CRETE - A Year in Review

It seems to be a pretty decent truck overall. Like I said, it's in better shape than any of the trucks I drove for USA Truck (with the exception of the one I drove for about 2 years, but it took me over a year to get USA Truck to fix all the problems to get it in good shape - then they promptly yanked me out of it to sell it off before it hit 500k miles and slapped me into another steaming heap).

The problem the previous driver had with it was a busted radiator, and that's been replaced along with the hoses and clamps, so that's cool. It was kind of dirty; not filthy, just dusty on the inside, but it's been sitting for a month so I can't complain. It also had about a dozen empty soda bottles in the refrigerator spot behind the driver's seat. I don't even want to know what he was saving those bottles for...

 

Welcome to Crete Redbeard!

BTW, has anyone seen the new Internationals yet? I spotted one pulling a Crete trailer on I-71/I270 JCT up in Columbus, OH a couple days ago. I admit, I did a double take since that 'sure didnt look like a Freightliner Century'!

 

I started with an old truck also. I believe it had 670,000 miles on it when I turned it in. The truck was an '03 and got excellent fuel mileage. The '06 I'm driving now does not do as well in the fuel department, but it is nice to drive a truck that starts with a "3" instead of a "2". It has the hiccup problem in 10th as well as 9th gear.

 

I got a speeding ticket 2-3 weeks ago in New Mexico. Rolling into a small town (Pop. 2) and the officer got me 54mph in a 45. Well, I didnt slow down soon enough. Thank goodness this was not California, the ticket was 65 dollars. The officer wrote the fine on the ticket before I even left. My wife called today and said Crete sent me a letter saying I recieved +3 points for the speeding ticket, and -2 points for the DOT inspection the officer did (he did nothing) plus $25 for passing the inspection. I'm still -7 and the ticket basicaly cost me 40 bucks. Again, thank goodness this wasnt Mexifornia!DRIVE SAFEOh ya! Im getting big red turned down to 62 mph now before I get scalped!!!B service is being done at 10,500 over.

 

They don't swap trucks here because of mileage anymore. My 1st truck only had 500K on it, but it was in the shop... a lot. I was told it is in service 4 yrs. regardless of mileage. But finding out what date your truck 1st entered service is like trying to push a rope... My last truck was well into the 600's when I swapped. And you can't go by the number sometimes. The trucks numbered above yours may have been assigned and issued from a different division and weren't issued to drivers until after yours. I got out of a 288## last December, and I still see 287##'s on the road today.

As for the smoke, the '03, '04 and early '05's with the 12.7 do it worse. But that is the way Detroit does it. There is a little lag in the turbo because of all the EGR sensors and VG turbo actuators. The injectors begin to inject like there is boost before the boost gets there. My 14.1 does it some, but not as bad as the other EGR's I have had.

As for my MRSA, I am now only covering where the injury was so my pants leg doesn't rub it raw. For the most part I am back to as normal as I get (I have never been normal )

I have been slowed a bit this post. I hope it was because of the holiday. I had a Target load going to Indy. Load comments had a mention of needing a drop number, but no number was listed. So I started msg'g ops about it. It was the 4th so no one was in the Target office. Instead of taking it into them and working the problem out myself, I opted to let ops do it. Ops told me to wait until the customer gets in to get a drop number so I did. After repeated msg's to ops the next morning, that went unanswered, I decided to go in anyway. To make a long story...well just as long. They took it, but now instead of being at the top of the freight list, I was well down the list. No freight available for a Saturday morning pickup. Closest loads were coming out of Richmond, IN Sunday afternoon. And the longest is 545 mi for Tuesday. So, here I sit, burning fuel. My idle times, up till now, were in the high 10's to low 20's because I have had the luck of being in the northern climate. Now, it's going to be high because it's been sunny and warm here in IN.

AND KNIGHT...

