JCT

Hubby and I spoke to the JCT recruiter today and she took the phone app.

We were wondering if anybody knows how they handle their trailer maintenance? How well they maintain their trailers? Do they try to put that off on their lease operators or do they just have you stop and get the tire replaced, the reefer repaired ect at their expense? I read in here someplace that they reimburse for lumpers; do they also take care of trailer wash outs? What about pay for layovers? What is there definition of layover. Do they pay detention and stop pay?
Also wondering about how individual income taxes and social security taxes are handled. Since you are working for yourself do you file quarterly? What percentage should you figure you're going to pay? Is it better to have this done thru an accountant?
Do they cram per diem pay down your throat like so many companies are doing these days. We would rather take this at the end of the year instead of having the company get their cut of it and then turn around and insult your intelligence by trying to tell you your making more money.
We have been company drivers for 4 years clean records, hazmat doubles and all of that, looking for a better opportunity, our company has cut pay, bonuses made "per diem" pay mandatory and if you idle to much they charge you, in fact its getting so bad I think they would charge you if you sneezed in the truck. Info greatly appreciated. Don't mind working and all the crap that goes with trucking and especially reefer (done this before) just want to get a fair deal.

 

They take care of the trailer maintence. Normally when you stop at like a TA to get your truck PM if trailer needs anything they tell them to fix it too. The trailers are in good condition, we got great danes and utilities. Everything that deals with the trailer (fuel, repairs, washouts)is covered under JCT. As far as washouts, we have account with (Blue Beacon, trk wash in Fort Smith I40 exit 5, Steamaway in Fort Worth, and trk wash in Russelville by Flying J) so you just put it on the charge account.

Lumpers - Yes they reimburse you for the lumpers, you just request an EFS check through the qualcomm and pay them that way.

Layover/Detention- Tyson loads (they say at least 4 hours on unloading), All others at least 2 hours - you'll have to talk to your Driver manager and beg him for it. lol Sometimes you have too much time on a load (ex. p/u load of candy in chicago a thursday(1st stop kansas city - monday 2nd - Lubbock - tuesday night) total 1195 paid miles 5 days to do it. Talked to DM and they gave couple hundred extra on load.

Stop Pay - $40 starting on 2nd drop as far as p/u $40 on the 5th stop

Income Taxes - You'll have to file quarterly yourself. It is recommended that you take 8% of your gross(before any deductions) so total of mileage plus surcharge pay. That will cover both your income and social security taxes. They take care of fuel tax and road tax and all that stuff so you don't have to worry about all that.

Per Diem - No they don't cram per diem down your throat. lol so you can claim that yourself at the end of the year.

Hope i got all your questions answered. Good Luck!!

 

thanks for the info, that helps

 

I've been at the extremes on how well companies take care of their trailers. I've driven for Schneider and Stevens, then was leased to a VERY small company in Washington. (his definition of trailer maintenance was "fix it when the scale makes you, and even then just good enough to leave the scale...) I would say that JCT's trailer maintenance is right there with the best of the best. I've had a couple minor reefer problems (that were entirely caused by drivers failing to open those wonderful doors on the front of the trailer and LOOKING - BIG pet peeve of mine! Do a freaking pre-trip!!!!!) and have never had an issue getting things fixed. As for tires, I've bragged about the speed with which they take care of them. I would challenge ANY company's breakdown department to a race. The current trailer I'm hooked to is a 2009 fUtility. (yes, mis-spelled intentionally. I'm not a fan of fUtility trailers. Give me a Great Dane any day) Our equipment is all relatively new. They don't hide anything from you. No surprise charges. (at least, not that I've seen)As for the question about actually getting the truck for a buck, I happened to meet up with a driver at the yard last time I was there that paid off his KW W900. He said it was fun to pay the buck and walk away knowing the truck was his. He has stayed on because he's making money and has no complaints. So yes, a buck and the truck is yours.

 

Grizzly u were a Stevens driver too huh lol. I started there and stayed for my year and left. Couldn't stand them haha

 

Man, this company sounds pretty nice. Course, with all this free advertising, it's only a matter of time before they get clogged with applications and their freight volume goes down!



Seriously though, seems like a real tight operation and plenty of miles. You JCT drivers keep posting your experiences, I'm going to keep track of this company for the future. Maybe when I get back to the states and get a solid year with another company, I'll come knockin.

 

What I like about them is if they have to many drivers living in a particular area they won't hire from that area, such as NC, I know a person who tried to get hired and they said they are not hiring from that area right now.
I think they are a very good company and people make money, plus they have one of the best lease purchase programs out there. If you stay with the program you don't pay 200k for the truck as with other programs, you actually end up paying about what you would if you go purchase a truck with interest, they even finance the down payment for you for 1 year as a side note.

 

We've got like 10 to 15 new drivers every week but I think we're still only at 700 trks. We've got a lot of drivers that can't stay long cuz they complain that they can't make money. Like Grizzlyman said its not for everyone.

 

What in YOUR opinion is the reason they are not making money? Not staying out long enough? Turning down loads? Trying to get home too often? "Heel-to-Steel" disease?

Just curious, because it seems to me, with that many miles available to run, my sense of greed would take over and run me from there. I do like to take a day off every now and again (7-8 days or whenever the 70 run out), and a 34 reset is great for getting a fresh logbook, caught up on sleep, and a good dvd in, but the more opportunity I had to pack my wallet, the more I like to run.

 

Well biggest reason I suppose as you put it the heel to steel disease haha. Yup the ones that I talk to say they only get 5 - 5.5 mpg. I ask them how fast they go and they say 72. That's the reason why. Unlike grizzlyman that will go rack up some miles going 72 these drivers don't wanna run more than 550 miles a day either. They also like to turn down loads that are less than 1000 miles. If you run wanna run with the pedal to the metal talk to grizzlyman. He seems to be doing great doing that. If you don't wanna run that hard and still make money you gotta slow that trk down. That's just my opinion. I've seen drivers turning in the new trks already. I've seen our cascadias, t660, and the prostars with 2 or more drivers gone thru them. I heard they're supposed to get good mpg on them so I really don't know the reason why they quit.