. After all, the wheels wouldn't fall off, it would just be a pain to drive in traffic - like say, around L.A.) Next stop, Wilmer. Wilmer didn't agree with the bent hub theory, they said it was an out of round brake drum, and the moron's(my words, not Wilmer's) in SLC put my new steer tires on 'backwards' (directional tires should only be mounted in the direction of the little arrow that says 'rotation -->' and there is also a little alignment -dot- that is suppose to be placed next to the valve stem, none of which were in the right place) My comment to them, duh, the brake drum will wear out of round if the hub isn't holding the drum perfectly centered, but hey, what do I know, 'I iz gest a stoopid truk dreyever' so what do I know about fixing a truck. They replaced the drum and put a 2nd set of steers (2nd set in 7 days) and sent me on my way. Next load was to Minneapolis...I didn't even make OK before the front end was back to shaking under braking. As I was almost to my delivery, a 4-wheeler hits some recap debris, and threw a 'fist size' piece of rubber at my windshield. I managed to avoid taking it in the drivers windshield, but my passenger side had major crackage and would most likely be tagged by the d.o.t. if I pulled through a scale. I msg'd breakdown about the windshield and the continuing problem with my front end, and they told me to see if dispatch could route me to Lincoln. If they couldn't get my truck fixed(front end problem) then I'd be in a terminal where I could swap out of my truck. Dispatch got me a load to Shelby, IA (30 miles east of Council Bluffs) but wouldn't allow me to head to Lincoln (90 miles) for repairs. It took several hours of arguing and was only resolved when I informed them that if they insisted that I wait for repairs (especially for my windshield) I would proceed to the nearest scale, pull in and have them advise me of the safety issue of my broken windshield... and that I was sure that the resulting fine and tow bill, or service call would be cheaper than a 90 mile deadhead. The next message 'bring it to Lincoln for repairs'. After most of the day in Lincoln, my truck was finished. New windshield, new front brake shoes, and the wheels centered with the 'true center' alignment guides that only the Lincoln shop uses, oh, and the fender damage from May's hit and run accident, repaired. They said that the hubs weren't 'out of spec' even though you can see the ink or whatever they use to mark hubs to check for alignment shows that they're bent. But no matter, it did solve the problem for now...we shall see. But now, after my 10+hr break, I run out of air pressure... Turns out, I now have a pin hole in the airbag on my sleeper.

I had heard that drivers will soon be screened for sleep disorders. I heard this from a driver that had recently been through a safety meeting where they mentioned it. My physical was due in a couple months, and I wasn't looking forward to having to do any sleep study or testing. I'm a husky sized person, and I fit into several categories that trigger a sleep study... The good news in this whole deal, existing drivers aren't being actively tested at this time, only new hires. And they have to do the wellness evaluation as well. Also, Crete is now insisting that you only have your physical done at the clinic or doctors office that your home terminal uses. That way, if you fail, they don't have to ship you home on a bus or in a rental car. And Deland just happened to have an air-bag in stock... It did take them a day and a half to do a 30 minute job, but that is fixed as well... we'll see what happens next, next week---I won't ask what else can go wrong - I don't think I could handle being shown... I'm home after 6 weeks of fun and games.

 

I'm joining crete for the training. I'm sure they're better companies out there

 

That is normal for any FBI job you appley for, I almost took another job after 3 weeks of waiting for repley of many apps i put in, they called me right after i hung up with another company (thank gawd...didnt really want to drive flatbeds) and i did get my full raise this year wich i wasnt exspecting..hit some slow zones this time out and got a few sweet runs too...

 

Thanks for the widerange of posts Crete drivers. I fueled at the truck stop exit 240 on I-65 in Indiana and a couple times there was Crete drivers saying there opti idle was not working. It was winter time and they where not happy freezing in there truck. They were asking on the radio for info on how to get it working, other drivers and myself gave them suggestions, but nothing worked, felt bad for them I just stopped for fuel so I couldn,t put them up for the night,let them sleep in the front seat instead of freezing. My question is that common and if it is working how well does opti idle work. When it,s 5 degrees out does the truck start every 10 minutes? Thanks

 

At 5 degrees, it would usually take several hours to get it to an acceptable temp, then about 10 minutes off, and repeat cycle. Unless it's the new Cornbinders or Cascadias which have better insulation... I have never had the pleasure of driving an insulated truck so on those, not to sure of the cycle time.