Any Estes driver's out there?

Discussion in 'Motor Carrier Questions - The Inside Scoop' started by Miles_Of_Truckin, May 3, 2009.

  1. Cheezburger

    Cheezburger Bobtail Member

    43
    3
    Feb 17, 2011
    NEPA
    0
    I wrote a whole thing on Estes, if you look in search :estes. I dont like em, equipment bad, managment bad, pay is good, or it was, not working much these day, kind of enjoying the vacation but, not enjoying it when its time to pay bills. So far I made less money here in the last 6 months then any other place I worked. Im gonna give it another month, it will be a year then.
     
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  3. johndeere39b

    johndeere39b Bobtail Member

    29
    4
    Jan 17, 2011
    Athens OHIO
    0
    I just quit there after a year They have very bad equipment they do not have any people skills they dont care about anything other than the freight you are pulling I ran the extra board last summer in a day cab truck it didnt have a good a/c they would have you drive 600 miles then would send you to a stinky bunk house or a crappy hotel I would leave on sunday morning and get home on saturday morning then leave again on sunday after you have 34 hours off the P&D I did for 4 months and it is a killer they would give you 15 stops and 5 or 6 pickups and all that had to be done between 11 am to 5 pm the single axle truck you drove in the P&D did not have a/c and was not air ride The insurence was good and cheep and pay was not bad a dock worker starts at $18 an hour a P&D driver is $19 an hour and road drivers start at .45 cents per mile they dont pay you for hooking a seet of doubles anymore The term manager where I was at did not believe in training you but when you would make a mistake they would write you up and then use that write up so they would not have to give you your 6 month raise I tried to stay because I was home everyday and the insurence was good but I couldn't do it anymore your dispatcher would give you your daily delivery and then tell you to hurry up and get out of the drivers room because he had pickups for you to do then when you bust you ##### all day no lunch or breaks and would get back to the term thinking you did a good job your dispatcher would tell you that you need to pick up the pace or they would get fire you that was just bmy exsperiance and maybe not all term are the same
     
  4. Truck Vet

    Truck Vet <strong>NRA AMA Libertarian</strong>

    201
    14
    Aug 30, 2006
    0
    Yes, not all the terminals are the same. But IMO they put a lot of pressure
    on their terminal managers to make a good profit. It sounds like you and I
    both quit for the same reason- we got burnt out. I can remember driving
    through snow storms so tired I was hanging out the window to stay awake.
    The TMs don't care how long you have driven when they ask you to make
    a delivery in my experience. The pay was great, benefits decent, but I don't
    understand why this company does not seem to reward their hardest working most dedicated drivers? I can remember a Salisbury driver with the
    initials BB who was one of the slowest drivers out there yet was one of the
    4 that kept their jobs when the rest were laid off. He kept a notebook of many things that happened to him. I would go back to work for them in a
    heartbeat if I could be assured of a decent days (or nights) sleep. I just
    had too many close calls due to fatigue. I have a family I want to return to. Estes is a great company to work for if your a trucker-politician.
     
  5. TrashyTrucker

    TrashyTrucker Bobtail Member

    13
    17
    Feb 21, 2011
    Fresno, Ca.
    0
    I drive for Estes, out of Fresno California on the xtra board, GREAT company, loving it, drive OTR in the west!!!! :)
     
  6. scratchinpost

    scratchinpost Bobtail Member

    25
    9
    Jun 15, 2008
    Indiana
    0
    I drive for Estes out of the Midwest. As a linehaul driver I never have to go to customers, just terminal to terminal. About 80 percent doubles, 20 percent 53's. $7.50 to break or hook a set but they're making spotters do a lot more of that lately. (That's good). Much of the equipment is VERY high mileage but they have a lot of new power on the way and hopefully will be pulling some of those worn out 8100's off the road soon. In spite of the equipment problems here, linehaul (as with most LTL companies) is about the best money anywhere. Many don't like it because its mostly all at night, pulling doubles, in a day cab. Never worked P+D but from listening to and talking to those drivers IMO that would be the most stressful driving job here. They seem to be pushed to the limit and at the end if the day most I've seen look about shot. Over all, if you can get on linehaul here or just about any good LTL carrier, look into it. Wish I'd done it 30 years ago.
     
