Crete Carrier - A Year In Review - Fall 2013 Going Forward

Yeah... I did visit Lenoir City twice. And on both times I spent half a day chatting with drivers...
For some reason all the drivers I met there have been with Crete for over 10 yrs and pretty much adapted to their system...
A nice couple even invited me to their truck to look inside.. They had a very new Kenworth...
I don't want one... I prefer a Freightliner... cause I never drove a Kenworth and was told it doesn't turn as sharp as Freightliners and it's not the same to maneuver...

 

Rides much better though and you don’t have the rattles like you do in a Freightliner.

 

I’ve driven Freightliners consistently now for 10 years with my private fleet. They are rattling turds but I’m only out 5 days anyway so not an issue. If I lived in it 5-6 weeks like some do on here it would suck. Plus I have an APU and no nanny bs.

 

Idle time is limited to 200 seconds(at least on my truck it is) unless it's over 90° or under 10°. Then your truck will idle all the time. If your opti-idle fails, they will eventually get you thru a shop. If it's too warm or too cold to sleep you call breakdown for a motel.

 

A motel? I thought it would be cheaper and more practical to idle the truck than go to a motel...

 

With this emissions crap on these trucks now, idling causes more problems than most realize…

 

Idle time is limited to 200 seconds? So, if you are idling in traffic or somewhere for more than 3 and half mins, the engine turns itself off?

 

Yeah... you are correct... another reason to have an APU instead of the opti-idle IMHO...

 

I never drove Kenworth and always enjoyed Freightliners even with the shake shake...
So, what is the difference between backing a Kenworth and a Freightliner?
And is there a difference between them when making a tight turn?

 

You can give a quick pump of the brake and the idle timer resets back to 200.

Any Kenworth I ever drove needed 40 acres to turn around. But any Kenworth I ever drove was a W9 so I’m guessing the turn radius on the style Crete has and their Freightliners are similar.