Con-way Truckload Hopeful. Questions and experiences needed.

Well,I'll tell you what I can. I say Conway would be a good company ( you'll do a lot of work there,good experience) The few Conway drivers I knew pulled doubles all the time and drove and drove and drove worked hard everyday. Did a lot of hand truck unloading and multiple stop deliveries.Drop one double,go get another. They were living large on payday. Said the benefits were good,not great but good.Some said it was pretty nerve racking and physical. Dont know about truckload,whether you have to handle freight a lot? Just be ready to work. Their headquarters is in Conway Arkansas. I tried to go there in 98 but you had to have a co signer for their school.So I didnt get in. No dropyards to drop your trailer when you go home,anywhere around Phoenix? Are you dug in in Phoenix? I would think about maybe living in Conway but I dont know your situation ,maybe all your relatives and friends live by Phoenix,so you may want or need to stay. Just saying its really cool when you live 10 miles from terminal and you just call a cab or someone to pick you up and your home quickly taking maximum home time everytime.Meanwhile your truck is getting serviced,washed and fueled while you're sitting at home.Fresh and ready when you come back to work. Just something to consider anyway.As far as inverters those creature comforts are nice.Missed it ,are you running team or solo? Some drivers have satellite tv,just plug it in and clip it on there mirror when layed over. Recommend a fridge at least. You'll spend a lot of cash if you eat in truck stops a lot. Recommend stocking up at Walmart . A lot of truck stops give free coffee to you when you fill up.Recommend some Goretex clothing from Cabelas. Pricey but really comes in handy when the weather is bad and you have to work outdoors for an hour. Carry at least a small survival bag of tools also (pliers,wrenches,big hammer for beating in the tandem pins,torx head folding assortment and a tire knocker)Works good for weirdos in bad areas also. Hope this helps.

 

BUMBACLADWAR your information is not about TRUCKLOAD it is about Freight, You will not touch the freight unless you want to, then they will tell you that you can and they will pay you peanuts to unload it, I missed 3 appointments for this same issue, "Guaranteed Home Time" Request it 7 days out bla bla bla... Then 2 days later your DM says "Oh I didn't receive your request"!!! The forth time I turned in my truck in Phoenix. The home time is not scheduled as they say it is, they get you home when it is convenient for them, You will drop the empty/loaded trailer at the FREIGHT yard off of 71st Ave and Buckeye, I'm not sure what their deal with hiring a newbie out of school, but I guess they have made enough guys mad that they need a new crop, I posted in here a while back a little about them and attacking my DAC, They will do it and they don't care what you have waiting at home with their mouths wide open waiting for a worm to be dropped in, They are not the best around by any means but they will get you by till you can go someplace else, Don't let them attack your DAC you will be ruined, I'm just now recovering from it and it happened in the beginning of my career. Good Luck.

 

There is not a truckload terminal in Phoenix, but there is a large Freight terminal that truckload frequently uses for relays (7002 W Sherman st). Con-way Truckload also hosts orientation for experienced drivers out of a hotel in Tolleson. So there is a decent presence in Phoenix. Aside from Phoenix itself, plenty of loads go to/from Nogales & Calexico so getting you home shouldn't be very hard.

Also Conway drivers are not allowed to disconnect from trailers or drive around in the truck during hometime (breaking this policy can get you fired). The exception is if you park at a freight terminal -- often they'll have you drop the trailer on one part of the lot and park in another (I'm almost positive the Phoenix terminal is this way)...

If you're hired now, it'll probably be closer to 15 month wait for vision & dental (you've missed the Jan 1 enrollment so you'd be eligible for those benefits in April 2015)

Fuel bonus details haven't been released yet, but that might come later today at a company conference call. There is an idle policy posted at all the terminals -- idling prohibited from 20-70* (and bunk heaters work fine above 15* with curtains closed). But there is no idle percentage target or threshold and you'll probably see 1/4-1/3 of the trucks idling at a terminals when it is 55*

In my 49 weeks here, I've run 121,000 miles (2470/week). I also took ~5 weeks off (2750 miles per working week). Our terminals have a power-point presentation running by the dispatch windows and I seem to recall the average annual mileage per driver was around 115,000 (2200/week for 52 weeks, 2500/week for 46).

