Calex Express....My New Home!

Discussion in 'Discuss Your Favorite Trucking Company Here' started by JohnBoy, Aug 9, 2009.

  1. lost-in-montana

    lost-in-montana Light Load Member

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    Feb 12, 2008
    Pennsylvania
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    Equipment failure at Calex? say it is not so Batman. Not with super Ray R. as shop lead. :)
     
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  3. Cyanide

    Cyanide Light Load Member

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    Aug 15, 2011
    Jacksonville, FL
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    If I couldn't continue pulling my tanker around I'd be right back @ Calex provided they'd have me. Had a great run while I was there and in the big scheme of things, no real issues that couldn't be resolved quickly AND fairly. Only left because my heart's with tanks and I had a really good offer that I couldn't turn down. ;-)
     
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  4. Couger

    Couger Light Load Member

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    May 24, 2011
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    It did not fail. The RR tracks broke it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. As for why it broke... This truck has been backed into by 3 trailers. Two while Todd had it and one while the team before him was using it. After about 600 miles, if it hits 80 miles of bumpy road (IN or CA) it turns into a rolling tuning fork. I get a great massage out of it but it does tend to shake things apart. It would be really hard for the shop to replicate that. I just add air system leaking and regen exhausting out the front to any repair request I make. Paired with the things the mechs check every time; that had done a good job of catching problems before they fell off.

    In general, I think ya'll are a little rough on the mechs. At most, there are 6 of them to 145 of us. Right now, there are only 4 and 1 PM person instead of 2. The fact that they keep up at all is impressive and problems related to a given repair seem rare. Sure other stuff goes wrong between their bays and the next load; but, all brands of the newer trucks have that problem.

    On average, it takes 24 hours or less to get in. At a volvo, with around 4 times the staff, it's more like 48 hours to service. TA/Petro is only faster because they work on fewer problems with twice the staff.

    I am not saying they are perfect. Just that they seem earnest/hard working people that are badly out numbered and dealing with an absurd array of non-mechanical stuff that messes up a perfectly healthy engine. Oh yeah, and then some twerp engineer thew a computer into the mix. I am amazed by the rarity of human errors compared to the level of possible complications and the numbers of trucks they work on in a given month. I would love to see a scientific statistical probability analyses; I bet the mechs do very well with the mountain they sift thru.

    As for their chief, I had fair warning from Teresa and some of the other lady Calexiens. I try not to deal with him beyond exchanging pleasantries and acknowledging whatever he tells me about the truck. I have earned a good reputation with Dispatch and Safety; been consistently polite and (when possible) helpful to the mechanics; and am blessed with a mechanically willing truck I pamper. That all grants me a high collision avoidance ratio and the ability to detour the one time he was pushed into my path to keeping Louie happy. The problem was a cascade; the solution was a laser; and I am hopeful no comments will be made about it.
     
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  5. JohnBoy

    JohnBoy Road Train Member

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    Apr 24, 2009
    Lake Worth, FL.
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    I'm home. Got here about 6pm. I have to write about something that has absolutely nothing to do with me, Calex or any recent issue I have had lately. I have to write about......Sweet Potatoes!!! Yes, sweet potatoes, about 1500lbs worth.
    I got to the Petro in Florence about 2am this morning, came around the corner in the back of the parking lot and saw a spot that I could pull into with an easy back out in the morning when I left. As I pulled into the spot I noticed what looked like a pile of dirt in the spot to my left. As I set my brakes I noticed the dirt was really two piles of sweet potatoes, I couldn't believe my eyes, two huge piles of these things in the middle of a parking spot in the back row. I went to bed wondering what that was all about. I was tired so I went right to sleep. I was woken up about 7:30i n the morning to the sound of a police radio going off. I got dressed and got out to the greeting of 2 police cars with policemen and the manager of the Petro looking over this pile of sweet potatoes. They asked me how long I was there and I told them about 5 hours and that the sweet potatoes were there when I parked. They took pictures of the mess as did I then I left. Apparently someone was over weight and dumped these thing right there in the parking lot.

    For the life of me, I can't figure out why we as a whole, have such a bad reputation with the general public. It's bad enough that these parking lots look like and smell like a third world country, and a lot of these bathrooms I visit look like an outdoor port-a-potty that smells to holy heaven. But come on, getting your weight legal at the expense of a truck stop clean up crew that now has to shovel this mess into a dumpster? Who ever did this deserves nothing less than Karma. I can go on all night about what I really want to say, but I'll save it as I'm sure you all have the same thoughts. Here's what it looked like this morning. Pitty the poor folks that have to dispose of this drivers overweight problem. Sweet potatoes......unreal.

    Florence SC Petro.jpeg
     
  6. Trashtrucker1265

    Trashtrucker1265 Road Train Member

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    Dec 14, 2009
    Inverness, Fl
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    Hmm, maybe a dump trailer driver? I've unfortunately seen guys do that when I did that kind of work, especially with the sand haulers in central Florida. That's ridiculous!
     
  7. JohnBoy

    JohnBoy Road Train Member

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    Lake Worth, FL.
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    My 12 year old W900 with 1.5 million miles on the clock I drive has been in the shop less than any Volvo I have driven here. I don't know if its the truck or the shop.
     
  8. JohnBoy

    JohnBoy Road Train Member

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    Lake Worth, FL.
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    I remember something told to me many years ago by an old timer. He said to me to look at some of these trucks along with some of these drivers, they are a direct reflection on how they live at home. No truer words were ever spoken.

    The driver that dumped that mess there must not have had any room in his front yard to put the sweet potatoes because of the plastic pink flamingoes and broken appliances taking up room in front of his house that's on wheels.
     
  9. JohnBoy

    JohnBoy Road Train Member

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    Apr 24, 2009
    Lake Worth, FL.
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    Well my payroll circus that's been going on since I got back from vacation in January has finally been resolved. I am now able to not have to occupy what little space I have left in my head dealing with missing reimbursements and missing trip envelopes. It's only taken 6 weeks. Anyway, thanks to the big cheese at Pittston for taking care of it personally and calling me yesterday to let me know we are now all squared away.
     
  10. cowmantrucker

    cowmantrucker Bobtail Member

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    May 3, 2012
    Grove, OK
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    Chris "The Rookie" been here 2 years
    Tom Been here 2 years
    Rob "Rhino514" been here 2 years
    Gary "Garylobo" been here 2 years
    James "Cowman Trucker" been here a year
    Ray :KWRay" been here 6years
    Christine Been here 2+years
    John "Johnboy" (me) 4 years


    Actually not been here quite a year, and now I am gone. I hate to leave this company, considering dispatch has been good to me since moving to the middle of the country. Sounds like I might of been bumped from truck if I hadn't left because the original driver finally came back. Anyway any new recruits on the east coast come on over to Calex. Well I'll still check in occasionally, and maybe even follow John lead and start a blog of my own.
     
  11. JohnBoy

    JohnBoy Road Train Member

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    Apr 24, 2009
    Lake Worth, FL.
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    James, good luck at the new gig. Glad you found something to keep you closer to home. There's one thing more important then any truck, job or time away from home, it's your family.
     
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