Con Way Truckload

For Surfer....congrats! Have fun with it, be safe and feel free to ask if you have questions.

For Jake, never heard anyone refer to themselves as gruntled, (even the spell check doesn't like it) but, I got your point...clever.

Be Safe out there. Say hello if you see me out there...Handle is Rooster on my doors. (don't know why they letter both doors...I never pass anyone so none sees it on the right side!!! I crack me up!

 

That is a pretty good word - gotta give him credit.

I've been gruntled and disgruntled all at the same time for the last 8+ years here at good ole Con-way. I guess I either like my job or I am glutton for punishment - probably an equal combination of both..haha..

 

I like using my Gruntled word. Makes people think..
Everyone be safe out there!

 

Jake225: I would be extremely GRUNTLED if you were here right now! I love that word, too. It says so much.

 

hi there i contacted a Conway truckload recruiter, she said orientation is 5 days? is this correct. Seems long to me especially when jb hunt does a max of 3.5 days and even that is too long for my taste.

Im thinking of moving over to Conway truckload. is it OTR or is it like a post i saw above where all new hires are forced to do local p and d as well as load and unload or do dock work and it takes about 2 years to get into over the road. if so im not going there.

On miles im expecting an average as a solo of 2000 at least per week is that easily possible with conway truckload? Also do they do what most normal trucking companies do where you pick up at a shipper in say indiana and deliver in say texas or is it all Local p and d, or nothing but terminal to terminal drop / hook?

Also what is there idle policy? and will they let you have a Choice of what kind of truck/transmission/ you might want or do they force you into a piece of crap? im wanting an apu on the truck so im not #####ed at or threatened with termination. for idleing to much to stay cool. Now most carriers say ok anything over 78 degrees and you can idle for example, well that is not gonna work. have you guys been in Houston when it is 78 and 100 percent humidity? makes it feel like 90 in the truck. Want to make sure they wont ##### and moan like PTL did before PTL got apu's. And know i cant go back to ptl they are not hiring in my area that is why im looking at conway, so far I have seen alot of good reviews on them.

I just want to make sure i make a right move.
( i hear they do electronic logs now, how does that work? if i am parked at a truckstop doing a restart and if i start the truck up and sit in drivers seat or move to another parking spot doest it say that i went to driving? Cause im used to taking a restart at a truckstop and sometimes bobtailing to a nice resturant or to the beach to have some fun, ON Regular logs you can log that as off duty as long as you dont get caught bobtailing back and forth. even thow jb hunt said if your not being paid then it can be logged off duty and it is a personal vehicle. (not sure on this thow) but that is whay jb hunt told me when i went threw orientation with them as an owner op a year ago.

I need all these ?'s answered asap My most important are OTR? i do not want Local p and d and dock work for 2 whole years (im willing to do locals, but maybe 1 a week, as i am used to being an over the road all 48 state driver,

2nd.... Idleing policy, and my right to pick and choose what truck/transmission type i am in. (i hear they have prostars and the new kw t660's i also heard some are 13 speeds and some autos, i dont know how to shift a 13speed, im used to 10 speed and auto #####

 

Wow Turgeo!!! You cover a lot of ground! First of all, Truckload is the OTR division of Conway. I did a couple of locals, full truckloads from a terminal while killing time waiting for a dispatch. That's once in 7 months.

Fuel...you have to average 6.2 mpg on dispatched miles and then anything goes. Keep it at or around 62 on the cruise, keep your total vs dispatched miles within 8% of each other and don't idle too much and you should be able to idle all night in warm weather. The 8% thing just means getting off the interstates now and then.

I drive one of the oldest trucks in the fleet (Not a junker too). I am hitting 6.2. The new trucks have much more efficient engines so mileage shouldn't be a problem. The new trucks are all 10 speed. I am hanging on to my 13 until they pry it from my fingers. If you get a 13, you will learn it in about 3 minutes. You just split the upper range with a thumb switch, no clutching involved.

Miles have been good. Frankly, 2000 is a bad week and I couldn't afford to have many of them. Averaging over 2500.

E-logs are now mandatory, pretty easy to use, and I told you the miles I get without cheating...you get a "line 5" that is off duty driving. If you have hours, and are not under a dispatch, you get an hour or two...I don't remember which. It doesn't interrupt your restart of even a 10 hour break. So you can go out to eat, get groceries, whatever.

Good outfit. They will give you a hard time if you don't shut down in bad weather so they don't just preach safety they mean it. Policies are fair.

