Crete or transport america???

I've been around the Acklie companies on and off for over 20 years. Crete is one of the only companies in the industry who want to hire drivers who would plan on retiring from the job right there. There are only a small fist full of companies that have this attitude toward drivers. Marten Transport is another one. Transport America has been a mess for a very long time. Their outlook about truck drivers is more of you will do for them what they demand and be happy or you will be gone. They will screw with you to make you want to quit. I have a very close friend of mine, whose work ethic and driving abilities are first rate, who went to work for Transport America after he quit TransAm. He stuck it out for about a year. The last full paycheck that he recieved from them, (consequently the one that made his mind up to leave them) was less than $120. He is the kind of driver that works hard and keeps his nose clean, but he got caught up in the company politics just for asking his dispatcher if he would help him with getting his miles above the 8,500 per month mark. Go to Crete, you won't be disappointed. My friend came over here when he recently left Transport America and he's doing very well.

Best of luck!

 

your friend must be a nimrod??? lol I made good money with transport america... and there are a few guys on site here still working for them...

go with the one with the terminal closest to your house...

or ask yourself which you prefer??? red paint or blue ???

or flip a coin...

them and roehl, in my opinion, are all the same horse... training companies...

drive a year and move on, or drive a year and get dedicated and train for them for really good money... or just get used to the place and like the solo experience and don't worry about going anywhere else.

you're looking at 6-8 hundred a week starting out with any of them... more is possible... but then you get into the realm of running real hard and being in the right place at the right time...

good luck to you...

 

you mentioned the one with a terminal closest. I am starting with TA in a couple weeks, and there terminal is 61 miles from my house, heard if its less than 75 you have to take it there on your hometime. Only reason I ask is cause my old ford only gets about 12 miles to the gallon, so it would cost me a bit to make the trip in it.

 

I "had" to take the truck to the terminal for three weeks... then I turned in a security letter (permission to park) in my home town, then I took the truck home half the time.

half the time meaning when it was enroute... my dispatcher phyllis was pretty good about getting me loads that went by the house thru the week so I could sleep over ect.

2 things... the fuel expense is stupid high to let you "out of route or dead-head home" so that probably will not be a regular occurance, you'll have to park at the terminal...

the other thing... about the truck at home on weekends... its nice... but... if its at the terminal the mechanics can be working on your honey-do list while you are off duty... this is much better then sitting there twiddling your thumbs while they do maintenance.

so... for me... I never had the truck home for a weekend... better to drive home once a week and pay the gas myself.

the thru the house loads... were nice... before I left ta, I was hitting the house twice a week, every other week. but that all depends on where you live and how the loads flow in your area.

 

I thought about that maintenance deal after I thought about it, and reading alot of posts about how they had to wait to get trucks fixed, guess it would be good to get stuff done down there while I am off. How long has it been since you worked for TA?

 

15 months ago.

 

FYI, TA canned Phyllis a few months ago. They are filling their Fleet Manager positions with people from UPS. They have absolutly no experience with over the road drivers.

 

Don't know much about Transport america but I do know Crete is an excellent company! If they approved you I personally wouldn't hesitate! Crete/Schaffer/Sunflower are really picky about who they hire. Good luck to you!

 

Crete does all the background checking, DMV checking, etc, prior to calling with a green light. No surprises that way. Although I am just a student at this point, have to say that Crete's 36% turnover rate has to be due to something positive there... Debt free, just purchased with cash 1300 trailers and 90+ tractors and buying more early next year. I was at thier facility in Lincoln NE today on a tour as our class drove the trucks today to get a free lunch there and get a tractor fixed. (Ended up being ckt breakers that prevented reliable starting) Anyway, debt free company with an expanding customer base with a very low turnover rate, 500/wk training with driver trainer for 8 wks, 31 cpm for ten months then to 39 cpm while expecting 120,000 mi per year as a minimum, $26.00/wk for BCBS medical and dental and vision, profit sharing, no passenger fees at all (wife and/or child), and on and on... For me, a know-nothing student, this sounds like the kind of place many would want to drive for. Perhaps the low turnover rate supports that thinking?

Ok, enter the nay-sayers: