Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

Nottoway, which arm? If it is you left you can baby it the first week (you do not shift in the yard) also if you can raise your arm above your head and carry 50lbs (using both arms) you can pass the work well test. Make sure you cut the Narcotics out soon if you are taking them, you don't want to get sent home with a bad pee test.
Also check with your therapist about resistance bands they don't take up too much space and can help with recovery/strength building

 

Yeah Moose, unfortunately its my right. However, I feel like I still have good strength. I'll practice with the 50#. Question: Do I need to lift the 50# above my head? Its certain motions that give me a problem, like reaching behind. It was injured during the time while in cdl school and it didn't noticeably affect my ability to shift the 10 speed. I only used four of the Percocets...last time took 2 at same time before a PT session and made me sick on the stomach and NEVER plan to take another one! Took those last two on 9-26-12. I'm not using anything now for pain...not worth it! Once I injured it, I basically stopped using it unnecessarily, therefore the diagnosis ended up being Adhesive Capsulitis ... frozen shoulder ...and the treatment is lots of painful stretching out the muscles/tendons. Not much fun.
But I'm working hard on it, doing 1 hour of stretches/exercises twice a day...everyday. I am definitely motivated!

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

Me

 

I'm kind of one myself. Just ask my ol' lady...

 

You will need to pass the workwell. So you will have to lift the 50 lbs over your head. You will have to pull a set pressure on a handle, do not remember what it is. Those are the worst two for a shoulder injury. The lifting is the hardest. Because the push and pull tests you use a ballistic motion. Hard and fast. This will give more pressure than a steady push or pull. And the needle on the reader stops at max force. So easy way to get it is to use your body and some momentum.

We may have had a few plants in here from time to time. But most are not. And quite a few like myself are drivers that worked at Central several years ago. So on many things we cannot give current information. But for the overall methods of the company, shipping lanes, terminal locations, and how we were treated, we can give info on.
If the company had screwed us over we would not still be on this board. Maybe for a week or two to complain, but that would be about it.
I was probably the first in the current posters to leave Central, and I was one of the first to work for them. Only one poster here that I know of was with them before I was there.

Trucking company's are around to make money. They want to get the biggest bang for the buck out of every piece of equipment they have. You as the driver happen to be the person that makes that piece of equipment work. So the more you work, the more money that piece of equipment makes.
It is in your best interest to run hard. And in the interest of the company as well.
Central has a much longer average length of haul than many other company's. Marten is going more regional, England is going more team. So Central is one few large refrigerated carriers that have long haul OTR solo. That really has good long hauls.
If you are full OTR and not regional they will not want you to be near home for at least the first 6 months. Accept when going to your home area for home time, they will route you well around it.
So because I live in NY. They would send me straight to CA or NV, every time I left the house. Then I would run the west for a week or so. Then run to GA and run from there to the midwest for a week or so till time to head home. I took hometime every 4-5 weeks when I was full OTR.

After 6 months I got on the Kraft fleet. At that time Kraft was .40 cpm for the whole fleet. Even new guys with only 6 months experience went up to that rate.
I was still running 3000+ miles per week. Every week. I had very few weeks under 3000 in the year and a half I worked for Central. I ran hard and did not need anyone holding my hand. Once my dispatcher realized I had allot of experience that I was just not getting paid for, she used it.

You have to get to know your dispatcher. You have to communicate at all times. And you must plan every route like you have not done it before.
Never accept a load till you are 100% you can deliver it on time. If you plan the trip and see that you cannot deliver it on time you have to let dispatch know that you cannot do that run, and ask if they can set a time you can deliver it, or just do not accept it.
Once you commit to that load it is yours. And if it is late, due to your not checking before accepting it, then it is your fault. Not the planners.

 

Great information ChromeDome. I am very appreciative.

I will be assessing my shoulder's progress and deciding by end of next week if I can make the Oct. 22nd orientation I am scheduled for or if I'll have to delay it in order to heal more. Will discuss lifting weight in my PT session tomorrow (Wed).

Thanks again...your insights are invaluable!!!

 

So, if I am from California, does that mean that a lot of my OTR will be east of the Mississippi?

 

No not really if you get your 6 months in Kraft had a west coast gig Ca to Wa up n down the 5 may be something good for you but only as a company driver not good enough for a lease also look into Coors dedicated I still have 3 friends on it they pull 2700 and better every week loads are heavy but appt times are much better and not set in stone like refer appts. I ran both Coors solo and Walmart training. Your goal should be to look for something dedicated to many trucks running OTR.

 

Kraft took a pay decrease 2 years back and as far as I know still no detention 1bad ran it east coast he could give you more facts but it still may be a good thing if you live on the east coast. If your around NE Farmland had a thing going as well.

 

kraft pays .34/mi now. you get detention, but only after 3 hours. Thats made up for to some extent by the fact that you get mostly drop and hook.

Farmland is basically a salary gig. 2300 miles/wk, .38/mi. No detention, few weeks over the 2300 guarantee, and a lot of 5 day 600 mile multistop (which you dont make extra for) loads.