Orientation seems to change every few months. They range from 3 to 4 to 5 so it depends on when you go through.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck.

 

well it is good that solos are averaging 2500/week in miles, i came from universal am can (owner op) and was lucky to get 1200 miles, i sold the truck off and left owner operatiing, got fed up with it.

Do you have an apu on your truck there at conway truckload, or do you know if the majority of thier trucks have them now?

and do they pay as a bird flys? Practical route? or zip code to zipcode

oh one more thing, Do you (if your a solo) get a lot of Long hauls say over 1000 miles or is it mostly under 400 miles per load? (im wanting to solo) now if your a team you should be getting coast to coast runs all the time.

if you like running west like i do, do they send you west alot say to nevada and up to oregon, or do they primarily run east of dallas and stay east of dallas the entire time.

Is conway truckload like Ceva ground, or fed x? where the otr drivers do nothing but drop and hook from terminal to terminal? or is it like a regular trucking company where you go to shippers/recievers/dc's/terminals/yards for example.

On fuel where all can u guys fuel at? and can you fuel when or where you want, or do you have to follow the sometimes ridiculus route and fuel stops. cause in some cases pilots like the one in savannah ga i avoid at all costs.

on time off, they say if i stay out for 3 weeks they will let me have 3 days, well previous carriers i have been with have let me take off up to a day and a half for every 6 days out. (ptl) (that is why i was wanting to move back to them but they aint hiring out of my area) anyway, Are they pretty lenient on time off or strict about how much time your at home.
that is one thing and probably the only thing i hate about the otr trucking industry. most trucking companies dont give you adequate hometime. Which is why i have been looking for a regular job, unfortunatly no one hiring so i may have to go back to trucking.

If i am out for 3 weeks i want 4 days off coming back the 5 th day, if a month 6 days. do they let you do that?

 

Let me try to answer some of your recent questions:

Con-Way experimented with APU's awhile back and it wasn't cost efficient, but in cold weather the trucks are equipped with bunk heaters which use like a gallon of diesel a night vs. a gallon an hour idling.

The new trucks, (I have heard anyway) are all 10 speeds. sucks 'cause I love my 13 speed and if you can drive a 10 you can drive a 13 speed with no problem, and they are SWEET in the mountains.

As far as I can see, they pay pretty close to practical miles, and by the way, last week I got over 3000 miles! For example: After my last hometime, I went Florida to North Carolina, then California, Then North Carolina, then Alabama, then Arizona, then Georgia, then within days to be back home in Florida.

In my experience, 50% of dispatches are drop 'n hook, 50% live loads/unloads, and I have had to unload the trailer myself once, but there is extra pay for that.

Fuel stops are the usual Pilot/Flying J and some Loves. We have a list of approved fuel stops to use, we also are expected to fuel at terminals if we pass by them.

Hometime is 1 day per week out, and you can bank them if you want, stay out 4 weeks and take 3 days off and bank the remaining...and, again, in my experience, they are pretty lenient on additional days..

 

No APU in my truck, not even a bunk heater and still meet the mileage requirements. Some trucks do have APU's but not many. I can be parked and a nice night for opening up but am surrounded by reefers or idlers. I close up and idle and do fine.

I think it is zip to zip...you come up short on some, over on others, so it washes out.
I get about 1 haul over 1000 per week and the usually a couple in the 500 to 800 range and maybe one short one per week.

Been out west once in 7 months and that was to come back into the US from Canada.

Most of our drop and hooks are at customer sites rather than drop yards. live loads and unloads are about 60 to 70%. All no-touch although I have heard we have to help unload tires. Every time I hauled tires they were drop and hooks.

Fuel is exclusively Pilots and J's, company terminals including conway freight in some cases, and a few other random places where there aren't any Pilots or J's.
I have places I hate too, I plan around them.

Home time is 1 day per week. If you arrive at your home stop after 7:30 am they don't start counting until the next day. I have never heard of any flexibility. I stay out 5 weeks so when I go home I get some decent time.

I don't understand your last question about 6 days and such, but like I said, no flexibility. You plan your home time to return to work on Sunday, there may not be any loads on Sunday so you get that extra day...that's about all I can suggest.

No company is perfect, if it was we would all be working there. We pick what works for us...the companies hire us because we look like a good match to them. But not all drivers fit with all companies and vice versa.

I hope this helps.

 

Those are some nice runs.