EKLUND LOGISTICS

Why did they send them back? Can't afford them or too many problems?

 

Just curious what kind of trucks did they get? I mainly see eklund running Volvo but I also have seen a few freightliners. Kriete Volvo (local dealership group in Wisconsin) has a horrible reputation so much so that my company and Roehl both refused to do any business with Volvo anymore.

 

They had a number of units being swapped out at Truck County in Kaukauna last summer. Pro Stars.

On a side note...f*** Kriete, lol

 

When I read that your truck had over 400k on it and was a 2020, I didn't know quite how to respond. They trade trucks out at 350k @ the company I work for. Got my third truck back in October 2023 with 260 miles on the odometer.
Haven't had to scale in over 5 years because my loads are usually between 1k to 8k. The freight is worth nothing, but they pay me handsomely because I'm the senior driver on the account. I was thinking about making a change, but reading threads like these strengthens my appreciate for what I currently have.

 

Are you still there Smurf? Looking at making the switch to ecklund. Thank you!

 

I worked for Ecklund, I do not recommend. Heres why. I started with Elite Carriers. Both companies are very frugal. I jumped ship about a year after Kirk Ecklund bought out Elite Carriers. As far as atmosphere. Ecklund is one of the friendliest companies out there. Like I said, I started with Elite. Here's the low-down. At first there weren't many changes between Elite to Ecklund. At first. But then a pattern started developing of pinching every penny they could. As was mentioned before there is no prepass, also, you are required to avoid most toll roads unless you call in for an approved PO# the day of using the toll and prior to your wheels hitting that toll. Otherwise, driver eats the toll and it will be deducted from your pay. Anything you buy extra for the truck must be approved prior (as of 2025) and receipts must be scanned or driver eats the cost. This is for company drivers mind you. I was Midwest regional ONLY with Elite. After driving for another company prior to Elite for over 5yrs and doing nothing but Northeast. I had an understanding with Elite that NO NE period. I also signed on for 2 weeks out 3 days in. With Ecklund, they constantly pushed that boundary. The equipment is old and very very basic. No creature comforts at all for your home away from home. Zero. I needed air filters for my sleeper, I was told "bring it into the shop, we can blow it out. We dont have any extra they're too expensive. " say what!? Elite paid miles driven regardless of being loaded or not door to door. Ecklund switched to zip code to zip code. They also use transflo app to scan paperwork. If it does not go through on thier end you will not get paid for those miles. They won't even bother to tell you until you call asking where your pay is. Never had that problem with Elite. One trip about 1300mi took 3 weeks to get paid for after sending the bols 3 times, them claiming they never recieved the scans that I sent. But they never bothered to call and say so. I had to keep calling every week asking where's my pay for this load. With Ecklund afterhour and especially weekend dispatch is virtually non-existent. It takes hours sometimes on the weekends to get through. Just to have the lady that finally answered actually say " sorry I couldn't answer the phone, I was grocery shopping..." What the actual...are you kidding me right now!? Couple all that with having to call almost every week about loads not in my paycheck, being sent to the NE every other week, equipment breaking down all the time, hometime becoming less and less, every excuse under the sun as to why bonuses aren't being paid. They actually withheld my safety bonus for 30days ( before they did away with it) because a tire that fell off another vehicle and ping ponged all over the highway hit and bent one of my drive tire covers. I guess I was supposed to swerve and take traffic out instead of taking the hit?? So then I did a little digging....what I found was that Kirk Ecklund filed bankruptcy on all of his businesses ( including Elite Carriers) except for Ecklund, and at the same time was in trouble for "hiding assests" by trying to transfer ownership of Ecklund to his Son's. Then all the penny pinching started to make sense...
Sometimes its best to abandon a sinking ship before it hits bottom.
If you want a great company that puts all the bells and whistles on your truck, pays top dollar, even provides the driver with a brand new apple iPad with at&t at thier expense so you can watch TV play games or stay in touch with family on your down time, provides FREE video remote mental Healthcare, blue cross/blue shield with 1200 deductible zero co-pay, matching 401, etc. All brand new well maintained equipment. Any extras you need fuel treatment, windows wash, air filters can be gotten from the shop anytime no need to even write down what you took. Will encourage drivers to park in bad weather instead of push. Offering several terminals with great driver amenities. Including refrigerators that are stocked with frozen pizzas and breakfast sandwiches free for drivers....because we deserve to have a hot meal when we are stuck at the terminal. Etc. Look into Stan Koch & Sons.
That is all. Y'all stay safe out there!!

 

Ecklund sounds like a nightmare. I started with Swift when I first got my CDL and I'm hearing a lot of similarities... But at least Swift has prepass, drivewyze, you can use the cat scale app with your fuel card.. getting fluids for your truck, getting filters for your truck, no problem. Built in outlets in trucks for the inverter. I'm not trying to sell people on working for Swift, obviously I'm not working there and I never plan on going back, I'm just saying the bar seems really low at ecklund. The only advantage I see over Swift is the pay per mile.. That's about it.