Snackbar's new adventure at Moore Freight Services

Discussion in 'Discuss Your Favorite Trucking Company Here' started by supersnackbar, Jan 6, 2018.

  1. supersnackbar

    supersnackbar Road Train Member

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    Ok, it's time to spill the beans. Many that follow my misadventures over the last number of years have read that I moved on from Big G back in late October, but I have never officially said who or what I haul, only hinted at my new company, and their freight. I held off doing this partially because there are some members who felt certain that I would start having issues and complaining about the new company and wouldn't last a couple months before I was miserable and hateful again. If any members placed bets on this or the over/under odds looked tempting, I hope you took the "over". It's been more than 60 days, and----------drum roll please------------, I am still as happy here today as I was the day I started.

    The name of the company is Moore Freight Services out of Mascot (Knoxville) TN. A dedicated glass hauling company. Now, some might say "snackbar, hauling glass is too dangerous, you're gonna get yourself sliced and diced"...and, in part, it's possible. But, like hauling anything dangerous, glass is no more dangerous than anything else as long as you respect what you're hauling an how you're hauling it. There are a lot of drivers out there unwilling or not qualified to handle this type of freight. But, after more than 2 months of this, I never want to haul anything else. I have found a company where I fit in, and can enjoy the crap out of trucking again. And it has also made me a better, more cautious driver.

    To be honest, glass isn't as easy to break while transporting it as many invision (including myself). Once strapped to the trailer, it is very tolerant to rough roads and potholes. What breaks it is sudden abrupt direction changes and sudden panic stops. No more bouncing thru some of these truckstop parking lots that look like the lunar surface....slow and easy, give the glass time to adjust to the flex of the trailer. No curbing or sudden turns, and no lightening starts going around a corner.

    We haul what they call raw glass. Big, uncut sheets up to 130" x 240", (some smaller), and up to 1" thick. This isn't me, but this is on Moore's Facebook page. Kinda puts the size into perspective

    Screenshot_2017-11-10-15-26-22.png

    We haul double drops, single drops, flatbed and rack loads on dry vans. Our single drop and flatbeds are the roller tarp conastogas, our double drops are the A-frame drape tarp trailers.

    Why do I like it so much here? Every level of management from the Owner to many members of the operations and safety department have someone their department that has done my job. I am not working for a bunch of pencil pushing bean counters, I am working for glass haulers that know exactly what I am going thru. They know what it's like, and they get it when there is a problem. And they have something that many other company's management have lost....they have RESPECT for the drivers in the company. Plus, no more grocery warehouses, no more lumpers, no more backhauls (at least 98% of the time). Also, almost no live loading(again, 98% of the time). I hook up to my preloaded trailer, check the securement. If it's a double drop, lace the tarps then roll. We deliver to customers who make the windows that people buy, so they have the facilities to get us in, unloaded and out fairly quickly, usually the only delay is my slow butt because we have to pull the tarps (on double drops) or roll the role-tite tarp back, then unsecure the load and stow the gear. Once empty, I deadhead back to one of our customers production plant drop yards and do it all over again. This may sound like a lot of wasted miles, but the boss had found out that the cost of lost productivity finding, loading, and unloading general open deck freight cost more in terms of the drivers time, which results in lost productivity moving glass, That most times this lost productivity costs more than just deadheading back. I did do one live load at a glass plant, that delivered to another glass plant. But those are very rare. We do move a fair amount of glass from one plant to another, but more often than not, it's preloaded. So, short and sweet, we only haul glass...which is good and bad. The good is, once empty I am ready to haul another load as quick as my logbook allows me to get back to a plant. And I am usually preplanned before I get there. The bad side is, glass is a construction material. So, this time of year, with the weather we have been having, freight is a little slow. But, I am still making better money than I was at Big G at the end of the month. Come spring...it will be a lot better than any place I have ever worked in terms of pay. They start at $.55/mile if you stay in the US, $.65/mile for open deck loads to Canada ($.59 for the van loads to Canada). Mostly Mack Pinnacles with the MP8 and mDrive 12 speeds. They also have some Volvos with the iDrive 12 speeds as well. I guess, if there was anything for me to complain about working here, I guess it would be the mDrive transmissions. Being an old fart like I am, I like a manual. But, with the way the industry is headed, there are fewer and fewer companies with manual transmissions out there. In the not too distant future, I'm guessing, it will be like it is with cars. If you want a manual, it is an option with a price. Honestly, for me, it may be like it was when Crete 1st put me on e-logs...I hated them...at first. But once I got use to them and learned how to take advantage of their benefits, I grew to love e-logs. Now, I wouldn't want to drive without them. The same may be true with the mDrive, once I get over the stubborn side of me not liking auto's...I may become a automated transmission believer. Koolaide anyone?


