CRETE - A Year in Review

Hiya folks ..Ive been following this post on and off for a year now and its very informative. So much so that Im probably going to be starting with the company next week. Just the standard check the new hire reference checks and I should be at orientation in Pennsylvania next week.I have about 18 years experience trucking , most being with CFI/ Conway Truckload. I opted out of going back to Conway because of the new forced Canada rules . Although I did concider Conway to be a good company.
So Im going to ask a few questions so that I know what to expect next week.
1. Will I be issued a truck at the oreintation or would I have to go somplace else to get a truck ? Just checking to see how much of my stuff I should bring along to orientation.
2. Does Crete provide us with a single motel room , or do they put 2 strangers in the same room ?
3. I should have ask this question first , but about how many miles a week are you folks getting these days ? And is it still company policy to offer a choice of 3 loads if available ?
4. Is the pay every 2 weeks ? Can it be paid on the comdate card ?
5 Do most of the trucks now have APU's ?

Looking forward to meeting you folks someday hopefully

 

loved that place in weirton, hopefully they got the directions updated as the ones they had when i went there had you pointed directly at that foot bridge across the river instead of looping up and around that hill. my load went over to an aqua net plant (who knew they still make aqua net) in philly and i think i was maybe 50 pounds under gross, thats some heavy stuff.

the day we went in, as i assume they usually do was one of those we need to ship X amount of these skids today and we just load them til we run out. the guy in line after me got one skid. weighed about 5500 pounds the guy doing the loading said. ^%(^&*(&^

md - this mightve changed but ill give you what i got

1. it depends on where your orientation is, usually they have a truck there, but ive seen them rent cars and send guys to get trucks before.

2. seperate rooms every time i stayed in a hotel with them. They did put my trainer and I into a hotel in OKC for 3 days during a breakdown, but we opted to share a room (they gave us a comchek to pay for it and said if we wanted to share the room and use the rest for expenses that was fine as i didnt have any money or my own comdata card, and it left my trainer paying for everything on his cash advances)

3. I have a good friend that works for them (my trainer) and its kind of spotty still, it doesnt help that he lives close to KC and they tend to make him shag a ton of stuff whenever he comes out of the house.

4. Every week, and you can have them put your check on comdata if you prefer it that way.

5. Only the newer truck's have / or are getting apu's.

 

Only one year got apu's... the 1st of the '07 (built and bought in '06 - IE.pre-exhaust filter) The 1st run of '07 Cascadia's and Internationals came with fuel fired heaters and their manufacturer's version of opt-idle. The rest of the Internationals came with a battery powered A/C and a fuel fired water heater that is plumbed into the bunks HVAC ducts. I haven't seen any new Cascadia's up in Lincoln lately... I have heard from other drivers that we stopped buying Freightliners...but it's never been announced officially(which it probably never would be, even if it's true). No big loss, you hear the full spread of like/dislike's from them. I thought that they had better pulling engines than the previous Detroits, but my little Briggs and Stratton powered Century class many times will top a hill faster that the Cascadia's...but only if I have a heavy load. Put a light load, and it won't outpull a horse and buggy...Detroit Series 60...gota love em

As far as the pay, it's a big difference here than CFI/Conway. Here, paperwork -must- be transflowed in(or faxed in at your cost if you can't get to a T'flow location)by Friday 22-2300 Central time in order to get paid on the next weeks check(at least for company drivers, O/O cutoff is on Monday). We are paid weekly, direct deposit, actual paper check to the house, or on your comdata card's personal cash side. And unlike CFI - you aren't paid until you deliver. You're not reimbursed for showers like CFI use to...not sure if they still do it now that Conway is running things. I have friends that worked for them, they said getting paid for a load upon dispatch and getting paid back for showers were kinda nice, and they got use to having only 2 paychecks a month. Here, payday is Thursday(direct deposits were ready at 8am Eastern) I had to bail on the direct deposit for now -personal reasons- not sure if it's still the same or not.

 

As far as my good luck... It has taken a bit of a brief intermission, and can't be blamed on anything with Crete. ET - I left it for your luck in Tifton...better hurry and pick it up before someone else claims it.

Enroute to my NC delivery last week, my right knee started feeling someone hit it with a hammer. Thinking I bumped it somewhere I didn't get to worried, until the next day when getting up and down the steps of the truck, and getting in and out of the trailer to strap or sweep got challenging. The following day, I couldn't flex my knee on it's own. It would flex if I helped it with my other foot, or with my hand...but on it's own it wouldn't do it. When I was down with MRSA last year I was on an antibiotic that has since been black labeled by the FDA for causing tendon problems. Thinking that this is a possible issue...I asked to be routed home ASAP. I ended up getting home on Sunday, and to my doctor Monday... He is just a general MD and didn't have the equipment to inspect the inside of my knee, so he sent me to a Orthopedic specialist... By the time I got there, I was feeling some better, but couldn't climb steps normally or get in or out of my truck like normal so I went to see him. Turns out that there is still occurrences of Gout.... Said I was suffering from a Gout flair up and gave me some steroids to help ease the inflammation, and if it flairs up again, to come back. Sometimes it's triggered by a certain food, or just pops up...Sometimes you have it attack once and never have it again, or it could be a regular problem and if it becomes a regular event, I'd have to start taking something that helps my body deal with it. (Gout is categorized as a form of arthritis, caused by your body's inability to breakdown uric acid...and it crystallizes in your joints like bone spurs) It sucks getting old!! But at least it wasn't a torn ligament or tendon... Hope I didn't get myself off of the 'preferred' list..I was enjoying running hard again.

