Apergis Transportation

Heck, Hurst's even got busted.

[TABLE="class: noborders, width: 836"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Violation Code[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Unit[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]OOS[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Violation Discovered[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]BASIC[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 396.3A1T[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Tires (General)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Vehicle Maint.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 393.95(a)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]1[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No/Discharged/Unsecured Fire Extinguisher[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Vehicle Maint.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE="class: noborders, width: 836"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Violation Code[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Unit[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]OOS[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Violation Discovered[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]BASIC[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 395.8(f)(1)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Driver[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Drivers Record Of Duty Status Not Current[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Fatigued[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 393.75(c) ***[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Tire-Other Tread Depth Less Than 2/32 Of Inch[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Vehicle Maint.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 393.75(c)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Tire-Other Tread Depth Less Than 2/32 Of Inch[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Vehicle Maint.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: noborders, width: 836"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Violation Code[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Unit[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]OOS[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]Violation Discovered[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: white"]BASIC[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 395.3(a)(1)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Driver[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]11 Hour Rule Violation (Property)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Fatigued[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: white"] 393.45(d)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]No[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Brake Connections With Leaks/Constrictions[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: white"]Vehicle Maint.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: noborders, width: 836"]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: noborders, width: 836"]
[/TABLE]

 

3 of those are from me.

Funny thing is that the fire extinguisher isnt from me,.. but both my extinguishers are empty right now from putting out a tire fire on another truck I came on who had no fire extinguisher. So if I get inspected any time soon,.. I can expect a fire extinguisher violation. Yay me.

The record of duty status was my fault. I left a Kenworth shop after getting a $1200 Alt replaced and I forgot to draw a line down showing my change of duty status from Off Duty to driving. Drove 30 mins down the road and got pulled in for a random inspection. No one but myself to blame for that. It was an honest mistake.

The brake connection was a glad hand that I let a yard guy at a consignee put back on after he had pulled the line to put a lock on while I was being unloaded. Again,.. no one to blame but myself. I should have went behind him and checked it. It was just misaligned. But because it had a small hiss the officer wrote it up as such.

The 11 hour rule violation is from me as well. Again,.. an honest mistake. We do paper logs and my sleeper status crossed midnite and onto another page. I miss counted my 10 hour rest period by 15 mins. No one to blame but me for that.

The tire,.. well thats on Apergis. Tire wasnt going to explode or sling a tread. It was a trailer tire that had 1 spot where it had been dragged by another driver and the tread was,.. less that 2/32. But it only takes one spot for them to write it up. Funny thing is that I was 4 hours away from where we were going to get new tires for the trailer. So its not like they didnt take care of it. I just happened to get busted with it before it could get replaced.

Its up to the drivers to let the office know when tires need to be replaced. If the communication isnt there, then the tires get to the point where write ups occur.

What the company is hiding?
Everything you see there was done by driver error. Myself included.

Ask Preston how he allowed a novice driver to slide the tandems with out guidance and ended up ripping the entire axles out from under the trailer. Turned it into a spread axle, ripping the air lines, chambers, tearing the frame apart etc etc. That was on a 2 year old Great Dane reefer. I loved that trailer. Now I hate it. The same guy ripped open the side of another trailer less than 3 weeks prior to that. Were they fired for that? Nope. There was a guy here who pretty much destroyed 4 different trailers. Kept his job the entire time. Another guy ruptured the fuel tank on a reefer. Put dents and scrapes on several trailers. And recently hit a pole in a truck that just 2 weeks prior had $60k put into it after it was totaled by the insurance company when another driver jack-knifed it into the side of a mountain in Pa. The paint wasnt even dry on it. Ask Preston how many trailers are in shops for repairs right now due to driver screw ups. And not cheap maintenance repairs,.. I mean $10k + repairs. Preston knows this. We spent an entire weekend going over my truck and the trailer we were to take to get them ready. Acid washed the wheels,.. the trailer had ALL the lights including the top peanut lights all replaced. 4 new virgin tires on the trailer, acid washed the wheels, 2 new brake chambers, new shims and pins. Brand new drives on my tractor,.. and Super single Michelin tires are not cheap. Anyone who says these trucks and equipment are not maintained are liars. How many companies do you know who keep drivers after they damage/destroy as much equipment as these guys have. I have seen all of this and I have been here barely 9 months. No one is more fair to driver screw ups then Anthony is. So he yells and cusses you. All things considered I would do more then that if these were my trucks and equipment.

Ask Preston how many trailer brakes he smoked coming down the mountains. He roasted the brakes in my truck several times. I wanted to strangle him. I got on his case each time and each time he couldnt understand why I was so upset.

