CRETE - A Year in Review

Every now and then Crete does something that makes me have hope that they do care about us at times. Wed I was in Des Moines picking up a load going to Buffalo for today (Fri). Now Buffalo can be slow in the best of times and today being the start of the Labor Day weekend I was a bit worried I might get stuck there till Tuesday. I sent in my empty call at 0430 and crossed my fingers. Lo and behold I get an offer to pick up a load going to the Grove City Walmart DC for tomorrow. The remarkable thing was, without even asking, dispatch told me to go home for the rest of the weekend because freight is a little slow in Ohio. Now I would rather stay out and earn money but if they can't keep me productive because of the holiday then home it is. At least it will leave one load available for some driver who can't be home and would otherwise have to sit.

 

Good deal Longbow. Id love a night home with the wife and kids right about now.

I fought with water loads late this week and they screwed up a decent week. Eastern Pa and NY suck...sorry, that's how I feel. I picked up some paper and am off to EauClaire Wi, aboutg a 1200 mile run...so sweet! Haven't seen one of these in a while. Hopefully ill geg something into MN which has always worked out for me.

 

Well it didn't work out quite the way I expected it, but that's ok. I dropped at walmart this morning expecting to head home when I ended up getting an offer. Lockbourne, Oh. to Tyler, Tx. for 0415 Tuesday morning. But I will still be able to be home for a day and a half plus get 1000 miles in the bargain. Not too shabby. I think we must of picked up a lot of new business out of Kal Kan in Columbus. That place was packed with loaded Crete trailers.

 

Ah, I love "unscheduled" home time. I picked up a load in Jackson, TN yesterday morning (Saturday, 9-4-10) that was delivering in Fairburn, GA on Tuesday. As soon as I got the load offer for that, it was followed by instructions to T-Call in Marietta. Good thing too - I'd have declined such an unproductive load in a heartbeat if they'd told me I couldn't T-Call it.

Anyway, I had put in to be home on the 13th because my truck has an issue in the transmission - sometimes, especially when the transmission is cold, when I go to shift from high range down into low range it grinds like it's trying to spit out gears. Range selector synchronizer is the probable culprit. Thankfully, it's under warranty. So, I'm glad it did it now instead of waiting until after the warranty runs out.

Well, I got to Marietta yesterday evening, dropped the trailer, and found that there were no empty trailers there (big surprise), there were about 30 drivers waiting around for loads (big surprise - it's a holiday weekend), and there were no loaded trailers on the yard that needed to move before Tuesday (another big surprise - again, holiday weekend).

I informed dispatch that there were no empty trailers to be had and mentioned that I had a hunch that not much would be moving this weekend due to the holiday. I asked if that was the case. I also told them I'd put in to be home on the 13th and that it was for warranty transmission work, but since I was 84 miles from Freightliner of Chattanooga and 95 miles from my driveway, if nothing was moving it would present the perfect opportunity for me to go ahead and bobtail to the dealer, get the work done, and be ready to go make money once there was freight moving again.

Lo and behold, a dispatcher appeared to have read my entire message, engaged the cerebral neurons, and typed up a thoughtful, intelligent response:

"Sounds like a plan, it's real slow this weekend in GA. What is your PTA?"

Of course, they had to ask for a PTA. I understand that. I did not, however, have a sure date/time to give them. So, I replied:

"That's a good question. As soon as the truck is done, I'll be ready for a trailer and a load. My best guess is Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. I'll let you know when I get a better picture of how long the work will take."

The dispatcher even thanked me and wished me a good weekend!

So, while freight in the area is slow due to a holiday weekend, I'm at home. By the time the truck is done, there will be more freight available and I'll be in a position to move as much of it as I can

I love it when a plan comes together!

 

Hello all, I am starting school September 15, and have been researching a lot on here. I have enjoyed reading all of the posts and have really learned a lot. I applied to Crete in May and the recruiter told me my application was accepted and to resubmit it when I started school. I did that today. My question is this, since I live in southern Oklahoma, how much of the northeast will I see, and will there be a lot of NYC? Thanks for your response.

 

We don't take a lot of freight to or from NYC. We do get the occasional load out to Long Island, and quite a bit to and from New England. You probably won't go there all that often, but you will go there from time to time most likely.

More common is New Jersey. The Anheuser-Busch plant in Newark, a couple places in Jersey City, and other places in the neighborhood Crete does business with, are almost in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty - I wish I had a dime for every time I've looked at the NYC skyline from the NJ Turnpike.

 

Oh - if you ever do get a load offer to NYC, you can reject it because they can't require you to break any laws. All our trailers are 53-footers, and 53-foot trailers are specifically prohibited from making pickups and deliveries in the 5 boroughs of New York City (See https://www.nysdot.gov/about-nysdot/faq/are-53-foot-long-trailers-allowed-in-nyc)

 

nice,never new that.but i worked for a regional company out of my home state of PA and delivered in all 5 boroughs with no problems whats so ever.of course u really gotta watch and know where ur goin. but i never ran into any law enforcement problems.

 

I'm not a lawyer, but my reading of the relevant section of law seems to indicate that the George Washington Bridge and the Cross Bronx Expressway are also legally off-limits to 53-footers. Looks like the only access to/through NYC is I-287 to I-95 south (Bruckner Expressway), to I-295 across the Throgs Neck Bridge, to I-495 (Long Island Expressway). Check out section 3(e) of http://law.justia.com/newyork/codes/vehicle-traffic/vat0385_385.html

The good news for me is, since my name is on the registration as "Owner/Titleholder" I don't go there anymore

 

This is from the NYC DOT website --

I'm not a lawyer either, but my read on it is that if you stay on the Interstate (National Network), then you're legal - especially if you're in interstate commerce.

But if you get off of the Interstate and go toolin' through NYC with your 53' van... :smt035 I'm travelin' down the road, and I'm flirtin' with disaster!