Glad I moved over to Poly Trucking

The only loads I know about out of FL are Jacksonville or Merritt Island, so deadheading up to Ft Pierce would be going in the right direction.

 

Our shop is no worse than the dealer shops out here.

I went to get my truck this a.m. and their policy is the Quality Control man inspects the Techs repairs before i take possession of the truck.

They left the Qualcom system unbolted and laying in the floor , and when he went on the test drive the truck wouldn't shift... tech left the air lines to the splitter undone.

I lost another 2 hours first thing this a.m. waiting on the guy to redo the other guys mess up.

im convinced Poly isn't any worse than the rest of the repair facilities out here.

My only complaint against Poly is they dont pay breakdown pay ....but then the .48 cpm hub goes a long long way.

Maybe in a way they are paying us breakdown pay in advance

 

I got a call from backhaul telling me to go ahead and head to ft pierce that they dont have any loads for me that they will try again tomorrow. I didn't bother telling them ive been in ft pierce for hours lol but suprised they at least called and let me know something.

 

Rolled down US27 for a change of pace from the last trip to FL. Grabbed about the last parking spot in the Haines City Pilot. About 200 miles to knock out tomorrow for my 1300 delivery and hopefully will get some love on a timely load out of here.

 

to be honest, I would give up our rumored $.02 raise if they would pay breakdown when away from GP's available loaners. I mean, what good is being paid hub miles when the truck is sitting in the shop as often as it's rolling. I will be out 300 days this year, but only turn 115k if I am lucky...if I had some breakdown pay for some of those lost miles, then I wouldn't be considering future employers. In fact, I am so convinced I will be leaving before I have to renew my license the next time (in FL it's 4 years) I am spending the money to keep my hazmat endorsement.

 

i just do the best I can , my miles are low , and it's nowhere near my fault.
i even skipped thanksgiving to try to stay busy and play catch up and
save November but it didn't pan out...oh well.
i learned that you can't recapture time and miles in order to please company policy.
so if they want to make a big deal out of it that's their perogitive.

I don't keep up with the math but it would be interesting to calculate how many days
in a year a driver is stopped dead in their tracks due to mechanical issues with these trucks.
Off the top of my head I can recall being down 6 times in 6 months ,they were mainly roadside breakdowns and 1 blowout ( each roadside event taking anywhere from 3 to 8 hours to complete)
and out of all that 9 days in a motel....that doesn't include being shut down at the gate and held for maintenance by the shop...that's generally 2 to 4 days at a time every 15k cycle.
and also there can be a load wait built into that factor.
so I may be in and out of the shop in 1 day , and waiting on a load for 1 or 2 days.
Amazing how the little things add up to kill productivity.

as far as taking another job , I could be back at my previous job with one phone call.
it was a mom and pop company out in L.A, they contacted me 3 times when i started at poly to let me know " if things don't work out were your going come on back ", i just don't feel like I could deal with California ever again.

a guy asked me about poly at the truck stop yesterday , he is putting in an app.
when equipment came up he mentioned that the company he was with managed
to make Intl take all there trucks back due to engine / mechanical issues.
I'm not sure if it involved lawsuits or what , but they got shed of them and replaced
them with Volvos and Cummins power plants.
So it looks as if this Intl problem is widespread

 

As as far as leaving Poly it would most likely be
a trip from the frying pan directly into the fire .
.48 cpm hub is going to be impossible to beat.
Hub miles are righteous.

 

I agree. Hub miles is hard to beat, but you have to have equipment that will run those miles. Your experience is a big concern to me. There is no excuse for leaving you sit that long. You're a stronger person than me. I would of already lost it. I understand break downs happen, but being that close, something should of been arranged.

 

I admit it's very scary , but you just have to face the reality of it.

Its like cruising along on the Titanic , breeze in your hair ,
champaigne flowing , pretty girls everywhere,
and then suddenly in a moment of rememberance
realizing you've seen this movie....in fact you're starring in it!

And tragically when the inevitable does occur,
remembering , just as in the movie ,
no one heard their cries for help,

Even I have limits , if this truck let go again
in the next day or two after what just went on I would
most likely be forced to make a decision.

 

I leased a truck off a landstar agent , the freedom is nice ; the rates out of Dallas are good ;but when you get to your destination ; it's hard to get a rate that covers fuel costs