Stay away from anderson trucking

Admittedly I don't know how they are now, but I leased and paid for a brand new Century through Anderson back in '99-2004. Not sure if they still offer brand new trucks now, or just older units.

I didn't like everything about them, but they struck me as a scrupulously honest company. I also drove for them about 3 years as a company driver before going the lease/purchase route.

YMMV, I guess.

 

Well, here is my story....
I have been driving for a few years, the last two for Jb Hunt, the first year with JB I made 57k as a company driver and home everyday, last year I grossed $60,264 and home everyday, I decided to get greedy and make more money than what I was making even if I have to go back regional or OTR, I look at 2 local companies here in Hagerstown MD and I also looked at a few lease purchase programs from a few companies. The one that looked the best was the Anderson 1 year lease and a few drivers that I have talked to and the recruiter were talking how easy I would bring home between $1200 and $1500 after all fuel and truck deductions...and here is the story.
On feb 21, 2010 I flew out to Minnesota to start orientation on the 22nd, and stayed at the Days Inn in St. Cloud, that first monday they divided the group of 19 drivers into 2 groups. One group would go for the physical while the other group went out and pick their trucks. I was on the second group that pick trucks second. The way you pick your truck is that they give you a list of available trucks with their mileage and their weekly paymentss and where they were located, 2 of them were in the yard and the rest of them, were through St. Cloud and at the Gary, Indiana terminal. They will show you a Volvo, a 387 Pete and a Columbia. Payments were between 350wk to 470wk. You will pick according in the order that you were clear to come in for orientation. I was the unlucky one(u will see later) and had the first pick. I picked the 2007 Volvo that they were showing because it was the one with the lowest mileage (317000) and it was black. Once you have your pick they will take the trucks to the different shops and/or dealers in the area to get them ready for you and you will go on to class and meet your driver manager, and learn or sort of stuff about being an owner/lease operator, you will be in class until almost 8pm that first day. the breakfast is free at the hotel, ATS will give you vouchers for lunch and $20 cash for dinner.

The second day you will continue classroom and you will go thru the "Hours of Service" class with Kim and willl take a test, if you fail your test you will have 1 more chance to pass it, and if you dont, you WILL GO HOME, it happens to two drivers that have more than 50 yrs experience between the two of them.

The third day you will get more classroom and will sign your 27 pages lease agreement.

The fourth day, this is the day of judgement for those that didnt passed the first "Hours of Service test", you will get a review and re-take the test and if you fail, then, BYE!! For those who made it, will get their Fuel card and ATS ID, also, you will find out whether your truck is ready or not and for those whos truck is in Gary, you will depart in a rental van. Of all the trucks, there was only 1 truck ready to go. Mine was ready at 3pm on Friday the 26th....

 

Now, because I am a Northeast driver, there was no trailer available to pick a load out of Minnesota to return to the east coast so my driver manager paid me 90cpm to bobtail to bridgewater nj to pick up a relay to deliver 15 miles down the road in Edison NJ, during the first week, I tell you, I loved it because my DM drove my ### off, the way I like to drive, on friday march 5th I picked up a load from Chesapeake va to deliver monday morning on the 8th in Mansfield Ma...THIS is when the true colors of ATS started to come out. I drove up sunday and I took my 10 hours break at the receiver that way I was ready for another load in the morning...were, I sat there for a good 3 to 4 hours to deadhead to NYC (180 miles deadhead) to pick up a load that deliver 46 miles away that was a hot load and I had to follow an specific route whcih cost me $90 in tolls (ATS reimbursed me for only $30)...BTW ATS doesnt have EASY PASS. And everytime I was sent to the northeast, i was told that I would have a preplan but never happened..During this week and after getting reimbursed for $110 in tolls I only made $888 (including toll reimbursement).

I told my manager that I was not going to drive for them and be gone all week for less than $900, that I could do that with a local company here in my hometown and be home every other day.

