Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

I haven't seen anything as such...but that's not saying it doesn't exist. The best thing probably is to just ask questions...and you are already doing that on this forum - others will chime in. The ones I know of are:

Fred Meyer - hard to get on though and usually requires 1yr with Central before getting on
Farmland - as discussed earlier
Midwest - as discussed earlier in this thread by others
Kraft -
Dole -
Coors - Ice Man???
Cafe...something -

And I'm sure there are others...I'm just opening the door for you.

 

You have to either A) wait for a fleetwide message about openings, or B) call up driver services and see whats available. I dont think any dedicateds get over .40/mi, but .34-.38 is a pretty consistent range. Some team fleets get up to .40.

 

I hate it when that happens...you just get through saying 'it's about time' and then it's gone...arghhhh.

 

Kraft is .34, plus .005 every 6 months up to .36. Miles are ~25-2700 most of the year, but you can push to 3000+ if you're diligent with your communication.
Cafe valley is team only.
Dole and coors are both hard to get on, and fred meyer is hard to get on and EASY to get the boot from.

We also have some dedicated intermodal in the chicago area, potatoes running locally in the pasco, WA area, and random small fleets.

 

My bad...it's "Ice Train" - my most humble apologies.......

 

I clipped my mic holder into the netting above my CB. I've seen trucks where drivers do that, but be prepared to be charged for it, just in case.

 

Saw the message today for the local chicago intermodal drivers, anyone got any pay details on that? I accidentally deleted the message, so i dont have the number anymore. Not that I would want to live in Chicago, but still be interesting to know what kind of pay theyre offering.

 

That would be too easy! no, you just kind of see what rolls across the Qualcomm, and then apply. Kraft and Farmland came across today. There's also a UNFI account, Lady K and Klingon I think are on that. Also, there's some new account running stuff out of Reser's, but I don't know if it's a dedicated route or not. Except for the occaisional Kraft load, and a rarer beer load, I don't have to touch the dedicated stuff. I'm more likely to end up handling intermodal, and that's still uncommon.

As to how Central is, it's just a different coloured truck. Large companies aren't all that different it seems, and you'll probably figure out the quirks right away.

 

coors is a good fleet to run on if you keep a clean service and safety record. They generally require 3 months for this fleet but it may be more now. We have regional fleets that run out of Denver CO, Eden NC and Albany GA. We also have a 48 state fleet. We pull all dry vans and hardly ever if at all have a pickup or delivery past 1500 in the afternoon. We run out from the breweries with distributor service loads and deadhead back to the brewery if its under like 600 miles, if its more miles they get us broker loads for our back hauls. We also run brewery to brewery loads. Like me at the moment, I had a 900 mile dh so they put me on a broker load to reposition me closer to the brewery. Ah yeah, I forgot to mention. Every load we haul is very heavy except for some of the back hauls. This is one fleet where being the average steering wheel holder just don't cut it. You will have to be very good at adjusting your axle weights and be a cautious and curious driver. We've had a couple of guys hit the brakes to hard and wind up under a pile of beer this year so far. I'm not sure about the pay for the company guys for this fleet. Some of the places we go will have you scratching your head a bit too. If you live close by a brewery you can be home a good bit, I'm home about every or every other weekend. And the best part, I don't have to have a reefer sing me to sleep every night. LoL.

 

Fred Meyer must make Central a lot of money. I know the contract is why we're able to have 2 local positions in Portland, whereas Seattle has only 1, and is busier.