Crst malone

You should be independently wealthy within six months. The entire 'working for an owner operator/CRST-Malone' career path is one that most persons seem to overlook.

Congrats on doing your homework and getting it right the first time.

All others are simply wannabes! Go Gold!

 

I'm driving for a small fleet owner leased onto CRST Malone, and doing just fine. I'm paid percentage, and they do a good job of keeping me running. No, it won't make me a millionaire, but I'm getting by just fine.

 

my question to the guys driving for a fleet owner is why not lease your own truck? and make 75% of the load instead of whatever that fleet owner is paying you? Your doing the exact same job, why not make the most you can? just my .02 worth. I am a lease operator at Malone and doing very well.

 

Because this isn't going to be a long term thing. I couldn't find any local work in Colorado Springs, so I'm waiting to see if anything opens up during the Spring/Summer. I'm a sitework driver, and that's where I'd rather be.

 

Ugghhhh. I'm with ya amigo. If you are going to 'piece rate' work....a la "Cents Per Mile." Just be ready for the rude awakening. CPM style pay is flat illegal in most forms of work in the United States............Save for migratory farm work and........................transportation!

Get in, get out and go back to sitework as soon as you can. I understand that you are doing what you have to do.

Final caveat? CRST is universally know as being the worst. Student/Experienced/O-O/Lease Purchase. You name it.

Slum, if you have to. Then return to your life. BOL

 

Honestly, I really can't complain too much. The people I'm working for are decent enough, and I'm being paid percentage. If I were going to be paid CPM, then I'd look into vans or something of the sort. I started with Swift's flatbed division in 02, and was paid CPM there.. topping it off, they had their computer miles system, which went city limit to city limit, so, if you had to go 50 miles around a city, you weren't paid for it. Never again.
The one thing I didn't tell them (or any prospective employers) was that I have RG experience. Had no problem doing it locally in the Raleigh area, where I knew the roads and had a hydraulic system, but I really don't want to be doing lowboys (especially manual detach) or double drops OTR. The guy I'm working for uses an agent's trailers, and he has flats, an interesting variety of stepdecks, and a couple manual detach RGNs.

 

Good deal. Percentage is the less of the two evil/evils!

Sounds like you have it together. Just remember to not have any health problems while on this chapter of your life. $40,000 dollars for a back surgery (or something) will set you back a ways. (my assumption is that the O/O is not offering/providing health insurance?)

Best news? You are not bumbling around like many of these esteemed UHHHH HUMM drivers on piece rate CPM pay. BOL

Best wishes, and hope to hear of your return to site work (hourly) soon!

 

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.

He has it set up to where I'm on CRST's workman's comp program, but for actual insurance, I'm on my own for it.

I miss sitework a lot. Not just for the hourly pay, or usually being home at night (after a 20 - 22 hour work day, I'd just go to sleep at the shop), but I actually liked the work. Lot more labor intensive than any OTR job I've ever had (and I pull flatbeds), I worked with the same people daily - rather than seeing a new batch of random faces every day, and the days passed by pretty quickly. Being on the road is so monotonous in comparison. But, I don't know... I have something to contend with in Colorado which never was an issue in North Carolina - a real Winter season. Granted, snow isn't unheard of in NC, but it's not going to snow there in the middle of April. So, whenever I do start driving local again, there's a good likelihood it won't be sitework, and that's going to suck. I don't just want a daily driver job - I want sitework, specifically. But, if I can only work half the year (give or take) doing that, then I need to opt for something more consistent and stable. I've thought about fuel tankers, but I don't have hazmat or tanker experience. I'd like to have gotten into oilfield work, but the reason I moved to CO wouldn't permit me to do that.

Now when you need to be pushed by a bulldozer to get to your receiving customer - that's the stuff, right there!