Well the past few weeks have been strange. Lots of freight and some strange places . I have some shippers I do not care for. The overall the company has been great. Nobody bothers you no computers to keep track of you. The truck I got is an 09 Frieghtliner its an old fleet truck and shows it but it runs . If you ever go to Columbia City IN they will not load a side kit it would be nice to know that before you get there. I have had fun adjusting to a spread axle backing into some tight places. US Steel in Portage IN comes to mind. A driver can make it if they watch the freight and run in good areas .
I run mostly brokered freight since I am out of CRST's normal area a lot of the time. I could run all crst freight if I wanted but I'd rather deadhead 10-20mi for a brokered load than 50-150 miles for a crst load.
I have a good DM He keeps me loaded I have ran almost all my miles in the state of IN . I think this week I am going to go long and see what happens. The truck I got is a 14.0 detroit aand seems to run good so far. When you broker a load do you just give the info to the dispatcher ? Also what load boards do you use? Thanks
I don't really use my fleet manager for loads. Last one I got from him went to kansas and I had to deadhead 400mi to st louis to get back to good freight. IN is good freight all week long. I'm running a '10 with a DD15, 15k miles and no problems so far. I have the broker give me the info, then they have to fax the load confirmation to my FM, he contacts me once I am authorized to haul the load. Basically if I haven't used the broker before I call my FM and ask if they are on the no haul list. If they aren't on the no haul list the only other thing they need to pass a credit check once they fax him the load info. I use the ooida members edge loadboard which has a credit score for the brokers. If the score is above 90 it's a pretty sure bet they will pass the crst credit check.
today is my first day. it went fine. lots of paperwork. tomorrow starts load securement training then more classroom stuff
You really won't know what you are getting until about wed-thurs. And go over the truck. If you have any doubts about it do not hesitate to bring them up. I turned down the first truck they offered. I was about to take a rental car from eldridge, IA to OKC to look at another one when this one showed up and was perfect for me (newer, lower miles, previous driver able to give me the lowdown on the truck and trailer as he was going back to van). Better to be choosy now than settle for something that you know will have to go into the shop. Keep in mind your maint plan does not include glass so if there are any cracks/chips in the glass tell them you want it fixed before you will take the truck.
Ok thanks man I will. Im really hoping for one of the older Centurys. It would be paid off sooner plus I like Century better than Columbia. I have been spending hours and hours playing on all the loadboards just trying to get familiar and see where the best lanes are to stay in. I really dont want to go any further west then Louisiana and no further north then Indiana-Ohio-Virginia area and no Florida.
