CRETE - A Year in Review

no hazmat placards needed. Someone does not know haz mat.

 

That was either a question on the state, or school test. I'll get back to you on this.

 

I've got one of the ProStar's - a lovely shade of "Dodger Blue", which bothers me to no end as I'm a loyal member of "Cardinal Nation", but, c'est la vie.

I store my hanging clothes in the lower hanging compartment, and use the upper one for storage, only because it's easier to put shelves in the upper one. I was thinking about having some plywood cut for the upper compartment so I could have more area, but then I found a great solution.

Wal-Mart sells these little plastic containers that look like little milk crates. They're clear plastic, and designed to hold CD's/DVD's. They're sturdy, and have little tabs on them so you can stack them. Two of them placed side-by-side will just fit into the grooves where you'd put a shelf in the upper compartment, and they'll slide fore and aft.

Two on the top, and two in the middle, and for $4.00 total, you've got 4 adjustable sliding storage bins in your ProStar!

Now if I can only figure out a way to bypass the Meritor CSS system, I'll be orgasmic with delight!

 

Hey y'all,
I'm a former Crete-ture.. I left at the end of July last year to take an offer which was supposed to be a better deal for me, but stupid is as stupid does and the decision to change jobs in the middle of a recession came 'round to bite me in #####.. The guy making the offer turned out to be a flake.. Tried to find local work, but there is just too much competition and I am not having ANY luck.. Lack of overall experience and certain other issues like the fact that companies don't currently get any incentive for hiring a guy like me (if you know what I mean)..
So I'm lookin' at comin' back.. I left on good terms, so I think I'll have a good chance, but just wanted to get an idea of the current environment.. Can any of y'all tell me, is Crete still hiring, and has the freight situation gotten any better? I was gonna call in Monday, but I figured I'd ask here first.. Thanks

 

Miles have picked up for me. 2500-3400 p/w

 

Hey thanks for that info JD.. That's a hell of lot better than the 1500 to 2000 I was getting when I was there.. 'Course based on Evertruckers "MO" I might have fared better by trying to the work the system a little more.. It's just a shame that so much effort has to be expended to be able to get consistent productive runs.. Still the best OTR company out there as far as I'm concerned.. Heard anything about continued hiring?

 

Miles are getting better - I left the house on January 4th. and managed to run 11,600 for the month.

The miles are there, but you've got to keep on Ops to stay productive! They've instituted a new computer program that supposedly matches up the truck to the most appropriate load - but it doesn't seem to understand that 250 miles in 2 days is not productive!

Load select is pretty much history - once in awhile you may get a choice of loads, but it's very rare.

 

Hey evertruckerr,kudos to your thread. Ever consider being a journalist? Oh, I guess you are one. I hope your recruiting department is throwing you a steak dinner now and then. Seriously... no offense intended. I've got a question for ya. I've been a LTL driver for awhile now and I'm getting that itch to get back out there again (gosh darn that itch!) I've been doing alot of research lately on OTR companies and was hoping I could get it straight from the horses mouth. Does Crete offer any vacation/holiday benefits for their drivers? I couldn't find any on their website and I'd rather not talk to a recruiter since they historically have a problem of making uhhhhhhh mistakes.(no pun intended if there is one???)

 

i just noticed on the Crete website there is no longer info regarding owner/op recruiting or pay. Are they no longer leasing owner ops?

 

I spoke with recruiting last month, and was told they had no plans to hire O/Os for the forseeable future. They needed to fill their own trucks, and with the low freight volume had no need for the extra truck capacity via O/Os. It's getting to the point that if you want to be an O/O you will have to do a lease purchase inorder to get hired. I would not recomend that to anyone.

Boy am I glad I'm already an O/O at Crete. I've contacted many companies trying to find better home time without hurting my ability to generate revenue.....I'm still here. Either they can get me home, but don't pay well enough, or they pay good enough, but can't get me home unless I live in Dallas or Houston. Even all O/O (no company drivers) companies aren't paying any better, and some can't come close to matching the discounts that Crete offers it's O/Os. They may be able to gross more than me, but our net incomes are very close, and with the low freigt rates my net is usually better. I've got a freind on the Schneider Choice Program for their O/Os and is not doing as well as I am.