Crete Carrier - A Year In Review - Fall 2013 Going Forward

I said "experience means nothing... IF you don't do your homework and research"
I wouldn't suggest doing this with no money in the bank for "what ifs".
No matter what you do in life you take a chance every time you set out of bed.

Speaking of "realistic expectations" if Crete is so great how all OTR drivers don't work there? lol that's silly
What is great for one person isn't for another.
For example some people like working with agents to get their loads so Schneider thus would not be for them.

 

Crete isnt forcing me so it is "fair". Schneider does not lose out at all or weighs anything in favor for you if it does not benefit them. I want less risk so there is less reward. Crete will do a lot of the work for me and thus should make money for doing so.

Pay by the mile is in no way a scam. I love the idea of capitalism and true entrepreneurship. A man i worked for as a subcontractor owns 40 apartment complexes that have 12 to 18 buildings in them with 24 apartments in each one. Most units are full. He owns the company that builds them for him. He owns the finance company that finances it all. He was 45 years old at that time. He owned 5 homes. One man makes all that money. Most of the other subs were envious of him, jealous of him, and hated him. The way i looked at him though was that he provided hundreds of jobs for people to support and feed their families, and he did this long term. If it weren't for him and his own success then i wouldnt have had the opportunity to be my oen success. Crete isnt preying on or taking advantage of anyone. This is a free country and no one is required to work there, take a test there, or stay there. Those who do choose to, do it of their own accord and using their own intellect. Crete is providing work for 5000 people. Some dont like it here and thats ok. They arent wrong to feel that way. Some do like it and work for years here. Crete wants my tires to roll as much as a company driver. Why? Because i will make them money, and i will make myself money. Just not as much as you, and with less responsibilty. I respect your view, ive been there, done that. I am the 42 year old driving the red freightshaker listening to Sirius while driving down the road thinking about what im gonna cook that night and how long me and my dog are gonna walk while i talk with my wife and make our plans for the 3 days im home. Im not looking to chase the dream anymore, just to be productive and happy.

 

I respect that, there's nothing wrong with just driving and worrying about less stuff.
Everybody enjoys different things.
The only thing that kinda bugs me is drivers working for nothing. Crete does pay better than most so I'm cool with it lol

 

Many people are making good points here. Different people have different wants. I bought a truck in part to have a little more freedom and control, not because I thought I'd make more money. I thought it was ridiculous to sit around 1 or 2 days for an oil change when I could get it done at a truckstop in one hour. Also, I went home for all major holidays, as opposed to being stuck out on the road with little work and no compensation for sitting there with nothing to do.

Currently, percentage seems to be the way to make more money. But I've also been trucking long enough to know that when the economy slows down, the mileage driver will likely do better, because rates will suck. One of my best friends I met at Crete had come to Crete during the big recession because flatbed rates were terrible. He returned 2 tractors and trailers to a finance company. He and his brother brought their 2 remaining tractors to Crete until rates improved. Now my friend is back pulling a stepdeck and doing well. At one point he had three trucks again. So yes, rates are good,and have been for a few years. But some folks don't know what can happen in an economic downturn. I started trucking in a recession because jobs were unavailable in my chosen field. I guess I've gone through 2or 3 recessions now. I remember when a person could buy a truck cheap because the dealers couldn't get rid of them. In 2001 Knoxville Freightliner had 2 new Classics for about $70,000 each.They had been on the lot for a year. A friend of mine bought one for $69,000. Ran it 550,000 miles and sold it for $35,000.
I've seen plenty of repossessed trucks for sale cheap when the economy is bad. So I hope people understand that things can get bad and many people don't have the finances to weather the storm.
Be prepared and don't assume things will stay good, because at some point it WILL go to hell.

 

Anyway, here's an example. During the great recession, one December at Crete, I hauled 2 loads. I started out from Marietta GA and took a load to NC. I parked in a shopping center in front of a closed grocery store. After a day, I got a load back to Atlanta. I decided to park the truck and go home instead of hauling a load and sitting, etc.

I also remember the recession of 2000. The dotcom bubble. People got crazy investing in anything related to the internet, which was fairly new at the time. If the a company had .com in the name, people would buy the stock. Eventually, the bottom dropped out. Plus the truck dealers would sell a truck to anybody. So, there was a glut of used trucks after that. You could buy a nice used fleet truck with 500,000 miles cheap. I saw used Swift trucks. Condo sleeper. Advertised for $27,000.
I also remember used Marten Peterbilt 379's for about $30,000.

 

My current truck I bought in 2003. When the economy turned bad around '08 or '09, and the freight slowed down, I remember telling a friend that if I was gonna sit around with nothing to haul, I was glad I was sitting in an old truck, as opposed to a new one.

Anyway, enough about recessions. Let the good times roll! !!!!.

 

To some extent, I seem to be agreeing with Supersnackbar........ and what kinda name is Supersnackbar anyway ????
Should I refer to him as Mr. Snackbar ???? Or maybe, be a bit casual and call him Snack ????
Agreeing with Supersnackbar. .... I really didn't see this coming. ...

 

Supersnackbar is a unique handle. I use to be known in a previous life as 38special, or just plain 38...but people thought that I was a crazed fan of the rock band with the same name....a good friend use to call me the 'snack master' because I use to do a lot of in between meal snacking. So I just adapted that, and have been supersnackbar ever since.

And you can call me anything you like....as long as you don't call me late for dinner

 

The last time I talked to one of my o/op friends, he got a load choice for a little while, but mostly he was offered one load. You can refuse loads. But dispatchers can get irritable about it.

 

Sheesh, almost spent the night in Indy, but I'm not there watching another Final Four. Go Kentucky.
I hate basketball,