This week came in, and by Wednesday morning I only had 3 completed loads and the VOLVO that was so nice and in very good mechanical conditions decided to break down right after my 10 hours in front of my receiver from the prior day, it was towed to the Volvo dealership on wednesday and as of today still there up in Manchester NH, I flew home to MD last night and will fly back on monday morning to pick it up.
last monday out of no where I received tow phone calls from the two companies here in Hagerstown interested in my services, even JB Hunt said that they will welcome me bak to the company but I will pick one of the two local companies, so I will drive 2 more weeks for ATS and return the truck and tell them to stick it where the sun dont shine, today I called the lease manager to see if he can deffer one payment so I can have a paycheck next week, his answer was that the truck payment comes first and that if I get no pay, then that was on me not him........

THE BOTTOM LINE IS TO STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY and every comapny with a lease out there, it is easier to save money and buy a truck than to lease one from any of thiese companies.

 

Ok, So you are leasing a trk. correct?

That's like leasing a house or apartment.

You owe money on a service you signed up for.

Let's say you want to move and then you ask the leasing agent. Gee I want to move and I do not want to pay you for living in the house for the last two weeks.
You owe the money. Period...

Good luck in your new job.

 

i am writing this not to rub your nose in it but hopefully to help someone sitting on the fence about leasing a truck from a trucking company. DO NOT DO IT.they control your every move. they come first. you, somewhere after grease. good luck in your next job.

 

Correct, but the good thing, I am not obligated to stay a year...i can walkout of it anytime...And I am about to, if it doesnt get any better this week, this morning the Volvo delearship contacted me and said that the truck was done as far as getting the injectors boots replaced with new ones, but the truck still have some codes that were there since december of last year, it is obviously to me that ATS gave me a freaking used lemon and dont want to be responsible for their screw up.

But thats okay, with the new company that I will go, have been in business since the 50s and only have 10 trucks, I will be doing both van and flatbed loads.

 

Ok, I understand not tied in for 1 year.
Question for you. I'm sure but did they offer a 30 day warrenty on it or has that passed up allready?

I was thinking at one time they had a 30 day warrenty on the lease units.

Also I only posted about oweing money on trk. if you were using such unit at the time.

Like I rent a car for 5 days and then never use it, Sits at the hotel.

I still have to pay the rental on it due to the fact I had it and not turned it in.

Hope things work in the new job.

Also if you do not take the trk. back they will bang you big time for having to go get the trk. and take it back to Gary or St. Cloud.

Not sure about returning it back to the Bridgewater yard.

 

The repairs ar covered by the 30 days bumper to bumper, and I will be requesting a load to Minnesota 1 week b4 I start on the new job, I will never abandon a truck, I dont care what are the circunstances.

After doing the math, about how much I will make after the truckk takes his share, I will only make 26.5 % of the truck revenue...I rather take 23% revenue and be home thru the week and on weekends and make between $950 - $1300 a wk. with the other company

 

Well glad to hear the repairs are covered.

Still won't help with lose of reveune though..

That bites.
Again I hope all works out with new job

 

BS. Double BS.

I've been driving for 22 years. I leased on with ATS at the beginning of May, and it has been the best experience in my driving career.

You HAVE to be smart about what you do. You wanna be home every weekend? Get out of trucking OTR. You want a rolling mobile home? Whatever.

I took a 2006 Volvo mid-roof 43" sleeper for 200 bucks a week. She drives great...great fuel mileage, and she's light. Which means when I get that 44000 lb load I still don't have to worry about anything but eyeballing the load for sliding.

You want miles? Miles are great but revenue is better. I make more on less than 2500 miles a week than most of you putting on a lot more.

Post expenses pre-tax I average 1100-1500 a week. And that DOESN'T include the couple hundred bucks a week I drop into the kitty for reserve.

You want to drive, call ATS. Pad-Wrap division is where it's at. Make Jay your dispatcher and you're golden.

You want all the comforts of home? Stay home.