CRETE - A Year in Review

Kinda sounds like me ssb. The cpm here was main reason i came to crete. When freight slows down its nice to have those extra cents to keep paycheck decent. Theres a company by my house that is flatbed or id have joined them. They let you pimp your company truck as much as you want. It was tempting but thoughts of 20 below blizzard tarping pushed me to crete.

 

Why is the permits dept called "prorate"? I looked up the word, but don't understand the usage. I always thought 'prorate' had something to do with paying a partial (prorated) bill like when you sign up for cable tv and they prorate the first bill for a partial billing cycle.

 

I have been out of trucking for over 5 years so I don't think I could get hired by any of the major companies. I was able to come back to Crete because I had worked for them before and left on good terms. I am unfamiliar with what is going on with all the major carriers and was wondering if you could provide any advice on this. My records show that when I worked for Crete before, the average trip length was 800+ miles (plus they had load select). That is my highest priority and has obviously changed shockingly. The mini runs are so exhausting and involve so many unpaid nightmare hours.

I would take a pay cut (even though I'm already at a low level, lol) if I knew of a company that offered that. Many companies claim stuff like that in their ads, but are there really any dry van companies left that offer 800+ mile trips to solos? Thanks

 

I think in my time here (about 7 1/2 months), my average trip length is right at 600 miles....like 597....

 

What does that mean exactly?

 

It has to do with our CSA scores with the D.O.T. When you have low scores it means that of the times your company's trucks have been pulled in and inspected, your trucks and their drivers have had a low incidence of hours violations or equipment violations. When the D.O.T. pulls trucks into a scale, they often don't mess with trucks that aren't going to have a problem, their main interest besides writing tickets is to get unsafe and dangerous trucks off the road.

 

This load from WI to Orlando actually worked out good except the delivery time...0100. I left home on the 11th's afternoon, I ran just shy of 3000 by Sunday morning where I pulled in my driveway and had enough time to put in a 34 with a couple hours to spare before I ran the last 130 miles to deliver in Orlando. Even though we got that message about stopping near home resets our RDO automaticaly, my A/M was wondering if I wanted to head back home after delivery. I had only been out 6 days...holy crap. While I was waiting on my unload, I was offered a preplan, 325 mi deadhead to Statesboro, GA to Elwood, IL. 1200+ total miles by Wednesday 2359, but since I used 2 1/4 hrs getting here, I wouldn't have had the drive hours to make it since it would have taken 20, so they pulled it and offered me a 400 miler out of Palatka to the Atlanta area. That'll still put me over 2000 by Wednesday, plus an extra day and a half at home. The load I brought down to FL was only 8000 lbs, this puppy got 8.1 mpg...man it would have been great if I'd had that kind of mileage when I owned my own.

 

Originally Posted by Goldsmith
... low scores so we dont get pulled in for inspections much. Imo nice trucks. .

Would you agree with his assessment, Snack?

Edit: The reason I ask is that a friend of mine who drives for a TC that shall remain nameless, has been inspected multiple times in just his first couple of months on the job. I asked him if the TC's reputation was the reason and he didn't think so. The good news is that he has become extremely careful with his PTI and goes over the rig and trailer with a fine tooth comb probably above and beyond what is normally req'd. Of course, he 's probably losing earnings but it's better than racking up points, I would guess.

But someone else I know told me that that TC had shabby equipment.

 

Going over your truck on a thorough PTI actually saves time in the long run...if inspected, they'll find nothing wrong and get you out a little faster plus he wouldn't have to wait for road service for a repair...and it is also a teeney bit faster for them to write up a 'no violations' report rather than listing all the reg numbers that are in violation on equipment defects. More than just saving time, a thorough PTI could help not only his company's CSA score but his personal CSA when he gets a clean inspection.

 

Thanks Snack, but I should have been more specific: Would you agree with Goldsmith's assessment of Crete having low scores?