My experience with USA truck and some general advice

thanks a lot..i have to call Elyssa (i think its spelled) to see when their next training session is gonna begin...im sure ill be back in shortly

 

Their ProStars are equipped with Tri-Paks correct? Or at least some of them.

Does the trucks with Tri-Paks come with a built in inverter? Also, what's with the new Kenworth T series trucks I've been seeing more often? Watcha need to get in one of those?

I use to work for USA, considering to work for them again. Just want to make sure I do the right thing! I am lucky because there is an ABF terminal in the town I live, and Sherry my FM out of Vandalia allowed me to drop the trailer at the ABF Terminal, and bobtail 4 miles to my house just so as long as it stayed where I parked it until I was ready to head back to pickup empty/loaded trailer at the ABF yard. I use to drive 8866, i looved that truck! Smooth ride, nice interior, just sucked monkey balz that I couldn't install an Invertor.

 

Not sure if they are tripaks but all prostars have apu's and inverters. All are autoshift too unless you're a trainer. They are nice, power windows/locks, tilt steering. Don't know much about the KW's, only see one once in a blue moon, heard they were autoshifts too but don't know firsthand. Good luck to ya and Merry Christmas!

 

Yeah 10/4 on that!

I still love the 9400i's, not a lot of drivers like em because they say they are piles of junk. When I did work for them back in 2007, they were nice! I've test driven an H2 hummer before and feels much like that on the inside as far as the color of dash and design. Only thing I hated about the 9400i's is the one that I had 8866, didn't have tilt steering and I had to lean forward to get a good grip on the wheel when turning and got pain in the back at times. Other than that it was a 10speed standard, I miss that truck! Only thing like everyone else has mentioned, is the service side of the company is poorly managed. The mechanics seemed over whelmed all the time i was there and snotty but that just maybe because of their salary and managers.

If they could fix that problem and start writing up drivers for dropping out of service trailers I'd be more certain about rejoining the team! Still deciding though. I'm thinking about going back to J.B. Hunt as well to do 48 states 4 weeks out at a time.. Just about every driver I've talked to there after I quit was making 1,000 to 1,200 a week gross. I regret joining their regional. NEVER JOIN JB'S REGIONAL FLEETS. THEY WILL EFF YOU OVER ON MILEAGE!

-Gotta keep rolling, at home looking for job.

 

The rumor before Christmas, was that the Kenny's were getting jacked. A driver in Shreveport told us he had just been sent to recover his from Texas. (last I saw it was in Shreve's shop, brand new Kenny sitting on steelies) Said they had four hit in six months.

Kenny drivers watch your six.

 

I drove for them (USA TRUCK) for for 8 months. A nightmare. I have 23 years under my belt. I checked into being a trainer after a trainer told me he was making more money than God. They get the same mileage .34 per mile and also the miles that the trainee gets. The trainer has to be in the front seat while traineee is driving so the truck isn't moving 24/7. They get about 1800 miles week at most. The trainer trucks get far less miles and the average trainers make 8 or $900 a week max.
$1500 a week.... oh pleeeeeeeeeez. If that were the case owner operators who are struggling, about 90% of them, would be signing up in the masses.

 

UHHH, not BS. back then the policies were different. the little time i spent training i got 5-7K a week (miles) right before i left they WERE going a different route on training policies sooo. you figure it out

 

SAME HERE!!!

NOT 63....59/60 mph...i had to wait over a year for a "fuel economy" person to finally approve me...and that was only after the CEO called to congradulate me on one year accident free and i happend to mention the b.s. run-a-round i was getting when they wouldn't approve me to go faster when i had over 7.9mpg on my qualcomm and less than 2% idle time...usually around 1.25%....

SO MUCH BULL...

I had already applied to 2 other companies before they fired me becase i was tired of spending 3-4 weeks at a time then only getting 2 days off...

had to fight and fight for detention pay when i spent over 8 hours at shipper only got paid for 5....and it took me 3 weeks to get that!!!

They owed me 7 days of home time (out for almost 7 weeks stright with only a partial day off for thanksgiving...and after 4.5 took the truck back (luckily i drove past it as the guys were trying to break into it)...no call...no qualcomm message...they thought they would just go behind my back

DON'T WORK FOR THIS COMPANY IF YOU LIVE IN THE WEST....

According to more than one of their dispatcher they only do about 15 to 20% of their business west of texas...so for me living in California was a PAIN...

I was broke down for 9 days in georgia in june...had to fight through 2 supervisors and finally the VP of operations to get the breakdown pay...ever since the VP forced my dispatcher to pay me...she was a pain in the a--, and never got me home ontime after that...

 

2 week training complete. Hopefully my home time is better.

 

First I do have to note that my recruiter said a lot that did not happen , which is the norm. I was told I would get a manual transmission and it more than likely would be a Pete or Ken worth hahaha. Any way I started orientation on Feb. 14 and Friday I had to take a bus from Vandalia OH to Indianapolis IN to get my truck, when I opened the door of that 9400 International I cried, it was the dirtiest truck I have ever been in, the floors alone had to have about 4inches of dirt, rust on the inside door jams, cabinets dirty with food and other stuff. I told the shop foreman and he said that drivers like these truck because of the mileage being over 600,000 that they are put in a newer one faster, he also thought the truck wasn't that bad. I wanted to leave, but figured I would give it a chance since I was told I would not get less than 2500 miles a week. Anyway here goes the bad, driving down the road flies started coming from no where trying to get up my nose and in my mouth, I would kill five and seven more appeared. I could not figure where they were coming from since I did not have windows open. To my luck the truck started over heating with coolant being full and making popping noises. They sent me to the terminal in IL and the shop foreman there said I had flies coming out my dashboard, lovely. They put me in another truck that is totally banged up I mean banged up fuel tank mashed in, bunk mashed in, steps crunched on both sides. Very embarrassing for an experienced driver to drive. One more thing I am not even getting 2200 miles a week. Other words I should have never quit my other job, but me being the fool believed the recruiter, I guess I never learned with the trucking business.