Officially you reach your 1 year of service mark at 120,000 miles. You receive your 1 year pay raise at 125,000 miles.

But if you want to be home every 2-3 weeks, expect to be at or below average... You may be in a different boat being in Phoenix, but I wouldn't count on it...

The trucks have inverters installed already, though I'm not sure the wattage. It handles my small microwave (750W) and mini-fridge just fine -- though I do unplug the fridge before using the microwave... You may be able to upgrade to a bigger inverter, but I don't know anything about it.

Good for you for researching before committing. Read all threads, good and bad. I definitely have a favorable view of Con-way, but I post plenty of daily gripes in the 'whats your 20' thread. I think you'll find that the vast majority of negative threads about Con-Way mainly list complaints that apply to any OTR job -- especially from those expecting to stay in their home region...

But of the other gripes, the main seems to do with home time (particularly getting solos from Florida & California home on time). I do think you'll do better than most being next to a major relay point in Phoenix, but it is still very tough to be home precisely on a certain date without being willing to take 5 days hometime to ensure it. To elaborate, you can request hometime after being on the road for 8 days. Conway then has another 8 days to get you home before they will allow you deadhead home (unpaid). I live in an absolute dead zone for freight, and it has taken anywhere from 5 to 10 days to get home. So if I have, for example, a dental cleaning scheduled for January 24, I'd have to hilight around January 13 and be prepared to take up to 6 days off in order to ensure I make my appointment.

On the upside, you can bank your days off and take up to a month at a time (longer than a month and you have to be rehired due to DOT regs).

 

You're welcome. Beats doing taxes...

Yes. At some companies, you would lose the 3 days you did not use. That is not the case at Con-Way -- they go in the bank...

So lets say you stayed out 3 weeks and requested 3 days off. You get home in 7 days instead of the 9 you planned. You would be able to take off 4 days (3 for the weeks you were out, 1 for the week you headed home). If you had additional time banked, you could use that as well. Otherwise you would technically have to come back before you wanted. Your FM may be willing to work something out for a special circumstance (especially if you communicated your need to be home on X date well in advance), but otherwise I wouldn't count on it.

But it is easy to bank additional days. For example, you put in for 2 days hometime after 2 weeks. You get home after week 3. You've already banked the 1 you earned coming home... And if you got home at say 10am -- that day doesn't count as home time (730 am is the cutoff). So you could be home for 2 3/4 days but only "charged" for 2... Or you might decide to use 1 3/4 days and come back to work 1 day early -- banking 2 days...

In general I think you would be in store for disappointment running OTR. Being near Phoenix it may not be as bad, but you are going to be thousands of miles from home when things happen that you wish you were there for... It is possible to be home on exactly X date, but not probable if you want to use all of your home time every 2-3 weeks. If, in general, you can handle being home on random days rather than specific dates -- then you can probably be happy here.

OTR truly is a lifestyle so if you know it isn't for you, I would suggest you look for local and regional carriers. You may find a few willing to take a recent graduate -- especially if you have all your endorsements and a super-clean record. Did you check with con-way freight? Some freight terminals even offer training... Otherwise plan on gutting it out for a year or two to get enough experience to apply where you'd like to finish your career.

 

Company suks.....I only made 57k this year (and I'm ones of those FL cry babies)

i would think your east coast highlight to go home would be easily & quickly for filled
highlighting when your 1800+ mi from home would work to your benefit

you can highlight after 7 days I believe , so on the 8th you would put one in ( I alway check online or call to make sure my highlight was done)

 

You are right next to great loads and many drop yards.

I would go home every other week if I were you. Get those miles coming out.

Heard rumors we were going to build another terminal for truckload there or south of las vegas.

Why are you guys so horny?