The violations are done by the drivers of this company. Yes we are pushed hard. But it is up to the driver to keep his logs legal and current. I wont drive beyond my limits. Preston knows first hand that I will stop and get some rest before continuing on to get the load delivered on time. No one here is pushed that far. Preston's idea of a full work day is only 400 miles and then couldnt understand why he would get yelled at when his loads were late. If you are tired, you find a safe place to park and get some sleep. If the load becomes late,.. then yeah your going to get an as* chewing. But you wont lose your job over it. Bottom line is that its the drivers error for having an inconsistent, incorrect, not current or what ever log book. As a driver it is our responsibility when doing "PROPER" pre trips (Ask Preston how he does Pre Trips when he does not even possess a tire pressure gauge?) to inform the office of any maintenance or mechanical problems that need to be addressed. Everything posted there can be blamed on driver error,.. mine included.

So call it what you want. But at some point you need to take responsibility for yourself Preston. I told you when you were in the truck with me. You had more than bad driving habits wrong with you. If you continue to do as you please with every company you hire on with then get used to getting fired alot. Until you learn to seperate and manage personal affairs like an adult you can expect to find people who dont trust you. I dont wish you ill will. Not at all. I told you all of that in the truck with me. But you still have some growing up to do before I will consider you as a man.

Hurst

 

You really want to go there?

You were given a job here when you couldnt find work with any other company. When you got here you couldnt back up a trailer to save your life. I spent 6 hours of my personal off time to help you practice backing up. You almost flipped my truck and rolled us over into a ditch. You caused me extra labor to restack the pallets you shook up and damaged product in the trailer. You would grind my transmission when you shifted. You would roast the clutch when both up and down shifting. You have no finesse when shifting. Your right foot is either matted to the floor or off. You failed to understand the concept of protecting the load and keeping the truck smooth. You tail gate people in the rain and then high beam them when they wouldnt get out of the way. You dogged the crap out of my truck, taching it out all the time. Hard braking and inability to control your speed on hills as well as during normal highway driving.

Put out of business? By drivers who cant follow simple rules and procedures. Drivers who cant get loads delivered on time. Drivers who damage loads, Drivers who keep crashing his trucks. Drivers who dont keep their logs up to date or purposely exceed their HOS and neglect to edit their logs BEFORE continuing. I can go on and on,. but I'm just making myself mad reflecting on how much I helped you out and the only thing you can do is whine and cry. I spent roughly $200 of my own personal money just feeding you. I caught hell from my wife over that. I never asked you for anything back. I covered your expenses because you either didnt have any money or as later on failed to properly manage your money. I bought you work boots so you could get on the docks. I had to buy your anti-freeze. You didnt even have $1.50 to pay a toll. I bent over backwards to help you out. Tell me,.. how many other drivers would do that for you?

Why is it that I am still here and you are not? I'll tell you. You have poor work ethics. Change that and you will find that some of your other issues might have been over looked. I mean #### it man,.. you went to sleep on me and you knew the load we had was late and a priority due to you and Walter screwing up the last load for that guy. I told you,. I was just like you at your age. Probably worse. Unless you make a change this is exactly how the rest of your life will follow.

Hurst

 

Ad on CL today again, expanding fleet???? Or just replacing deadwood.... you decide.... Hurst, is that an 84" or 72" studio??? Big turnoff for me would be the 4 weeks out to be honest, would love the long loads and being responsible for myself... leave me alone and I get er done.... ROGER????

 

He did some house cleaning.

Mine is a 72". He does have 3 with the 86". 2 are spoken for and not sure what the status is on the 3rd.

4 weeks out? Try 7 - 8 weeks out.
He's hard core with keeping drivers out on the road. Probably the biggest issue I have working here and will ultimately be the reason why I quit as soon as my contract is up. 4 - 6 weeks would be more reasonable and even then I would probably still get tired of it. 5 weeks out with 5 days home would be as much as I would want to push it.

He needs to find some experienced loners who know how to run and wont crash his trucks. That way they could give 2 hoots how long they stay out.

All we do is coast to coast. Very few short runs. And short runs are still typically 400+ miles to get the truck closer to our primary shippers. No sitting around waiting for loads here.

The second biggest gripe I have is how close the appts are scheduled. There is little personal time here. Laundry and showers are a precious commodity. The runs are set up so you drive your 11, sleep your 10 and you better be putting miles under the truck as soon as your 10 is up or you risk being late. Laundry and showers get done on your 10 hour breaks,.. not during your 11 hour shift. There simply isnt enough time most of the time.

