My Daily Experience With Crete Carriers

Part 2

My truck. 2018 International LT. 264k when I picked it up. Leather seats, (Pros n Cons) plenty of storage, Doggy on the low end but pulled hills like a champ. She was good to me till the end..

In august on my way through WV headed to KY I was pulling a paper load through the hills and noticed the transmission act up. Seemed more like a computer shifting Tourette episode. At the top I pulled over and checked everything while taking a 30. For what I could see it was fine. Got back in and it was normal the rest of the trip. The following week doing the same run it acted up again but this time it seemed like it was slipping as well as sometimes not knowing exactly what gear it wanted. (9th or 10th) after the delivery and on the way to the terminal it was fine. Had the shop look at it and they thought it was the CMS out of line. It was ok for a week then it started again. Off and on. No real rhyme or reason as to why this time. Well 1st week of September she gave up. Got ready to head out on a Friday to get my load home and it was locked in gear. Tried everything and it was a no go. Towed to the terminal and my 1st breakdown with Crete had started.
They shop couldn’t get it in till that Monday and they were assuming it was going to be headed to the dealer and figured it would be there for at least 2 weeks. Now I could have sat around in a hotel in PA for a few days earning $100 a day or whatever it is for breakdown but I kind of enjoy my home time and the 100 projects I have going on. So I rented a car and went home as we all decided that we will deal with finding me a loaner or replacement on Monday. Long story short…lol…. I recovered a 2020 Freightliner which, after picking up I had a list of 10 things it needed. So they found me another Freightliner fresh out of the shop and recon. 2018. It was going to be a loaner till mine was done but after a few weeks of weighing out the pros and cons I decided to keep it.

 

Part 3

Looking at the sliding PayScale at first looks ok but as the weeks roll on and you run different lanes, some long, some short, some mixed and you compare the pay vs the weeks you generally make the same doing 2-3 long runs vs. 7-8 short-medium runs. I had some weeks I did 3 long loads and did well. I’ve also done 7 Drop n Hooks in 1 day coupled with several other short loads for the week and made the same. More problems arise as you have more loads. And I’ve got to tell ya… OH & IN are great to drive through after coming out of New England.

Crete just increased our pay as well. .01c a mile for all miles run and an extra .01c a mile for the 4th quarter bonus.
And as I was writing this we are getting another .02c per mile increase (freight surge) indefinitely, they are also adding another .01c per mile to our 1st quarter safety bonus making it .04c. and a $12 Million profit sharing payout equal to about .03c per mile for all 2020 miles. I do believe the profit sharing goes to your 401k.

 

Haha I just received my statement in the mail last week and saw my balance for the 1st time.

 

Safety points and a write up..

Back in April I was delivering to a customer in VA during a windstorm. 30+ MPH gusts. Once unloaded I went to pull away from the dock and heard a noise. I get out and look. The right trailer door is sitting on the ground. Dumbfounded I look around like, WTH. My only guess was that the door wasn’t locked good enough and a gust came through as I was pulling out.
I call Crete, Get the door fixed and the following week ended up with a safety point. After dealing with a few more trailers I realize that some of the door holding locks are bent and not able to hold the door. Whatever it’s only a safety point.

I take my truck home during the summer and fall. 1/8 of my road and driveway are dirt so the other months are out. For about a month I had the same routine. Where my driveway meets the road it is uneven. I backed in a little different this time causing the tires to lose traction. I move slightly forward and try to back again. Nope not moving. After about 30 mins of trying everything I could think of I had 2 options left. Possibly Pay $600+ to get towed or turn sharp left and scratch the cheaply made plastic bumper. I chose the 2nd option. I overestimated the strength of the bumper. The right piece broke off. Ehhhh.

I get it out and parked, evaluate the situation and start looking up the price of a new piece. It was a Saturday and I had to hit the road Monday morning. Oh well I’ll call the shop tomorrow and my AM and get it fixed. BAD Idea. I had to call safety and report it. 1 point plus 5 points for not reporting within 24 hours and a write up as well.

 

The end of this chapter in life.

I've been MIA. A lot happened after my last posts. I've been searching for the needle in the haystack for my next step and found it. Had to jump at it. Self planned, self dispatched, run where I want. % Pay, Company W2 driver still. Most of the rewards without the risks. Try it before you buy it so to speak.
Crete was/is a good company for a mega and if anything were to happen I'd go back. Once you learn your way around the system it's not bad. Pay raises were continuous, they kept me moving ( unless there were no empties) I would and have recommended Crete as a good company from my experience.

I appreciate everyone of you who have read my posts over the last 3 years. I've learned a lot and hopefully helped a few others learn a thing or 2. The written word is dying and I'm not a You Tube Creator kind of guy.

Out for now but I may continue my written path. IDK what do you think?