Any info on the new J S Helwig and Sons?

I don't care where the people are from so long as they have the freight like they do. They don't pay on HHMG they pay practical miles. Are they the actual miles required to follow the suggested truck routing? no, but good luck finding anyone who pays anywhere near actual hub miles. What miles they pay the driver is the same miles they bill the customer. Same way it is with virtually all major carriers. What eLog company let's you run outside of "the book"?

Oh well. More freight for me.

 

do they hire out of ohio

 

Yes, they'd hire out Ohio. Generally along and north of I-20, along and south of I-90 - I-80 , and east of NM, CO, and WY. They do all repairs and maintenance in Terrell except for break-downs, so you will see Texas routinely regardless where you live.

They have modified there home-time policy. As a general rule for the OTR drivers, they expect drivers to stay out 2-3 weeks minimum and take no more then 3-4 days off at a time at home (1 day off per 7 days out) That will keep a lot from applying, but if you like to run and don't have heavy family commitments, it's a good place to work. There are a few better places perhaps to drive OTR if you can find them and get on with them, but there are many, many more worse places to drive.

 

Totally off base, we are an irregular route carrier and if a driver has an issue about miles he has a chain of command right up to the owner. The three weeks out is a great benefit to the driver so that when time off comes he has trips in the pipeline. Look oat our CSA scores, that allow PrePass and OK Pike Pass to work all the time. I am sorry to say yes we have changed but out of necessity to continue to operate at the highest level. Remember as an Over-the-road driver you don't get paid unless you work and we have the work.

 

That's for sure. Another week, out of 70 hr in 6 days running and sitting on a load in need of a repower. I have to question the decision processes that go on in the planning/dispatch phase. I did all I knew to keep them abreast of my rapidly depleting hours and that I'd end in a relatively bad spot logistically speaking but here I sit with a load that has a 17:00 appt the next day, 450 miles away

 

Looking for some up to date information and reviews on Helwig. My husband is scheduled to head to Terrell, TX this Sunday. He's been with PTL and only averaging between 1500 - 2000 miles a week. Once as low as 988! Not his fault either. Terrible planning in dispatch and getting home is a major headache. Not to mention pay is only .34/mile. Anyways, the recruiter at Helwig, Debbie, seems very nice. She said mileage averages 2700 - 3000 per week, .40 per mile, 3 weeks out/3 days home. We've heard average length of haul is 1100 miles. Bi-weekly pay, decent trucks with APU's (speed?), and a $2500 sign on bonus. Can anyone expand on this? Are miles really this good? Do they generally get people home within the 48 hour window for home time like they say? How is the bi-weekly pay? Any HONEST info would be appreciated.

 

Yes, the miles are there, however, I'm beginning to "sense" some changes are in the wind. They are expanding (slowly) and as such they must add new shippers and lanes. They seem to picking up more freight that is more profit oriented (shorter hauls down the eastern seaboard and to the midwest). I suspect the average length of haul is going to be reduced in 2014 and moving forward if they report it honestly. I just don't know how much at this time.

My miles have reduced this winter mostly due to shortages of trucks following major storm systems and planners having to prioritize loads based on needed time service (which load can be late and which can not be late), more then allotting based on PTA's and driver hours available. i.e. in SE PA 09:00 , have plenty of hours available to head back to TX but had to wait on a 350 mile load with a 15:00 ready time, and a 17:00 del appt next day, had to be covered and on time PU and Del. They will do load swaps when necessary and these are done to maximize time for all concerned or to meet get a driver somewhere in a timely manner for family emergency.

And the other thing is the home-time policy is being scrutinized more and can potentially be something that must be "dealt with". This needs to be questioned by the potential driver and see how they reply and if your ok with their answer. When you come off home time, you'll need to request a slot for your next home time well in advance and not necessarily when you happen to be in the area. It may be 3 weeks later it may be 4 weeks later or whenever. Bottom line is they are trying to better manage their in-service trucks inventory to avoid potential customer service issues and to be able to better plan on available trucks in the future.

All in all, it's a good company and much better then many alternatives but will better suit drivers who will keep the doors closed and can be depended on to make appointment times. There are quite a few d/h PU locations but most all drops are live unload. They pay ALL lumper charges and typically don't want the driver unloading his own truck even if only a few pallets.

That said, it's debatable if 40 cents is worth putting up with all of the crap drivers deal with daily in the normal course of work in the refrigerated truckload OTR game, being passed by 70% of the trucks while driving the maximum 65 MPH, when there are local crude jobs that pay more and keep you home every night.

 

I have to take exception to your reasoning that shorter trips will ultimately result in reduction in the length of haul. In fact , the shorter trips put us in a position to increase the length of haul. We are positioning our fleet where high mileage trips are available. Our policy for time off, up until August 2013, has always been 3 weeks out or 2 weeks driver choice. As we began to expand and take on new customers we experienced, in some cases, abuse of the time off policy, hence the defined policy in August of 2013. In our business we must adapt to business conditions or we can be left behind. Helwig has never been "left behind" because we have the committed, loyal and professional drivers to service our customers. We are continually approached by new and existing customers to increase our lanes because of the reputation of driver force for on time delivery. We are in the trucking business and if the wheels don't roll no one gets paid. Home time has always been important as indicated by our home time record. I hope you remember that everyone works to be paid and unfortunately there are trade offs. One last thing everybody starts at .40 cents per mile. Show me a carrier that pays a better True rate.

 

Sorry it took so long to get back on here. My husband has been driving for Helwig for about 2 months now. He likes the miles and the pay and the people are very nice. When companies starting calling to verify employment (my fault for updating his application) they actually called to see if he had any problems, was unhappy, or looking for another job. They actually seem to care about their drivers and want to keep the good ones. Pay is good since it's twice a week. It's hard to keep up with when miles were turned in and if it will be on this pay period or the next. The only time he didn't get paid was when one went in after 5:30 and when he had 5 days home because his first time out was for 5 weeks.

The only real "complaint" is being out for 3 weeks. If it were possible to have the option of 2 weeks out, or even swinging through the house during a run, he'd be so much happier. When you are married, with a 12 yr old son, 3 dogs, and you do martial arts and go to the gym, you kind of miss out on a LOT when you're gone for 3 weeks. It can also bring a driver down being away that long.

Sometimes his dispatcher tries to force him to stay on a load when he knows it will be late because it was supposed to have picked up 2 or 3 days prior (when he was in the middle of another run and there aren't enough drivers to cover all the loads Helwig has).

He'd like a different type of truck because his is on the small side. He has a cooler, microwave, and your every day OTR needs, and there's just not enough room.

All in all, they are definitely "different than all the rest". He may call and talk to someone about getting a bigger truck (mileage & year don't matter) and his home time concerns. Helwig really is a good company from what we've seen so far.

 

Mr. Helwig is a very nice man, but he has a problem with his emplyees in the office not doing as he says. I have worked there for 20 months and make great pay but have to fight with a few office employees on a reg. basic. payroll makes reg. mistake and some dispatchers will try to take other drivers that aren't under them off loads and give them to their drivers and call it a mistake, but to remy this all you need to do is message Mr. Helwig and tell on them and they get into trouble for it. also some dispatchers and preplanners will try and pretend to be mike powers or mr. helwig himself to get you to do things so the best thing to do if someone calls you to talk to you claiming to be one of those two in charge hangup and call there private line to verify.