Crete Carrier Corporation - Lincoln, Ne.

Ken, unless you're willing to drive that thing yourself, I'd say you're asking for your rear to be handed to you by the market after you launch. Like this guy Medicine Man, I'll tell you that you CAN make money if you start your own outfit. I'll then turn around and tell you (truthfully) that it's highly improbable. "It's not worth the risk" is what Wall Street types will tell you.

If you do this, I think you're going to be a very small fish in a very big tub, a tub full of much larger fish. And they're all hungry. Hell, I think you're asking for big trouble even if you DO drive it yourself. Get ready to run your tail off for very little return.

How much are you going to pay per mile? Is it competitive with what other companies pay? You get what you pay for, man.
What kind of rig are you gonna start out with, and do you know how to spec it correctly?
Do you have any brokers lined up?
Are you gonna offer benefits to your drivers?

These are just a few of the important questions to which you need to find answers. After all, your drivers-to-be are going to want those answers up front.

If it were as easy to get going in trucking as some say it is, there would be about a million trucking companies out there still in business, and they'd all be making a profit. But all those companies aren't still in business. This is because they WENT BROKE. And some of these were run by guys who knew a lot more about trucking than you or any pollyanna "armchair" who will tell you to jump into trucking. Also, there are an awful lot of CDL holders around who no longer drive. Some of these guys you'd actually want in your truck, but they won't get back into driving for the present (low) pay the market forces companies to pay their drivers. You'll have to settle for second, third, even tenth best when it comes to drivers. There is no shortage of "####### drivers. Not much of a consolation, eh?

The trucking industry is littered with the hulks of broken companies, companies founded by guys who believed they knew how to make it work. Well....guess what?

Again, good luck. You will need it in this day and age, as it's 2007, not 1967. Starting your own trucking company is a great dream, but I'd keep it a dream and invest my money in something like real estate or commercial property (buildings you can rent). I'd definitely not invest in a new (expensive) rig.

 

Medicine, I remember driving a Pete 379 with cab air shocks way back in like 98. In fact, I think the FLD 120 I drove for Swift in 95 had cab air shocks. I could be wrong, but I think it did. I'm pretty #### sure it did. I do remember making an adjustment on the 98 Pete's shock adjusting rod to make it a tad firmer.

Besides, that International I'm talking about had the simple rubber grommets that connected the cab to the frame. It didn't even have the regular hydraulic shocks. This was one of those trucks that could give a driver concussion-induced brain damage, the same thing a lot of troops coming back from Iraq have.

Shake-shake-shake! Shake-shake-shake! Shake your driver! Yeah. Shake your driver!

Kill that driver's brain cells with all that bouncing around. He's nothing but a mere truck driver, right? Where the hell is OSHA when we need it?

Anyway, given trucking's present "arrangements", and the fact that so many in trucking love destructive competition, I'd not recommend anyone get into the industry to be an OO or a fleet owner unless he was bringing a fleet of more than about 25 rigs. One would have to have a good network of customers and other 'connections' to have a fighting chance, and guys who have to ask for advice on a website about getting into trucking obviously won't have those connections/networks/whatever (no offense intended). If they did have those connections, they'd already know what it'd take to get in and could make up their minds based on that alone. No, those folks wouldn't find the need to log onto The Trucker's Report for a pep talk from either you or me, kapish?

 

HEY: I worked for myself for four years, worse job I've ever had.

 

Hee-hee. Nice one, Man. I know where you're coming from. Been there, done that.

 

o my god the trucking company i work is a lot better than that one wow they pay good and run me safe and legal and i have good insurance,401k and like them a lot if they will have me i will stay here for a long long time. kay i s the best terminal mgr i have worked for and if you do what they ask on the qc then life is fine out here. my company isn't for goof offs and do as you please log people and every thing i drive or pull is safe on the roads. this is trucking people and there are a lot of changing out here hope you find a good job some were ps i am and am proude to drive for the yack fat king of the world CRETE CARRIER CORP LINCOLN,NE

 

PeterPiper,

Who do you drive for?

 

I worked for both Swift and Crete, meaning I worked for the big companies that are on the extreme ends of the scale. One company was on the #### end, while one was on the "great" end.

Given this, I'll say it will take a lot to convince me that CCC sucks. I know they aren't perfect, but remember--I worked for SwiftCo once, too. Crete is as good as gold compared to Jerry's company.

 

THINK YOU NEED TO READ THE REST OF THE THREAD!!

 

i work for Crete Carrier Corp. we have Shaffer Trucking and Hunt Transportation as part of the bigger picture. and when you see all the tractors at the terminals they are all ready to go they are pre 2007 engine standards as all big companys have a lot of them for this year. I came from Star Transport of Morton,Illinois and they are a disscrace to the trucking industory.

 

Hey Pete,
I am starting for Crete tomorrow. I meet my trainer in the Salt Lake terminal around noon. I was supposed to be driving sooner but things do not always work the way we want.
I am very excited to start driving for Crete. From what I have seen in this post, most of the negative posts seem to be of a personal nature. I am not saying that the stuff did not happen nor am I saying that the negative posts are lies, I am only saying that there is more positive about Crete in this site than there is negative. Everyone I have talked to that drives for Crete or has driven for them seem to like it and 99.9% that have left are going back or would go back if they could or did not have some other commitment.