Smith Transportation

Been a week with them.. have only sat a few more hours past my 10 for one trip... first 4 days I logged 2300 miles... get this... have not had to run all over the place looking for an empty... have not had to sweep a trailer out... everyone I have gotten was actually clean.. they do like you to run the route you give them.. and will give you a fuel stop.. DM actually said "sorry" to me over the Qualcomm. very driver friendly company... dispatch 24/7/365... answers to Qualcomm within ten minutes.. shop at Roaring Springs 24/7/365... so far been pretty pleased and stress level is way down.. I actually ran my 70 hr clock down to .5 in the first 5 days.. now just need to get past the "new" driver for the company and get a better truck.. an automatic is what i have.. great for freeways... sucks for backing... esp up a hill... miss my clutch... any other info I will be glad to provide... great rating for DOT too... a lot of green...

 

they require 1 yr otr... when you get your "TEMP" truck it is one of the older ones.. they want to see how you handle the equipment,, the loads and within 30 days they move you up.. feels good to only have 10 hours to sit...then off again... got tired of the 20 hours of sitting with Knight... Been on the road now 10 days.. and only had to sweep out 2 trailers... what a joy not having to do everyone on D/H's.. they do run a lot of US routes... esp in PA.. and to date.. no flats or cords showing on the trailer tires.. in fact they are all about 5/32 or above...not all the fleet is auto.. just a few... terrible for backing up a incline... argggg...

 

1. How much OTR have you had?
2. How is your driving record?

Let me know. If these look good (Smith = 1 yr otr) then leave me a message here and I will put you in contact with a recruiter.

So far my two weeks have been great.. 9 runs.

Mark

 

1. Company shirts.. 1 upon orientation, 2 later after 90 days. company provided.

2. $500 is a escrow. $10 a week.. you leave the truck sitting somewhere or damage it.. the escrow is used to pay for the recovery or cost of damage.

3. Pete's and Freightliners. Depends on what they have in the yard at the time. I have a 2004 Freightliner,, 490,000 on it.. still gets 6.9-7.2 mpg.. just this happens to be an automatic. You get a "beginner" truck for about 30-40 days.. No sense giving a new toy and you break it before they know how you treat equipment.

4. They do keep you running.. went 753 miles dropped, p/u and now back to yard again 753 miles.. all in 3 days.. I have had 11 loads and all are drops. They have 2-3 runs like this daily to this customer.

5. They also have several warehouses locally around Roaring Springs.

6. In the past two weeks I have rarely sat longer than my ten hours. I find myself running out fast. Usually run 11 or 14 hr days.

7. 34 hr reset at home. They expect you to be rolling at the end of your 34 hr reset.

8. You can take tractor and trailer home.. except for high value loads. If no space then a close local truck stop will do. You are expected to secure the tractor and trailer and check up on it.

9. Most of their rigs run APU's. If you get a tractor without, then simply wait and one will fall into your lap upon the end of the "testing" phase.

10. They give you a route to run. You can modify it some.

11. They give you a fuel stop, TA, Pilot, local, etc etc. They will tell you how much to get.

12. Toll's you get PO's first before you run. They try to steer clear of PA toll's.

13. Dispatch is 24/7/365. They are their to help and help they do.

14. They use Trip Pak. I usually hit the yard once a week so I just drop off then. Saves the mail time from a truck stop.

15. Direct Deposit takes about 3 weeks. Until then your paycheck will be put on your CommData card.

16. State taxes are taken out for a few states. Hint,, bring the form, as they do not have state forms. The recruiter know which states they will take out automatically.

any other questions?

 

I posted a reply, but it went into the nether regions of the internet... fell off the packet train I guess...

Off hand I think the full trailer unload is $75. I could not find my breakdown sheet. You do get paid for full, partial or freight to tail. All of mine so far have been d/h.

I could get you in touch with my recruiter if you would like.

Mark