Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

The tornado in tuscaloosa left a mile wide path of destruction, and seven miles long. 200 mph wind. Ef5.

The one in harvest by our home was an ef4, 190 mph winds. Tanner (where my daughter lives) ef4 175 mph winds. Birmingham also an ef5. Rainsville, ef4. Pisgah ef4. From what I am hearing most were ef4, with the exception of tuscaloosa and birmingham.

 

Ditto - now that we have a good DM

 

It was great meeting you guys!! I just wish we had more time!! We WILL get together again!! Not sure when - LOL - but we will

 

Yeah, best advice is to bug the crap out of your DM to get a drop yard, or call the receiver yourself. You can also call Central cusser service yourself. You can find the number in your driver manual. I have bugged the crap our of 2 dm's to the point they transferred me to other dm's. I am on my third and am very happy now. I am getting as many miles as I can handle now and they only let up when I tell them I want hometime.

 

I am dispatched out of Fontana and love my dm - this is the third. The first two were junk and finally got assigned to someone that can dispatch properly.

 

Good for you, glad you found a good place to work. I am quite happy with Central. They treat me well and give me miles till I tell them I need a break. The longest I have had to wait for a load was 8 hours and they seldom tell me that I have to deliver a load if I am a day early; they find a drop yard for me and get me rolling again.

I guess we reap what we sow and when you are unhappy, everyone around you will tend to get that way too. I have always said that when a job becomes work and you dread going to work, it's time to move on and find another job. My hat is off to you, you did the right thing in moving on.

 

Not a problem.. we enjoyed the time. We will have to get together again.
We are heading for FL next.

 

You need to request layover pay. It doesn't come to you unless you request it. It isn't much, but your dm will get a black eye from the terminal manager. They don't like paying idle drivers. I believe it's a mac54. Also request detention pay when you are held at shipper. It's supposed to be automatic, but I personally feel that the only thing automatic is death and taxes. Request Detention pay on Mac53.

If you get turned down, at least you have it documented and then if you really deserve it, start asking questions as to why you didnt get it. you won't get pay generally for being late home either, but request it and then the terminal manager will get involved and somebody ends up getting slapped around.

Read the drivers manual and use it to your advantage, don't let them shove you around. I let them for my first month behind the wheel, then I read the manual and started asking for pay for everything and all of a sudden I am loaded and not complaining about a thing.

 

Ask to drop the load at a yard somewhere. That will show the DM tha you want to run and not set.

 

You can request being assigned to a specific fleet. I am currently with the western regional. Or at least till last Wednesday. They did some shuffling in Fontana and my DM is no longer handling the west. Dont know where I am driving now, but I dont want the eastern seaboard states. Keep on your DM and when you sit, ask for layover pay. When you sit at a delivery or pickup point longer than 2 hours, request detention pay. When they starty shelling out the dollars, eyebrows raise and then people get slapped around, or they give you a different DM. If you are totally unhappy with your DM, go to the terminal manager when you get to home terminal and ask for a new one. If you don't speak up, they will assume you are happy.