Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

Has anyone else here had a bad experience with the 2 (And I use this term loosely) women who run the drop yard for P&G in Pineville, Louisiana? I have a very close connection at P&G who is currently looking into the actions of the company who is contracted to run that yard. I have heard of and not actually experienced it, but as far as the 7.00 Exact funds for their scale and you hand them a 20.00 and do not get any change back, has anyone had this happen to them? Please let me know so I can get this problem taken care of for us drivers. The contact, just happens to be my mother whom works for P&G at their headquarters in Cincinnati, So yes I have a little bit of pull.

 

Thank you spork.man, standards arnt set to high just as long as i can come out of training and run 2500 miles a week i wouldnt be upset even 2000 miles, just aslong as im staying busy and no long lay overs, but in this industry i should expect anything to happen, what is centrals equipment like? does anyone know if theyll keep me busy out of oregon or good luck on that one for me?

 

Millisjcw!!!
Meet you there. Istart the 27th too!

 

Sounds like a blown head gasket. When you have the truck running, and the hood open, does your coolant tank look like cappucino? Frothy, bubbly, and not the right colour? Of you've had the EGRs replaced, and the cooler, then you've either got ANOTHER bad EGR cooler, or you've blown a head gasket. My bet is head gasket.

You say your truck is (or was at posting) 330 miles out of warranty, what sort of truck do you have? I've been trying to find out what sort of warranty the Prostars have, because my last two sets of repairs have been "Well, we'll see if it's under warrenty." I know Central had excellent warranties on the Volvos (450,000+) but I have no idea what the International warranty is. So I was wondering if you had one.

 

If you request a Comchek for anything, you'll get a PO now, and you must turn in receipts. So, Lumpers, pallets, trailer washouts, loading fees, late fees, repairs not on account, etc.

Scales, tolls, faxes, any any of the above that can't be paid by comchek don't have POs attached to them, you can turn in the receipt and necessary paperwork, and usually get reimbursed. I usually have to fight for reimbursement for any lumper without a phone number and tax ID written, and for faxes. Thankfully, I fax about 3 times a year.

 

Don't go in expecting the world, and you should be fine. Central has a lot of trucks, and for the most part, you're just another body to fill a truck. Don't take it personal. Go to school, pay attention, and do everything in your power to pass.

The equipment for Central is both good and bad. Central keeps their trucks looking good, so you're not going to get a truck that looks like it's been through a hail storm and a rear end collision. However, these trucks see a lot of drivers, so expect to see a lot of shop time, an don't expect a low miles truck right off the bat. It'll look pretty, but often it'll consume oil, have a non existent engine brake, and be in bad need of an alignment. Thankfully, these problems can be fixed. All our trailers look like crap, with the exception of some of the beer trailers. They're patched, dented, buckled, with reefers that like to code for no good reason and tandems that won't slide. Just a fact of life.

I don't know what you mean by driver policy. They figure you need yo deliver your loads on time, pick up on time when you can, run miles, and essentially, do your job. You'll be rewarded with good runs and bad ones, with weekends of sitting if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, and late or non existant home time. Depending on your dispatcher, you might get run like heck, which is a great thing. If you prove to your fleet manager you're dependable, and you stay out of the dead zone of the week (we're in one right now), you'll do okay.

Don't lease a truck until you've been with the company at least a year. It might sound great to pay off your schooling by leasing, and there's potential to make more money, but until you've been with the company a full turn of seasons, you won't really know if you want to stay with them for the duration of the lease. And, if you don't drop the truck off in West Valley, and you don't complete the lease, they will nail you on the DAC. So spend a year, get school paid off, and then decide if you really want to be over the road, and do it with Central, after that.

They're a large trucking company. In the end, they're not too much different than the stories you'll hear from other large companies. I'm not happy here, but the places I wanted to go aren't hiring, so I'll stick it out here until they are. It's the devil I know.

 

Jubitz is one of my favorite truck stops. We never go there since we live about 40 minutes from it. I did take my grandmother to it when I had to drop off the truck for repairs; she got a huge kick out of the place.

I'm glad I don't spend more time there, that restaurant would undo the 17 pounds I've lost since April in just a few days of eating there.

 

Thank you smadronia for you info very helpful, sounds like you live in oregon to? jubitz is great, i remember when it was a run down truck stop untill about 8-10 years ago they redone it and put the tire shop up front and the diesel behind, the way it use to be was a cluster for the trucks to get to the tire shop and the truck wash being so close togather,
does central have good loads going in and out of portland? do they have a yard to park the truck at in portland for my home time? how does that work, as i live on the coast, dont see me taking the truck home, maybe bob tail, just courious how that works,
Hope to recive any info on this company from the ones that experience it every day,

 

On the flatbed thing, I knew why they bought them. I just could not figure out why he saw Central trucks pulling flats, if the fleet is not doing that now. And that they were not the Volvo's that did it before.[/QUOTE]

Back to Sky Harbor last nite and stopped at Pilot I-10 West Phoenix. Central Volvo was going to Swift on 75th Ave to drop off a flatbed trailer at Swift HQ. The Driver, Daniel, said they were transfering assets to where they could be used(?).

Never Forget 9/11, no matter how much our government trys to make you forget. National day of service, My ###!

 

They have some neat stuff there and a lounge too!