Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

Hey Donnie I'll be back in class on friday thank goodness we got everything taken care of and everyone is ok. I was made to promise to go back and not come back until I was done by the person we all thought as going to die. Hope everything is going well.

 

had the perfect drop n' hook today # campbell's in Paris, TX. The guard explained where i should drop my trailer and he said to put it with the MTs. WTF?!?! its not MT. so I go to the shack to give them my paperwork and get paperwork for my nxt load. the Yard dog said to park the trl i brought toward the back row, if cant park it there then follow the TRLs around the yard until i find a spot. and use the MT yard as last resort. So I drive around looking for a spot and I see a bunch of central TRLs and a spot between them. So I back it in and drop it there. So I look at the BOLs and get my new trl # Just so happens to be the one i parked next to! Didnt have to go driving around for 15 minutes looking for my TRL. I was there for 20 minutes total.

Usually my Drop n Hooks have some kind of ordeal with them wether stuck in snow/ice. TRL broken, not loaded when supposed to etc.

 

I am glad I don't have the old Central drop and hook ordeals anymore.
There is only like a 5% chance of hooking a bad trailer at my company, the maintenance is great. Plus close to 70% of our freight is drop and hook.
So in and out most times, even at Wally world.
Almost all loads are drop and hook on the pickup, the delivery's are where I sometimes sit. Lucky for me I normally do not get more than 1 grocery warehouse a week.
Jealous yet? LOL

Oh 1Bad. I totally forgot the other day, I was thinking about other things.
Good luck with the new gig. I hope they plan to keep you around after the snow damage cars are done. I think it is great you are back to a job you love.
A craftsman has a totally different mindset than a truck driver. Sure a craftsman can drive, but it will never be a passion.

 

ChromeDome,

I know that you worked for Central and now with another company. I know your new company , saw u on another thread, and my plan is to go with Central then go with your new company. Just wanted to know if you would recommend that path?

Thanks

 

yes bastid! I forgot to mention the TRL that had the bent landing gear crank? Took me 20 min to get the landing gear up because the bolt that part of the crank is was bent and kept slipping after every full turn. I made sure I had my next loaded trl and left the shipper before I told OTRM. I KNOW they would have had me take it to the Utility Trl dealer to get it fixed. I already did that twice last week with 2 other trls in Marshall, MO.

 

I had a loaded central trailer one day with a broken cross shaft.
I had to have the yard dog pick it up so I could lower the right side and make it so that when I got under it the landing gear was off the ground.
Then I went to 8 places looking for a new cross bar so I would be able to drop it at the other end.

Heartland is not as bad as some.
Home time is ok, off a few weekends a month.
Pay is better than most.
They are not long haul, allot of short trips 250-500 miles. But I normally never wait for my next load.
Miles average around 2000-2500, they say 2200 which is pretty close.
I like that I am not stuck out on the road all the time. Also I am pretty sure pay and miles will start to go up more this year, allready leaning that way.

 

HAHAHA that sounds like one of the TRLs i took to get fixed last week. One of the gears in the gear box was stripped and there was a 5 difference between the left and right side. They DID pay me an extra $100 to take the 2 TRLs to get fixed though. Thermo king was about 20 miles away and Utility was about 30.

Miles are ok for me here # central. the last 2 weeks i have been getting about 2500-2700 miles. My former DM kept me preset with 1 or 2 loads after the current load. My new DM sometimes has me preset with 1 after my current load. Alot of the time I have to ask him for available loads in the area.

 

The differance is....
I can get 2500 miles in a week and be home the weekends on eather side.
No it does not happen every week. Allot of the time it is 2200 or so in 5 days. And the pay is probibly at least slightly better.
Central was ok to me, espically while on Kraft. I got really good miles on Kraft and the 40 cpm. I am not making that money here. But not many are getting those miles and money on Kraft anymore at Central.
So things change with time. I am not taking home 1000 a week like I was at Central. I wish I was, my wife really wishes I was. But the money is ok, and I am not ran ragged.
Much less stress.

 

Thanks for the insight ChromeDome and mikley28. It's been a few years since I have been on the road and looking forward to it again.

By the way does Central have any hazmat loads?
Thanks

 

nope. no hazmat