Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

Being on dedicated helps with loads out. I live in Tampa and have gotten bagel bites out of ft. Myers, and oj out of leesburg, but if they don't have any of that for me they will dh me all the way to kampdc (atl) rather than have me sit another day. They need all the trucks they have, which can't always be said for the general fleet. To take it to the extreme, I once delivered in Miami and deadheaded all the way to newberry, sc, over 600 miles. Dedicated is a beautiful thing.

My dm helps me always get home on time too. We have nabisco loads out of atl that go to points south, so he hooks me up with one of those and has me drop it in Ocala.

 

We run with enough in our maintenance account (I don't think company drivers have one) to cover our static costs for a minimum of one week and a set of drive tires (SS)... That's about $3000... That way the money is still spent, but at a little at a time vs. a big chunk when it would hurt the most LOL!

 

they said they wont take it back. I have to find somebody or sit at a terminal until i can fin another sucker to take it over. i am tired of negative checks. i ask for timely hometime. late getting there. timely loads out. two days later i get a 500 mile run for the week. they arent bad as far as company drivers go. or you dont care about hometime

 

not a bad company as far as company drivers go. just dont lease from them. if you want to be a real owner operator find your own financing lease on to central if you want(the truck has to be less than 3 years old) i dont know how much they pay their real owner operators. but they have the work as long as you stay on your dm.

 

I love listening to and reading post from folks that flop. It's funny though you only ever get their side of the story. I can say with a very high percent of certainty that if you're suffering from lack of miles, you either have not proved your ability or your value as a safe compliant driver. This is either because you're a new upgrade or a veteran driver that complains and gripes , wrecks, service fails or gets tickets. Granted everybody has a bad trip or screws up sometimes but usually if you're not getting the miles it's simply because your DM can not count on you to get the job done. There is nothing wrong with a central lease IF you have the know how, discipline and ability to run an efficient and profitable business. I admire the person that tries and makes it or fails if they signed the lease based on an educated decision. if you decide to lease thinking you're going to get rich riding around in your AKA their shiney new truck then frankly you deserve what you get. Central will give you all the proverbial tools you need to succeed at driving and making money. it's unfortunate that one of the tools is a rope and it gets used way to often to hang yourself rather than to pull you through the rough times. Central will take advantage of your ignorance what large profitable busines wouldnt. so it's best to educate yourself before dealing with them on the lease issue.

On the home time issue, I've never had a problem getting home even before I was on coors dedicated. The key to the home time issue is A-live near a major freight lane or B-give your DM plenty of notice and stay on them to insure you get home on time. If you live somewhere like Maine or southern florida and got a job working for central, that's on you. You should have done more research and found a company that frequents your area. For the most part , missed or late home time stems from a breakdown in communication between you and your DM. There are exceptions to this as with anything else but for the most they are rare.

 

I submitted my hometime a week in advance while sitting in Cheyenne. I refused to take a load delivering in PA cuz it would not get me back in time. When I got this one delivering Tuesday in IL I was adamant on asking 'will you be able to get me home on time' and he lied to me saying he should be able to. Every day I asked about if he had found my ticket home yet and he would say he is working on it. It's not always a breakdown in communication, sometimes its just a DM that strings you along. He was successful in getting me home the first two, but I really feel let down this time because it really feels like no effort was made to even try to get me home.

 

I have to agree with Ice train on his point that it is a business. You have to treat it like one. Once you sign that dotted line, the truck and all the responsibility is on you to make it work. If you sit at home longer than 2days as a solo lease operator, you have already lost.
My suggestion is to get disciplined, either get on a dedicated account, hire a second seat and team, become a trainer or all of he above.
I remember negative Settlements. I remember ######## about how it was all someone else's fault too...it got me nowhere. I finally set up a meeting with the leasing debt, got my dm in touch with a dedicated acct on my behalf and becam a trainer on a dedicated.
I ran my ### off 30 days out 4days off. Rinse and repeat. Once the lease was complete, I turned it in and got some r&r. I made decent money doing it...but I had to sacrifice my home time and social life to succeed.
If you lease it, you pretty much marry the truck...in the long run, hate it all you want, but its cheaper to keep her.

 

Aaron, I feel your pain. I do and have been there. However, Cheyenne to pa would have at least put you in a freight lane that you may hav been able to go over his head and swap with another truck for a ticket home. Sitting still only makes the hole bigger under your feet. I'm not trying to talk down to you, I'm really not. I'm on the outside looking in, but I understand.
The more stubborn you are, the less likely dm s will work with you. If you show flexibility, and a pattern of running hard, he more Likely they will work with you. Remember, nobody wants to be in conflict. We are in the truck too make money. Not just for your business, but the carrier.as well.

 

On the MAC 21 (time off request) it states... * Must be 9 days prior to requested date.* ... They have to have time to PLAN. DM's are also restricted by what loads are available or are booked by CS and Planners. That's another reason why advanced notice is required.

Just sayin' ...

 

Good point. A dm is just that. Driver manager, or fleet manager. Load planners are the guys you want to be on the good side of. Unless you go dedicated.