It's been very quiet in the KLLM forum

KLLM is still the best place to train for newbies..... but be prepared to be harassed to go Lease/Purchase. Most company solo drivers are happy to get 2000 miles. I drive (company) team with my husband and we average 4500 weekly. I laughed when I read your comment Road Toad....I couldn't believe the weekly messages either! HA! one week business is the worst (we have to cut your cpm) two weeks later (wow...business is looking up and its the best we've had in 2 1/2 years)!
Are we stupid?

 

They dont want experience company drivers any more cut my pay, cut my insurance benifits was all aimed at making us become lease operators. I gave my notice and oscar calls wanting to know the problem and i told him I didnt hire on to be a lease operator and could see thru there shenanogenes( thats a big word i know its spelled wrong) but he said i could come back if things dont work out, but at 32cpm what a joke i have 26 years exp

 

Good luck to you Chunky Monkey!
Hope things are better where you are going!
Let us know!

 

sookie thanks for the support i wish yall well at kllm, i hope things turn around. i really believe kllm is made up of good people its just not happening there right now for me.

 

WOW, What a thread, I read every post on every page, Somebody give me an "Atta Boy" or something, I'm really impressed with KLLM I start school in May and hope to have my "prehire" with a few different companies out of the way. I know Prehire" doesn't mean squait but it is nice to see on paper. I don't want to miss anyone who has told their story here about the company, I want to Thank all of you for your honest replies to all of the request for questions answered. Thanks See you down the road. TD.

 

Well, after reading through the entire thread, I think I'm still gonna give KLLM a shot. I have no interest in lease/fleece, but I'm trying to get back into the industry, and it looks like KLLM might let me get my foot in the door. We shall see what we see, I guess.

 

Hmmmm, well first I'm gonna say that truck driving may not be my thing even though I hoped it was. Second, I'm gonna say I don't have enough experience at it to know SQUAT!! 6 months does not COMPARE to SO MANY drivers on the road!!

Now.....I'm gonna say beware and I'm gonna' leave it at that.

I think driving a truck is pretty #### decent way to work....I think working for a trucking COMPANY can be a MOTHERFR! And then again it might be ok with the right company.



Just sayin'

 

anything bad about KLLM you can share?


American Trucker

 

Well Folks, I'm still here. Now that I'm not driving for KLLM anymore, I guess I need to get re-aquainted with the rest of the site again. For the longest time I stayed here in the KLLM area and just left it at that.
OK, so far, driving locally is good for me. I'm driving for Associated Grocers out of Baton Rouge. No it's not the big open road and a big sleeper in a truck stop somewhere. (although at times I kind of miss it) It's a Day Cab, though I'm still in a Freightliner Columbia, just not as tall and roomy. Still hauling alot of 53 foot reefers, but we also have a few 48 footers. (all roll up doors, which I like) I drive Louisiana, Mississippi and East Texas, but I'm home everyday and sleep in my bed at night. It's kind of a funny feeling to drive a truck for several hours and then go home. My day starts anywhere from 2 or 3 AM, but I'm usually back home by 9, 10, or 11 AM. Sometimes I pull a 12 and stay out till 1 or 2 but that is rare and usually only one day a week if at all.

I handle a little bit of freight now, but nothing too strenuous. No stacking or sorting boxes or hand dollies or anything like that. Just moving a few pallets around in the back of a trailer with a pallet jack, or moving them to the end of the trailer for the customer to remove with a forklift on the ground if they don't have a dock. Otherwise, they take it off. I stop at between one and three stores a day, depending on the size of the store and the length of the haul. If I drive 100 to 150 miles out, it's usually there and back. On short days, I may have to bobtail across town and pick up an empty trailer and bring it to the terminal, but that's about it.

The pay is pretty good, steady and weekly, with good benefits. I'm getting to be a better backer. I don't want that to go to my head, because I'm always paranoid when backing. But I'm getting plenty of practice, backing into narrow docks, tight spaces, around corners, etc. Just slow and easy, get out and look, you know the drill. However, for those of you who haven't done it, a day cab is much easier to back. You have a rear window when you have to blindside, and the truck is much more responsive. I overstreered the first few times I was backing in a day cab.
At first I thought I was going to hate it. There seemed like alot to remember, and with the handling of freight, electronic log Cadec system, light paperwork and other stuff to remember, I was a bit overwhelmed, but I think it was mainly my trainer. He was kind of hyper and was one of those that said, just do this and this, and that, but never explained to me what or why I was doing something. But the supervisors and safety guys kind of led me by the hand and explained everything to me. They have some pretty good people in supervision and everything is laid out on the table pretty much, so you understand. Now that I'm on my own, I've kind of figured things out now.

They haven't been hiring in a couple of years, but they are expanding some and hiring several more drivers, so I'm one of them. Still hiring a few more. I wear a uniform (yech) but that means I'm not tearing up my own clothing. It's nothing to preppy or uniformish AND they allow you to pick shorts or long pants, short or long sleeves, baseball cap if you want one. They gave me a good flashlight, work gloves, work boots, maps, tire bat, etc. I never have to fuel or wash my truck. At the end of the day, I do a post trip inspection sheet and check the things that need to be done. I park the truck, and they take it, fuel it, check the oil, etc, wash it if needed, do any required maintenance and park it for the next day. So anyway, I'm liking it more everyday.

Hope everyone is still hanging in there. Miss some of my KLLM buddies, but maybe we'll see each other. Toad, Big Al C, Ledbetter and the rest. There are a few KLLM trucks that deliver to our terminal, and I see a few in truck stops when I stop for a bite to eat or a break.

 

Off the top of my head, they consistently give me preplans before I deliver for a pickup that was supposed to be picked up hours and hours before, usually a few hundred miles away...not taking into account that you need to fuel the reefer up and wash out the trailer....not taking into account that not only the pickup time but also the delivery time has been made taking into account the time it takes to get to reciever IF the pickup had been made on time. Then when they charge me for being late, the OEC guy ASKS me why I was late???

My dispatcher has TWICE tried to tell me that I have hours to make a trip when my logs say otherwise...we have no driver managers, my dispatcher is my only real link to the company and he has never helped me WHATSOEVER in learning what to do at this company or in this business. He has ALWAYS talked down to me although not impolitely. A polite ####### is still an #######.