    So there it is...I am officially a glass hauler....and loving it!!
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2018
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  3. Vic Firth

    Vic Firth Road Train Member

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    Subscribed SSB, looking forward to hearing about your adventures!
     
    4mer trucker and supersnackbar Thank this.
  4. supersnackbar

    supersnackbar Road Train Member

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    Transitioning to glass hauling has given me a new level of respect to those that do regular flatbed freight. Since most of our loads are preloaded and secured, there isn't a lot of heavy lifting or chaining loads. And securement is usually straight forward. Ratchet straps, Styrofoam padding, canvas end cap protectors, corner and v-boards. All of which are fairly lightweight compared to a regular flatbed tarp that has to be carried up to the top of a load and unrolled, then completely removed and rolled back up when unloading. Usually 4 straps on each side of the trailer along with big Styrofoam block pads are all that hold this stuff to the trailer. The toughest part of any of my loads is pulling the main tarp on a double drop (and the tarp is mounted to the front of the A-frame) so all you have to do is pull it forward past the front of the glass packs, and tie it to the front. It's more work than sitting behind the wheel holding on and keeping the seat warm, but it isn't anything nearly as strenuous as all the work regular flatbeders go thru.
     
  5. 4mer trucker

    4mer trucker Road Train Member

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    Glad to hear Ur happy and enjoying the New Gig SSB!

    I'll be following
     
  6. Lonesome

    Lonesome Mr. Sarcasm

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  7. mitrucker

    mitrucker Road Train Member

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    My company has a regular pick up just up the street from your company’s yard. I will be there Tuesday morning
     
  8. supersnackbar

    supersnackbar Road Train Member

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    I did forget to mention, Moore was recently merged with the Daseke family of flatbed carriers. At 1st, I wasn't sure about the news. But after reading thru some other threads from other "acquired" companies and various reviews, it seems that things stay the same or get better as a Daseke family member. The deal, as we were informed, is a non-involvement from the Daseke corporation as far as how things are run and policies within the numerous companies they own. In a nut shell, we are an investment, and they wouldn't have invested in us if we were a money loosing venture. So, if it ain't broke, they don't try to fix it. One positive it should have is in the ever rising cost of health insurance. We are now a part of a 16 company corporation. With more employees comes more bargaining power with health insurance companies when it comes to setting rates. From what it seems, it looks like a win-win situation.
     
  9. supersnackbar

    supersnackbar Road Train Member

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    Which one?
     
  10. mitrucker

    mitrucker Road Train Member

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    Exedy. Are you going to be in Mascot Tuesday?

    My company was recently purchased by Day & Ross USA. They have the same approach as the company that bought yours. I just got a .02 raise without asking. They are doing right by me so far.
     
  11. supersnackbar

    supersnackbar Road Train Member

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    I am in CT now waiting to deliver Monday, then back to Church Hill.

    I rarely go thru Mascot. That's the corporate offices, repair shop and a fabrication shop just up the road that builds our rolling racks for our van load. I have spent a lot of time lately in the Church Hill TN yard (Kingsport). When I 1st started pulling loads, I ran out of the Laurinburg NC plant (Maxton area)...then they ran me out of the Spring Hill KS yard, now I am in/out of Church Hill a lot. My dispatcher is actually based out of our yard in Ottawa, IL but that plant has been down after a tornado hit it a year ago, so I haven't been thru there yet.
     
    1catfish and mitrucker Thank this.
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