BEWARE!Universal Am-Can,Mason Dixon

Eskimo actually I was thinking about putting the belts on myself but I didn't have any tools with me. Plus I was in a hurry to go pick up another load. I am not that good at mechanics myself. It would have took me twice as long or longer to do it myself. I do know how to do a lot of mechanical repairs myself and I do some of them. I would never pay someone to put on windshield wipers for me or even pay someone to detail my truck on the inside. I have also stopped getting my truck washed out on the road. The last time I paid over $40. I will do it in my driveway from now on.

I understand your point....to a point. Getting belts put on is simple unless you don't have tools. Plus my truck is in very very good condition. I will not be one of these owner ops out on the road with a junky 15 year old truck loaded down with 500lbs of tools and parts to keep it running between loads. My truck is clean, runs good and is in excellent condition. I'm more financial minded than mechanical minded. I quit a company before because they wanted me to do ALL mechanical repairs so they would not have to pay a service call out on the road. It is just not for me. I get paid good enough and my bills at home are very low. I can afford to pay someone to do work for me and when it's more convenient for me to do so,then I will.

This is what makes the world go round. Everyone is different. I'm different from you and you are different from me. I'm not complaining about a simple fix. It's peanuts. Now if it was a major repair or part believe me I will shop around until I'm out of options.

My mom pays someone to mow the yards at her two houses. She is fit enough and capable enough to do it but it's easier for her to pay someone. Same principle.

 

This is for "sixdogstruckin" I'm a former O/O myself and had problems while on the road under a load as well. 1st thing I did was called company inform them of problem so we could take care of the customer. Then it was "MY" finanical responsability to get my personal truck fixed not the company. Now what they did do for me and I thought that was a nice thing on there part. They let me use one of there company trucks just so I could still make some money. They did not have to help me at all per contract. Now I have lived next to my neighber for 14yrs now and not one time has he asked me for money to fix his truck. Get the point??

Now I think you have had some really "BAD LUCK" lately and you are just peed off at everything. But with the experience you have you know that is not there responsability to get your truck fixed. If that was your company you would have done the same as would I. Because if you help one you must help all and I don't know of any company that could do that and still be in business. If it's time to move on then do it that is what I have done. Sorry for the problems you are having and wish you the best.

 

I am in the same situation.. I dont know much about repairs...But i do have money set aside for repairs. Just the other day my brake chamber went out, i was under a load i was outside ATL, i had to call road service it cost me $400 ouch!!!!

 

HINT:: Brake chamber failure is not a road call expense!

Try this:

You need your handy dandy multi use tool called vice grips, duct tape and either your 9/16" combination wrench or your 6" crescent wrench and a flat head screwdriver.

Take the air line going to the air chamber and fold it in half like you would a water hose and take your vice grip and clamp the hose off so no air goes through. Duct tape the handle of the vice grip closed and also to the air line so you don't lose it if it falls off.

Manual slack adjusters: Back the brakes off so they don't drag

Automatic adjusters: Take note there are several different types. The best thing to do is ask your shop mechanic how to back them off IF this happens to you! BUT using your crescent wrench put it on the nut and with the screw driver you might have to lift the ring below it up to unlock the nut and back off the brakes as above. It's been a few years since I've had to do this so I might be wrong and if someone can correct me on the auto adjusters please jump in here.

This is a "fast" fix and if DOT were to stop you you WILL get a ticket for an equipment violation for a brake not in service. It will get you to a shop and not cost you those high dollars on a service call! Just don't drive like a moron with this set up on your truck. Do NOT drive cross country to get to the yard because they are cheap arses and think it's cheaper than getting it fixed and remember if they so want you to do this tell them to FAX to you orders to do so for incase you have an accident and hurt yourself or someone else. CYA. As I said this is only for a short trip to the nearest shop.

 

I agree with you Rollover. A brake chamber isn't a total breakdown. I actually have driven several miles with a blown out tire to get to the next truckstop. I won't call roadside unless I'm dangerous to others on the road or if I can not move because of mechanical failure. Roadside service is just too expensive.

I have had one roadside service since I've had my truck. I blew a radiator hose and was gushing out antifreeze. Of course I didn't have an extra hose. I did have fluid though. I filled it up and loosened the radiator cap. It was enough to get me to the nearest truckstop. Still it was a mom and pop truckstop with no repair shop. A local guy 10 miles away come over to put it on. Actually I put it on but still he charged me for the service call. He gave me a "break" by not charging me for a gallon of antifreeze. LOL

 

i used to work for mason dixon and they weren't too bad...they really went downhill when they got their new president - his name is tom bean i believe. he got rid of a lot of office employees and kicked a lot of agents and drivers to the curb. i left shortly after.

 

six days, you must not have known about the maintenance acct. they will take up to 100 dollars aweek out of your settlements and put them in a maintenance you can draw from as you need it, up to 5000 dollars. if you participate in this, they will loan you more over the amount you have. and if you are truly grossing 4500 to 7500 a week and didnt have 10 grand saved up for repairs in a year. you sir are a poor business operator. you sound like one who always wants someone else to bail them out. you made your bed , now sleep in it

 

I work for them now and had they had no problem loaning me any money. I didnt take it because they take alot out every week. I guess it depends on who you are, how you work and who you know.

 

and i spent 14k last year on maint aprox 9cpm.....i thought that was an excellent year i expected to go through at least 20 the first year i put this truck in service

 

I have recently quit Universal. I will post more of my experiences/opinions here if anyone cares to know. I really don't have that much bad to say. Universal is easy to figure out. It's a mega large company doing business through a huge network of agents.

My biggest issue with them was that none of the agents work together. Each cover their own loads and keep them to themselves to where none of the other agents can profit off of the other. I finally got the real scoop on the loadboard and what the actual deal is with them. This is the reason I left. I was told a very different story by the recuiter and a different story by some of the posters here. I went in with somewhat of a knowledge of what I was getting myself into. My "vision" and reality were two very different things. I will go into more detail if anyone wants to know.

The best thing I can say about Universal is the way they pay. The pay is put on a comdata card and you can then transfer it to a comcheck or direct deposit it into your bank. If you scan your paperwork in using transflow, sometimes you will get paid within minutes of delivering your load. I only had one issue with payroll and it was my fault. I put the wrong pro number on the trip pac. Regardless with a couple of calls I was paid for it. I was also paid for two other loads the same time. The third was the load I was under and had not even delivered yet. I guess they were making up for the first one not being paid for over a week.

Overall Universal is not a good company to work for. It is by far from the worst. I will be very honest about my experiences with this company and if anyone wants me to post in detail my experiences, just ask and I will. I don't think it's fair to listen to posters here that have never worked for the company and are on here giving opinions like they "know" what it's like. Also don't trust the agents or the recuiters. They will lie and tell you anything you want to hear just to get you to sign on.