Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

WHAT RETRAINING WE HAVE SEEN NO EVIDENCE OF THIS, THEY NEED TO HAVE THE DM'S AND THE PLANNERS TAKE THE OWNER OPERATORS COURSE THEY WANT YOU TO TAKE, THE CABS COURSE IS GREAT IF CENTRAL WOULD JUST LET YOU DO IT. IT IS GREAT ADVICE FOR RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS. TRUTH BE TOLD L/O ARE NOTHING MORE THAN GLORIFIED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE PAYING CENTRALS BILLS.

 

MAYBE ONE OF THESE EARTHQUAKES WILL HIT CENTRAL AND SUCK IT WAY DOWN IN THE GROUND, YA THINK?

 

I never said i thought i was gonna be any different than anyone else. I am just gonna stick out and make the best i can of it.

 

You do if you're 20mi from your 02 and deliver the next morning and it's one of the better lounges you've seen with a 42in LCD!

 

Q: how long does it take to unload 43 cases # us cold storage in tracy, ca?

A: 5+ hours w/ no detention because it's os&d and I had no appt when load was assigned to me.

I should have been home last night!

 

Central was never a great company. But they were allot better than they are now (from what I see in the forums).
When I was there I had a really good dispatcher out of Conley till I went on Kraft. She ran the heck out of me, but I did it legal. Always 3200+ miles a week.
Any load that I did not think I could do, when looking at the preplan, I would shoot back a message that I thought I would be late, and when I would be able to deliver. This was before ever accepting the load. I would not accept it until they told me to go ahead and take it and deliver when I could.
This happened fairly often when I was full OTR with them, and when I was on Kraft (before getting a set run).
All communication was on Qualcom. My dispatchers and me used it to cover our assets.
I was with Central over a year and a half, and I never had a late load.
Several were delivered after the original delivery time, but when I could get it to the receiver was known before I accepted the load, and I was never blamed for it.

I made pretty good money at Central. I was treated well by my dispatchers.
Night and weekend dispatch was a totally different animal. These guys and gals should all have been forced to keep there helmets on even after school.
That way people would know their Level of mental ability. Maybe then they would not be working in an industry that they do not have the capacity to understand.

Truck maintenance when I was at Central was rather poor.
Most of the "mechanics" they had were useless. They had one really good Volvo mechanic in Irvine, but they let him go.
Other than that none knew anything about engines.
Lucky for me, after I was on a dedicated run I was never near a terminal. So all maintenance and breakdown issues were fixed at dealers on the road. Quickly and correctly.

The idle/ fuel thing is a joke. They started that while I was still with the company. It was fall and into winter, so was no issue at the time. I had a bunk heater, and would use Icon on engine management mode. So 0% idle all winter. Got my bonus every month.
In summer it was harder to get the bonus, but since I ran Avon NY to Independence Missouri, it was not exactly the hottest states. I kept idle down by using all cab curtains every time I stopped to hold in my temps. Kept bunk curtains closed when driving, that way I could set the temp in there to an extreme. Hot or cold, depending on the season. And it would get the mattress that temp, and would hold it for quite a while when parked.
Park in the sun when cold, in the shade when hot. Or at the least facing the sun when cold and away from the sun when hot.
All little things, but helpful.

 

On another note...
<stirring pot>
I just pulled my pay statement for this payday. 2650 paid miles. That was the slowest week I've had over the past 4. So then I asked my old trainer during our weekly whatsup call, he had 3100 paid mi w/o a trainee. We do not have the same FM. So what I get from the thread is that we're the only ones moving freight?
</stirring pot>

 

Freight should be up.
The ammt moving right now is high, and capacity is down.
We are barely keeping up at my company. (if we even are keeping up).
Even if you are a shippers #4 go to carrier, due to late loads etc, they are giving even them all they can handle right now.
Not enough trucks for the freight right now.
This is at least the case in the East.

 

Sitting on the Mass Pike today.
I have been up against my 70 for several days, and pushing my 14 allot as well lol.
Good miles though, now they are working me down to Columbus OH, then up to home for a day or two so I can get a reset.
Not use to needing my recap anymore. Much prefer to run my butt off for 5-6 days, then reset at home. But the freight has to move.

 

Well from what I have learned today I'm as confused as ever as to which route to take, lol. I talked with Western Pacific today and the cost of the school is $5000. So if I go that route I have my CDL and then get hired by some company with 5K in debt. Another option is to bite the bullet and go with Central and can start there in a couple weeks. Private school is 4 weeks, then wait to get on with someone, do their training etc. Central goes two weeks and four weeks with a trainer and a 12 month commitment.

It looks to me if I go with Central and for some reason can't make things work (based on all the bad I've seen on here) the worst that I end up with is a CDL and only 3K in debt that I would have to repay them. So I'm still up in the air. The companies that the school suggested as first companies were Swift and Werner which seem to have a worse rep than Central.

I'm beginning to think that no matter which way you go, that first year is going to be challenging which is part of earning your stripes so to speak anytime you switch careers and start over. A big concern of mine is getting good training with an experienced driver for those 28 days. Those are the days you are going to really learn the ropes.