mercer transportation

Its a packed house here in mercertown this afternoon. The orientation class looked to be full when I walked by. Seems like mercer's the place to be!

 

My truck is an 08 T660 and I'll start by saying you made a wise decision staying away from DPF only-trucks.
Mine has been worst than a bad habit sucking me dry.
Now my t660 is a 260" wb, and for flatbed (anybody correct me if I'm wrong) I've always heard is best to have 260+ due to the spread on rear and king ping distance to front end, specially in the great danes we pull.
Good luck with your purchase and application@ mercer

 

You are exactly right oscar. This would not be a good place for those that need to be hand held or dispatched like a company truck.

 

Lucar, wheelbase is more of the drivers preference. My 387 has a 242" wb. Set back fuel tanks. I set the fifth wheel at 0 and weight is perfect. But I guess every set up is different, my old International was 260", had to set the fifth wheel all the way back at -6 to be legal.

 

I would've agreed until having lunch with couple coodinators Friday. Heard they now discourage new drivers from even looking at the load board especially during orinatation. Some coodinators will not work with new drivers if the coodinator can't pick the loads.
I was quite shocked and expressed I wouldn't let any coodinator run my truck. They say most new drivers have such a hard time staying out of bad areas if choosing their own loads.
Maybe the coodinators are trying to keep job security? Or maybe new drivers need their hand held for a while. Especially if they have trk payments.

 

I've been thinking the same thing since I signed on. Nothing has ever been said about that directly however after talking to my coordinator and other drivers for the last six months it seems like they are scared to let everyone go 100% load board only. I use the board about 75% of the time and use my coordinator when I'm driving and he calls up for some loads to offer me. However, when I plan myself my coordinator seems to get a little annoyed that I didn't go through him directly before committing. I'm sure they would like the load board to completely go away. I'm just guessing here but I think that a lot of the old timers who are towards the end of their careers probably aren't to computer savy and let the coordinators to just about everything for them. Then you have the new guys sign on because they want to be able to pick and choose their own loads. Those new guys use the coordinators for the first few weeks and then go directly to the load board and never talk to their coordinators. Eventually the older drivers will move on or retire and by then the majority of the fleet will be using the load board, making the coordinators job not needed anymore.

Now, I really like mine. He's been there for 30+ years and really knows where I should run and who I should haul for. I like having someone to offer me loads when I cannot be looking online for them. Although I could do without the slight guilt trips I get when I commit on a load without him offering it to me.

Also, those drivers who can't stay out of the bad areas; isn't that the point of learning? I know it doesn't help mercer to have 100 new guys in a place where theres no loads and they are just sitting but how are those guys going to learn?

 

I hope u guys keep coming with these kinds of posts & comments, again I say VERY INFORMATIVE & HELPFUL. And I'll say up front, if I have any question, I would prefer to ask a DRIVER already in the position I am trying to get to, & definitely appreciate any helpful(& hopefully HONEST) answer he/she could give, same as I would if someone asked me a question. Thanks to all of u!!

 

I went straight out of orientation to the board.
I came here to call my shots and that's exactly what mercer has given me.
My coordinator (sweet lady) runs her board as a pro, and I'm thankful she doesn't interfere in my decisions.

 

Same here, I let Jim do his job the first week and then I did it on my own. Once he saw I knew what I was doing it was no big deal. There are some coordinators that are control freaks. Im grateful I did not get one, it wouldnt have lasted long.

I get a combo of agents calling me direct, or the load board.

 

I understand the weight change on the drives but not the being legal I thought bridge laws were from kingpin to tandems Axel so with a fix spread you should be good no matter what your wheelbase is I am in no way an expert in this area but as a former maintenance man (not a mechanic) The two biggest effects from wheelbase I see would be turned radius and load overhang if anyone knows of a link or a webpage that goes over the different types of set ups for a flatbed I'd appreciate it I also thank you for your input so far