looking for info on Chicoda Carriers out of Beatrice Nebraska

DONT DO IT! In 21 years it is by far the worse company I have ever leased to. Very dishonest people. Very disrespective people. I could post a 5 page letter about my experience with them and back it up with documentation, but they are not worth my time. All I can say is if you do decide to go with them, make sure you do not care what they put on your dac, and always have money in your pocket. Don't expect to get paid, and prepare to deal with some of the most unreasonable people you have ever met who are always right.

 

I have never heard anything good about them. There is another hopper outfit in that town too, stay away from them also.

 

I tried to reply to your message but since I am a new member it would not let me. I hope you got the information you were looking for. Most people who give companies a bad review are disgruntled, there are always two side to a story but I just really hate to see anyone lease to a company like chicoda. I believe if I remember correctly both chicoda and eclipse are owned by the same guy, they just keep it secret. Good luck with your search.

 

Could check with H&M out of omaha. If you already have a truck NSG out of gothenburg has a lot of O/O but not sure if they have trailers available or if you need your own. Seen an ad for NCI from Lucas Kansas wanting O/O said they have trailers available. Just a few ideas for you to check with good luck.

 

I want to take a moment to reply to some of the gross misrepresentation by jdriver1974 , which has been anonymously posted to this forum. I would imagine that a disgruntled former driver has posted this. One of the few bad apples over the years that has gotten a bad DAC report from us for things like abandoning equipment, quitting under dispatch or violation of federal law or company policy, actions on the part of an owner operator which are the sole reason for a bad DAC report on our part.

We post accurate information on DAC in order to give other carriers an opportunity to know exactly the kind of owner operator they are looking at hiring. We do this in an effort to keep those types off the road, that should be off the road. It also eliminates the costs and losses a carrier sees from these types of situations. It costs $8 for an owner operator to dispute a DAC report – to date not one owner operator has paid the $8 fee to dispute anything we have ever reported to DAC.

Too often these are people who do not treat being an owner operator like a business, and they don't understand how to manage their money and run a business; as opposed to being a company driver collecting a paycheck. An example of this is an owner operator who leased on with us and within a month asked to charge nearly $4000 worth of tires to our account. His tires were an issue, and we helped him out, interest free. Four weeks later, he then quit without notice and before his bill was paid. He posted on another forum that he had a truck for sale and bragged that it had new tires. This is just one example of what a good carrier who tries to help an owner operator out faces.

We have never had anyone - not one owner operator or any company we do business with file any legal action against us for non-payment. As far as the poster who said ‘always have money in your pocket”... An owner operator runs a business, and too many come in the door without a dime in their pocket to fund this business. Among the costs which we, as a carrier, provide upfront for these owner operators are initial start up costs.

They include: costs for a base plate, (approx $1600)
25% downpayment of the annual insurance premium, (approx $2000)
A fuel card (average for the first week of fuel approx $2100).

This is $5700 of initial start up costs that we pay out of pocket just to get a leased truck on the road. We also pay our owner operators on a weekly basis despite the fact that the majority of our shippers pay within 30-45 days. Once an owner operator starts out, this money is deducted from his settlement until it is paid back, it’s the cost of running a business. This anonymous poster says that he hates to see anyone lease to Chicoda Carriers, however we have a fleet of satisfied owner operators working for us who are perfectly content with the respectful and honest way that we do business with them. Several who have been with us for an extended number of years including one who has been with us for over 6 years. We have an excellent reputation within the hopper industry and require owner operators with a solid work history who are willing to comply with federal regulations and follow company policies. Those who are unable or unwilling to do this are shown the door.

Finally, the poster states that both Chicoda and Eclipse are owned by the same 'guy', and they just keep it a secret. This is a blatant lie. The owner of Chicoda Carriers and myself both were previously employed at Eclipse Transportation Corp. seven years ago, until they closed their trucking operation. Eclipse Transervices has been around for twenty years, and is a freight brokerage company.

Chicoda Carriers,Inc is solely owned by Steve Lagree (President), and that has always been the case. This can be proven with the Articles of Incorporation and with Tax returns. It is incredibly irresponsible for someone to post rumors and outright lies on a forum such as this with very little opportunity for a company to defend itself from a poster who hides behind a “screen name”.

I am the Fleet Manager for Chicoda Carriers, Inc. in Beatrice,NE, a company I am proud to say I work for – I don’t have to hide who I am and what I have to say behind an anonymous screen name.

Marsha Walters
Nebraska Trucking Association's 2010 Dispatcher of the Year