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  7. Cheezburger

    Cheezburger Bobtail Member

    43
    3
    Feb 17, 2011
    NEPA
    0
    As I talk to driversthat come in at the terminal it seems the line haul at night or the otr is the best bet. Yes the pay is great from what I hear, and the trucks are much newer from what I have seen. I been trying to go that route but my TM is against it, had I known this prior to signing up I would of went that way. Thinking to be home every night, good hourly pay with plenty of overtime at the time, but to what limit!
    I been collecting a partial since December, 30 hours a week is'nt cutting it. My wife is a manager and she says if they want someone to quit this is how its done.
     
  8. Cheezburger

    Cheezburger Bobtail Member

    43
    3
    Feb 17, 2011
    NEPA
    0
    Just a thought when the OTR guys come in and dont break the set, guess who does.
     
  9. TrashyTrucker

    TrashyTrucker Bobtail Member

    13
    17
    Feb 21, 2011
    Fresno, Ca.
    0
    Welcome to LTL! I worked for Con-Way for 12 years before Estes, Estes is MUCH more relaxed! There are a lot of ex-cons at Estes, and I think they all agree it was a great choice to move over here! LTL is a VERY different world in trucking, but the pay is typically 30-50% more, and when you are getting paid $20+ an hour, why shouldn't you bust your butt or hustle? YOU asked for the job, so do it! :)

    I also drove "regular" OTR for 3 years back in the beginning, from 93-96, and let me tell you, that sucks! Finding a different customer every day that you have NEVER been to, crossing through states your not sure of their way of doing things, living in a truck, showering at truck stops, you can have it! LOL

    At Estes, we stay in a motel every night! I drive terminal to terminal, and being on the extra board means I don't have the same time to start or stop each day, in fact, there is a lot of room for taking that extra hour or two to sleep in the motel when you need it, I have yet to hear a dispatcher say "NO, WE NEED YOU TO MOVE IT RIGHT NOW!" Most of the time, it's "sure, get plenty of rest Mike and give us a call when you are ready!" WHAT other company can anyone say that about??????? :)

    I am so freaking grateful to be at Estes, and no,, I am not drinking the cool-aid (still have an acrid taste in my mouth from drinking Con-Way's cool-aid!!! LOL), I just have experience at other companies and KNOW when I got's it good!!!! LOL :)

    It takes time, and years, to get over the anger and frustration sometimes, don't give up, and definitely, don't go to those 30 cent per mile OTR companies, unless you simply love setting yourself up to fall!
     
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  10. johndeere39b

    johndeere39b Bobtail Member

    29
    4
    Jan 17, 2011
    Athens OHIO
    0
    well if I am going to spend the week away from my family I want to be comfortable and it is nice to be able to take food with you I would not go back to those day cab trucks driving 600 miles a day for nothing I work for a company now making just as much as I did on the extra board and I only drive 200 to 500 miles a day I have my own assigned truck with a big sleeper and I get to bring the truck home which means I dont have to buy gas for my car. I heard that they totally did away with the $7.50 for hooking a set. I worked out of ohio term and I drove the extra board for 8 months and the P&D for 4 months I liked the being home everyday but I didn't get home until 10 to 11 at night and by that time my family was in bed so it did not serve much. The driving a different truck everyday was a big pain in the butt and the only ones that got good trucks was the guys that was good butt kissers or have been there for many years. I did not like the idea of on monday you set by the phone waiting on them to call you so you could go to work so you did not know weather to sleep or us it as a day off. I did not like to drive at night at all so I would leave on sunday morning but that meant that I had to stay out until sat morning or even afternoon. I am not saying it was all bad it just was not for me. And you don't always get to go to a hotel. If you got caught at Westmiddlesex PA that bunk house was the worst I have ever seen it smells like piss, no tv or even a place to relax it was a 6' by 6' room with a single bed kinda like jail. But I will shut up now. I hope who ever it is out there that gets hired on there has a better exsperiance than I had.
     
    Truck Vet Thanks this.
  11. Cheezburger

    Cheezburger Bobtail Member

    43
    3
    Feb 17, 2011
    NEPA
    0
    Your so right with gas, going back and forth. I spend about 100 bucks doing just that in 5 days.
     
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