CRETE - A Year in Review

The national drivers are starving for miles. I can't believe that regional miles are anything to write home about. As far as average miles, especially the northeast, it's hard for me to say since I'm on the Crete side...but most Shaffer driver I talk to wish they were getting the miles I got in 2012...which sucked in my opinion.

 

Thanks for the tips about the qualcomm. That's why I love this forum!

Very interesting. My left front speaker has not worked the whole time I've had this truck. At first I just assumed the previous driver had blown it, or the audio cable to my satellite radio was messed up. I checked the equalizer settings and everything is evened out. I bet it has something to do with that cutout function.

I love it! LOL, talk about inquisitive. You must be a very curious person to have discovered that one.

 

Ya know, I was mad at Crete for botching my application so horribly, but reading these posts over the past few pages is making me believe they did me a favor. Been a lease operator at Celadon for a couple of months now and doing okay, except for the standard corporate cluelessness that seems to come with the territory whenever you work for a company with more than a couple dozen trucks. I had a dispatcher who was as spaced out as the ones you guys are complaining about, one conversation with her supervisor got me a different one who seems to actually be aware that I'm a human being. I just don't like how the loads are dispatched here (straight from planner, driver sees it before dispatcher does). And I do like my truck (2013 International Prostar Plus Eagle with Maxxforce, straight 10, electric idle reduction system, fridge, 1100 watt inverter). Have averaged 8.21 mpg over the past couple of weeks...I'll take a 65mph governor (I drive the double nickel anyway) for fuel costs that low.

Sadly, none of this has done anything to improve my dismal sex appeal.

 

<Stomping feet>I DON'T WANNA GO TO WORK TOMORROW!! I DON'T WANNA!!

 

That's a good idea. If you can get a ski cap type thing it makes a tremendous difference too. I sleep with a wool stocking cap (not sure if that is the correct name) and most of the time that in conjunction with the heater makes me too hot.

 

whoever is coming to shaffer listen up your happyness is all about your a.mgr if you got a good relationship with them, you will be happy here... been saffer for 3 years now on the national side i dont have any complaints

 

If your happy with the miles you posted a few pages back...than that's cool...but if your not able to live on that few miles/year...then Shaffer isn't worth switching. Especially if your coming on the RDO6 fleet(6 days out). That fleet takes a big drop in per mile pay, plus averages less miles per week.
Most of us out here aren't doing this for fun, we do it for the pay, and if your AMM and operations treat you great, but can't get you more than 110-115,000(on the national fleet)per year, and your spending a lot of time away from home for that kinda miles...then I wouldn't be happy...unless they started paying $0.55-0.60 per mile.

 

if your speaker is out all the time, then there is an issue with the interface between the q/comm and the stereo. Try hitting the 'home' key 4 or 5 times on the dash control...sometimes mine hangs. If you can do w/o hearing your messages...go to the 2nd page (one page right from the home screen), go into settings, then speakers. You can switch it to the DIU speaker(Driver Interface Unit). It'll reboot...then see if you have a speaker for radio. Then if you do, switch it back and see if it resets itself or kills it again. If it kills it, the interface is screwed up and needs replaced. International doesn't do those...our shops do.

 

Usually the left speaker goes off during an overspeed on the qualcom. If the truck is governed at 62 when it hits 62-63 speaker will go off. Sometimes if you just use the poor mans cruise control (floored while on governor) it will go back on.

 

I don't believe Crete has their system set up like that...I'm regularly bumping 63 or 64 and don't lose it...but if someone sends a message, it goes out for a few seconds. I also have it go out when I 1st turn the stereo on for the day. Every now and then my e-nag studders or just loses her voice...and the only thing you can do is wait 2 or 3 minutes and hit the home key and she'll start talking again. If I'm sitting still w/nothing else in the truck making noise, then someone sends a message, you can hear a relay click in the dash...so maybe the relay is bad for the interface.