I know what caused it. I was seriously thinking about buying a truck again. I've done that 3 times here. 1st time I tore a muscle in my leg and had to take 2 months off for rehab and teach it how to work again... Last summer, when I was blessed with MRSA and took time off to keep from spreading it to anyone else, and just recently and I developed Gout...Someone is telling me not to try the O/O life again I think...

But the doctor said once the steroids kick in, I will feel like a new man and there is nothing keeping me from doing my job...So, I'll be back out tomorrow...He said I have the knee joints of a much younger man...I guess that's one advantage of sitting behind the wheel for all these years.

 

Good luck SS. Hope you feel better and enjoy the time off.

KH

 

Had to join this site after reading the entertaining posts by you guys, glad to hear you're (mostly) doing well.

Anyone that said good attitude = success at Crete hit the nail on the head. Don't confuse that with butt kissing. I've been with them since 91, and Mr. big dog knows when I call I always have a PROFESSIONAL attitude, and if I don't, which is a rarity, he knows something is screwed up. In other words, don't become the boy that cried wolf.

In regards to miles dropping the higher you get on the pay scale, that's not true. Closer to the truth would be that the individual has been around long enough he/she is beginning to thing they're "Special", and act accordingly. It don't work.

For the noobs that are getting into trucking, it's a tough life. I'm usually out 3 to 4 weeks at a time. I experienced my kids growing up in little spurts, and it takes a pretty special gal to be married to an OTR trucker. If you're in it just for the money you probably won't last long, and if you see me and want to complain about trivial ####, well, I'll probably just smile and walk away, I don't encourage anyone's bad attitudes out here, even my friends. (Yes I've probably heard the same story more than a few times from other drivers.)

These Crete drivers have given you good information (most of the time,) but it's all up to you if you're going to be happy out here for years on end running 3-4-5-6-700 mile days, day after day after day. (Yeah I'm burnt out but it's still better than working for a living).

It's been a pleasure, call me Zero... I'm 10-10

 

Ok a little update on my hiring debacle here at Crete . First off , im not complaining < 90 percent of people dont care to hear you complain , and the other 10 percent are glad your having problems >
The issue here is that they want me to go to work for Shaffer Trucking instead of Crete . This all stems from where I live..Crete isint currently hiring drivers from West Virginia .. If your familair with the area where I70 and I68 spit up in Hancock Maryland then you see my delima. Standing here you are within 2 miles of being in 3 different states Maryland , Pennsylvania , West Virginia .
Just recently I bought a house just accross the Potomac River in Berkeley Springs WV. Which happens to be 2 miles from the Crete hiring area in Hancock MD. Because of these 2 miles Crete is wanting me to work for Shaffer Trucking and try to transfer to Crete at a later date. After reading some of the forum blogs here about Shaffer and Crete , it seems that Crete is the lesser of the 2 evils to work for. Now im not one to complain about stuff like what color truck im driving , where im driving , how fast im going etc... What I do seem to complain about is what my paycheck is on Friday ... Hell ide drive my x mother-in-law around the country in an orange schnieder truck if I was making decent money !! And it seems the Crete drivers are getting more miles than Shaffer from the forum post im reading. So im thinking if all im offered is Shaffer ill seriously have to concider going back to Conway Truckload. Again im not complaining, im thankful that I do have choices as most in this country these days cant find employment. Im just venting < collecting unemployment for the last 3 months and eager to get back on the road>
So if any of you can comment on this and give me a little advise on these 2 companies ide appreiciate it.
Also does Shaffer or Crete allow 1500 watt power inverters in the trucks ? I microwave alot of food on the road and this could also be a " make or break " deal with who I go with.

 

Reefer=Food Warehouses..........No thanks........Just anudder opinion !!!!!

 

OK ill quit boring you folks with this lol...Just got my call from Crete and Im starting orientaion Monday with Crete in New Kingston .. If a few of you Crete drivers wouldnt mind emailing me what sort of miles youve gotten in the last few weeks. We dont have to clutter up this thread, you can email me the information to mdtruker@yahoo.com. Looking forward to meeting you folks on the road

Cant believe im saying this..But im soooooooooooooo looking forward to getting back on the road .

 

All i ever pulled was reefers...did have a few crete loads in CA. they made me do..was kinda nice not filling the reefer and the box is so much lighter...but im greedy...i want my penny...lol