Its not a bad gig. But its not what I would call a gravy train either. Once you establish that you can run hard, dont damage the truck and know how to manage your books, you are pretty much left alone.

I had 6 yrs prior experience hauling heavy equipment. But I had a 15 year hiatus since I last drove for anyone. I had never heard of recent experience vs actual experience. Driving a rig is like riding a bike. You never forget. So it blew my mind to find out that I was shut out of the industry until I could convince someone to give me a break. For that I am grateful to be working here. I give 100% when I work and thats what I do here. I expect the same respect in return. You dont make a lot here but then everyone working here has some kind of skeleton that prevents them from getting hired anywhere else. So I am mindful of my status and stay humble until its time for me to move on.

Hurst

 

Sounds like you have a plan and that's a good thing, I really don't have any skeletons so his option wouldn't really apply to me... thankfully I will add. I like the idea of long runs, I like the idea of a nice truck to drive but there was never a time in my life where I would accept the 4+ weeks away deal. Even when I ran team we had a pretty much dedicated deal and got home regularly!! I wish you the best, sounds like you'll get to where you need to be... and I'll keep plugging along doing what works for me and my wife!!! I like to keep up with a few of the guys on here when I can.

Good luck and be safe!!!

 

I know this is an old thread, but I have to tell the newbie who started this complaint that life's fate was not on his side. Anthony Apergis is the problem, not the newbie. I drove for this psychotic idiot for only 6 months. That is all I could take. During this time there was never a "conversation". Everything was yelled at me. (which is really stupid since I am 6'5" 225# and he is just a fat little man). Everyday this dude called and yelled at me 4-5 times, every night at 2am, just to make sure I was driving off the books. Every phone call was just like the newbie above said, he just starts yelling at the top of his lungs, to the point that sometimes that the speaker in my phone would completely fuzz out.
I became a OTR truck driver for a retirement job. I was an ICU/CCU clinical pharmacist for 25 years and wanted to see the country. So I can say with medical certainty that Anthony Apergis is psychotic. He should not be in charge of a company, other people, or animals. He is a time bomb waiting for the right life circumstance to do something that will put him in jail.
The DOT of any state, if they pulled him into the office and went through his truck, they would find that he demands and drives 20 hours per day, has 2-3 sets of drivers logs, and, well I'm not sure he is fit mentally. He is a menace on the road. Forces you to drive 2 lane country cambered roads with snow & ice just to avoid the toll highways in MA, Indiana & Ohio. His decisions of where and when to drive put my life at risk 4 times. Eventually, he put me in a situation on I-84 in southern Idaho during a storm where the interstate was closed, and I was literally blown off the interstate and down a 150ft embankment. Simultaneously, there were 9 other accidents, in the same 1/4 mile area, one of which was a fatality. He forced me to drive on that day. I refused at first because I thought that I was in charge of the truck while I was the driver. He fired me over the phone, yelling-screaming at me, because I was to afraid to drive. The previous 4 days of driving was deep drifting snow and closed interstates from Boston to the Rockies. I made the wrong decision to try and keep my job and drove so the final decision was mine to drive that truck. But it was Anthony Apergis who threaten my job if I didn't drive.

Avoid working for this out of control psychotic, for he is dangerous and expects you to break every law that gets in HIS way. That is his expectation.

He also didn't pay me just like the commentors above. I turned him into the WA state dept of L&I, and after 6 months I got my money and he got an enourmous fine for not paying me and not paying payroll taxes, as well as, treating employee's like owner-operators. This is on record at the state L&I office.

It is people like him that ruin an honorable profession. I really, really enjoyed driving. Unfortunately, the only other person I drove for was just as much an ### as Anthony Apergis. So needless to say.......I quit driving completely because every person whom I have worked for think they can abuse drivers. This industry is really messed up because of the people, not the trucks or the roads.

 

Finally the truth comes out, There is always another side to every story on TTR, nyy thank you for these posts..I drive for a small outfit too, and we have our share of idiots.BUt the owner is genuine and will bend over backwards to help me, not like the mega carriers where you are a name on a computer screen and have to be babysat 24/7

 

Two Brokers to avoid.... TQL ( we all know their story and its bad), and Gulfwiinds ( out of Houston,Tx) They pay net 45 days.... which turns into net 60 plus!! Why are we delivering their loads on time, without any issues?? But they make you wait 2 to 3 months before paying!!?? Blah!!!

ooops!! Meant to post this in the " Terrible Brokers" thread... My bad !!