Don't expect the drop and hooks at Quietflex... I have come in there to unload, and did like you, drop/hook, while other Crete's were sitting at the receiving dock unloading. Made no sense to me, but I wasn't sitting, so I didn't complain. But then 2 weeks later I was back, m/t trailers everywhere, and live unloaded. We do haul back out of there to deliver to A/C companies. Maybe they hold m/t's when they have loads pending, and release them when they don't.

READBEARD...
I bet the truck you got into is a 29### or low 30###. Those were the 2nd generation EGR Detroits. I had one, and it felt the same way. The word I used was guttless (and a few other choice words that would get the #### signs here). Wouldn't pull a hill with an empty trailer without dropping a gear.

 

You hit it on the head. It's a 29XXX. Ah well, it's an '04 model, so I probably don't have that long to wait to get a new(er) truck.

 

I have a question for Crete drivers. Which Terminal and shop is your favorite and why? And which Terminal and shop is your least favorite and why?

Did I really ask that? I'm at the motel for the 2nd nite, Im getting bored... It must take a long time to turn my truck down to 62mph. LOL
DRIVE SAFE

 

You may be in luck. I am in Marietta tonight, and I see some low 29### with the stickers peeled off as I type... And there is a line of un-decaled Cascadias over in the front lot. Must be regional trucks, I think that any new trucks for national have to be issued from Lincoln. But if the regional trucks are due, it can't be long until the national trucks are due. You may time it right and be here long enough to get put right into a new unit instead of trading into a used one.

Fair warning - the following ramblings are as clear as mud:

My favorite shop use to be KC, until they moved and lost most of their mechanics. I do get things fixed right at Columbus and Ottawa. But you have to be there early. Deland has always done a decent job on my equipment but I rarely get there.

I would say, the best shop for tractors...Council Bluffs. I have rarely ever been there waiting around for them to get me in, and they get it done right, right away.

The best shop for trailers, I have heard, is Knoxville. I have only been to the trailer shop once, to pick up a T-called load, but most drivers say they are the fastest/best trailer guys in the company. I don't think I have ever heard anyone say a bad word about the trailer shop there...I have no idea how good their truck shop is, have never seen the place.

The worst shop... Its a tie between Marietta and New Kingstown. Both are slow as molasses in January, but you just get less Northeast Yank know-it-all attitude in Marietta.

As for the good and bad terminals... I don't like the way a lot of the terminals shut down everything when they leave. I am kinda pickey about where I drop a deuce(sorry...that's as nice and polite as I can say it), I don't use porta johns for that and on the rare occasion my wife runs with me, I don't like to have to put her in the position of using one either. I would rather do it country style with a shovel and a big field. But when they're open, Columbus, and the newly remodeled terminal at KC are tied for the best terminal. They say Cheyenne is a nice terminal, but I have only seen it from I-80, have never pulled on the lot. The one positive thing about Deland, it's one of a few terminals with fuel, where the driver doesn't touch a thing, and the fuel is open 24/7/365.

And it looks to me like they're doing some expanding to the Columbus lot. There was an excavator out in the back portion of the field ripping up the place. Maybe they are going to give us some more parking. I wish they would get the fuel card slide installed on the entrance of the terminal so we can have access to the showers and bathroom after the shop closes. They were talking about putting that in a year or so ago.

 

as far as the terminals youll find thats pretty much the company wide consensus.

cheyenne is very nice tho, too bad theres not really a reason to stop there. they do have by far the nicest showers of any terminal, laundry as well.

worst - meh probly either SLC or marietta, ive heard spartanburgs a gem, but ive never been there, or deland, or phx, meh i try to stay away from em altogether really.

if theres any Hunt drivers browsing, i saw the first new Hunt Cascadia (not a shtt spreader?!) ive seen today - going west on i-70 in ohio. they look wierd with the top chopped off, ill say that. same off the wall color too.

 

My favorites have to be Columbus, KC, Marietta, and Lincoln. Ottawa, Knoxville, and Spartanburg are too small. New Kingstown is ok. It gives out a "Being John Malkovich" vibe with its low ceilings.