Good, Bad & Ugly of Jacko Logistics : Vancouver, WA

My Honest Review of Jacko Logistics (1.5 Months Experience)



I have 15 years of clean driving, only three companies in that entire time, and Jacko was my third. This isn’t a rant or praise piece — just the full truth so drivers can decide for themselves.





THE GOOD



1. Director of Recruiting – Mariah

Excellent customer service. She handles your travel, hotel, and gets you to orientation smoothly.


2. Quick Orientation

About 7 hours long. Lunch is provided and one night in a hotel is covered. Travel light — you will be moving your luggage multiple times.


3. Owners – Nate & David

Genuinely good people. They haven’t driven trucks but they try to empathize with drivers.


4. Pay Accuracy

They don’t play games with pay.

• Short hauls pay $1+ per mile.
• Sick time and benefits seem solid.
• They automatically set aside 1% into retirement unless you opt out.
• My before-tax average was about $1,700/week (running hard with a mix of short loads).

5. Consistent Freight

They use their own customer base (Georgia Pacific, Pepsi, beer companies, etc.), not load boards. Usually you get a load quickly after finishing the last.





THE BAD



1. Hotel Inconvenience

You get only one night. After that, you haul your stuff between hotel → car → office → truck.


2. Orientation Safety Talk

Alex, the safety/maintenance manager, gives a long 2-hour lecture despite never driving or repairing a truck. He talks about firing drivers and expects strict compliance.


3. Basic Lunch

A Subway sandwich. That’s it.


4. Road Test Timing

You take the driving test the day after you’re technically hired.


5. Terminal Conditions

Terminal is a shared lot with a small portable office, an open-air shop, and one porta-potty. Office bathrooms are not for drivers.


6. Dispatch Variability

DMs are hit or miss. Many are new because the company is growing fast. You must watch your own HOS — dispatch may not catch issues.


7. Mileage Pay Reality

Most drivers start around $0.63–$0.65 CPM regardless of years of experience unless you prove you’re staying out for long periods and running hard.


8. Weekly Miles Expectation

They may talk 3,000+ miles weekly, but reality is different.

• I averaged about 2,800 running hard.
• $1,700/week before taxes is realistic for a hard runner.
• If you like truck stop dinners and relaxed pace, expect ~$1,200–$1,400.

9. Drop & Hook Percentage

Maybe 30%, not “mostly” drop/hook. Majority are live loads/unloads, but most customers get you out within 2 hours. Detention after 2 hours is paid.


10. Restricted Fueling

You can fuel only at certain Pilot/Flying J locations and sometimes in very specific gallon amounts on Alex’s instructions. This often leads to:

• Wasted time in fuel lines
• Multiple fuel stops per day
• Difficulty planning showers and parking

11. App/Tech Overload

Too many apps and steps for basic tasks. Even tech-savvy drivers get frustrated.


12. Chains Required

You must carry and install chains as needed.


13. Truck Quality is Luck

You might get a newer unit or a beat-up end-of-lease truck. It’s random.


14. Cameras

Currently only road-facing. Driver-facing cameras are said to be coming soon.


15. Hometime Strictness

Absolutely no leniency. If you run out of hours slightly before home, expect a 34-hour reset before they allow you to continue.


16. Frequent 34-Hour Restarts

They run you 11 hours daily, so don’t expect to stay on recaps. Weekly resets are almost guaranteed.


17. Breakdown Pay

No breakdown pay unless you agree to switch into another truck somewhere else. Otherwise, you sit in a hotel unpaid.


18. After-Hours Help

After-hours dispatch is basically one person, so expect delays. Safety/breakdown is 24/7 but also slow sometimes due to being understaffed.





THE UGLY



1. Safety Manager’s Attitude

Alex has never driven a truck yet talks down to drivers. He treats minor log violations as major offenses. Very power-driven and rigid.


2. Truck Issues During Orientation

If you get a bad truck (like the one driver whose fender was hanging off), don’t expect sympathy. You’ll be told to “be grateful you were hired.”


3. Denial Culture

Record phone calls with safety/logging. They will deny conversations when issues get escalated to ownership.


4. Personal Conveyance Restrictions

PC is basically unusable.

• If you run out of hours due to traffic or weather, don’t expect PC leniency.
• They may punish you by removing PC entirely.
• Even using a few minutes of PC once a week can be grounds for Alex to pursue termination.

5. Getting Home on PC? No Chance.

If you’re out of hours 20 minutes from home, they will tell you to pull over for a full 34-hour reset rather than use PC. No hotel reimbursement either.





CONCLUSION



I left mainly because of:

• Chaotic dispatch
• Overly restrictive fueling rules
• Too many apps/processes
• And especially the logging/safety department run by Alex

I could have handled everything else, but the unnecessary stress, lack of flexibility, and poor management in safety were deal-breakers. Drivers who run extremely hard, don’t need hometime flexibility, and don’t mind strict micromanagement may do well here — but it wasn’t for me.

 

No western 11 but mainly the 5 corridor

 

I just wanted to be fair because I didn't leave in good standing so I didn't want to make it seem like it's completely bad but the company has a good foundation it's just especially the Safety Dept makes the whole thing not worth the headache

 

That actually was my que to give my 2 week notice just to be professional but they took 4 days more to get me home but I did return their truck to their terminal and got a car rental and went home because in the end I still wanted to be professional

 

yeah I mean it's just way too many restrictions for any professional driver if I was a new driver with three or four years experience because their minimum requirement is two years experience so if I had somewhere around there it would be all right but when you have a ton of experience and you know how to log and you know how to trip plan then all their little micromanagement just throws a wrench into your plans