Anyone have any info on Ruan (Milk) out of Fair Oaks IN?

I worked for Ruan on another account, but one of the drivers I worked with came over from Fair Oaks. He said it was an all right job.

They run down to Jefferson, IN and back a lot. Pay is by the trip, $220 per round I think. About 450 mi round trip. With loading/unloading, one trip would be all you do.

Ruan itself is a decent company. I had a great terminal manager when I left. The two before him were terrible, but at least Ruan didn't leave them in place for long. They seem to keep driver pay across all accounts right around $55k. Some a little more or less, but that seems to be the average. You're right to be wary of the sign on bonus. I've always been of the opinion that good jobs don't have to lure in drivers with a bonus.

Take a look at the Ruan ads on Indy Craigslist. The first 13 posts are for my old account. They've been posting at that rate for over 2 years and the sign on bonus has been as high as $4000. That location runs 16-17 drivers, so all those ads are to fill one maybe two positions. And they can't get them filled. That has more to do with the client company being a giant festering PITA than Ruan, but the sign on bonus will go up until they get someone to bite. Then it will drop again.

Fair Oaks runs CNG trucks. All KW's. The gas comes from methane captured from the manure. Pretty interesting process, and it drives the state nuts. How do you get fuel tax from them if they produce their own fuel?

Wish I could help more, but good luck to you whatever you decide.

 

That's a pretty far drive from Ft Wayne to Fair Oaks. It'll eat into your 10 and not leave you much time for anything other than sleep.

Have you looked into companies closer to Ft Wayne? Ruan has at least one terminal there with vans, and I think They run bulk tankers from Ft Wayne as well. They also have an O'Neal Steel flatbed account. I'd avoid that one, although it's better than the 2 O'Neals I ran out of in the Indy area.

There are some good LTL carriers there too. Dayton Freight has a good size terminal on 69. I can't tell you much about them though. @Bob Dobalina would be the one to ask for that. XPO Logistics (Con-Way) has a terminal in Ft Wayne. They don't run weekends, and if you don't mind dock work they aren't bad. ODFL is adding 75 more doors to its terminal, which will double its capacity. They aren't hiring yet, but I was just there this morning and they've started the ground work in preparation for construction. Which is why my rear box was on the back side of a triple stack of trailers .

 

Couple more places I thought of, US Xpress runs daycabs out of the Wal-Mart DC in Gas City. Yeah, USX has something of a reputation but dedicated can be a different animal than OTR. R&L has a location in Alexandria, which isn't too far south. Probably lots more that I'm missing, but it's bedtime.

 

Lol Fort Wayne can be a fun place if you try.
Indy has a lot of trash and crime but more to do for more money.
I've lived both places. Fort Wayne is a very surprising place to live as everything is very cheap compared to Indy. Just going downtown in Indy and getting a taxi home will run you $60-100 in Indy on a Friday/Saturday. In Ft. Wayne it's like $20. Rent is way cheaper too.

Lots of good jobs around both cities though.
Indy has a lot of low paying local jobs with a few good ones here and there.
Never hauled milk but everyone generally would agree that the best places to get on in either city would obviously be ODFL (nap works there), Dayton, ABF, UPS, Fedex, etc...
There are Saia terminals in both cities too but I've heard mixed reviews on them lately. A lot of firing and corporate warfare going on there from what I understand but all in all still one of the better jobs. Just a lot of rules and a very strict company but I don't work there so this is just secondhand information which can be good and bad, generally depends on the mood of the driver you get it from at the time haha. But like I said, that's secondhand so take it for what it's worth.

There are quite a few LTL guys on here from the Indy area, they'll be able to answer most questions you have about certain companies you're interested in.

Like nap said, USX has dedicated accounts. There's Kroger in Shelbyville and the Walmart accounts. I know Kroger pays really well but the schedule sucks and it's USX so Driver support isn't exactly perfect.
Lots of other options. You'll see Hogan ads everywhere. No clue about them. The fact that I see their ads running nonstop has always scared me off enough not to bother.

 

The Dayton Freight terminal in Indy had a hiring drivers sign up last week, which is rare, but we're growing a lot.

@freebeertomorrow works for Pitt-Ohio in Indy. They are another good one to check out.

 

If you're interested in finding a good schedule you might find luck with a FedEx Ground contractor.
If you get on with a good contractor it can be a decent job.
You can even make a route that is almost exactly what you want with some contractors, some don't have enough bids/runs to do that but others do and will.
I know several drivers that only want to work 6-8 hours a night and do so.