Earl L Henderson; Salem, IL

Howdy all!

So I thought I'd start this thread to let everyone know how things are at Henderson.

For those of you who don't know, I worked for Henderson for a year and a half on a dedicated run hauling auto parts. I got the idea to go back to college, quit my job (my Dad took my run, he was doing a different run for Henderson) and moved to TN. After the college thing was a bust (had to go back OTR to support my family) I moved back to Southern Illinois and after a year am looking for a job again. So far the only thing I can find is Henderson. Seriously, it's bad here if you're looking for a job.

I'm going to be a slip-seat driver for Henderson. This is mainly for drivers that live close enough to drive to Salem to get a truck. Basically I will be out 2-3-4 days at a time (maybe more, maybe less) doing regional stuff. I have to be home every Sunday since I'm the youth pastor at our church, so I think this will work out good for me. My old dispatcher handles all slip-seat drivers, so we already know how the other one works.

Since I worked for Henderson before I know some of the ins and outs of the company. There is good and bad in every company, but I liked Henderson and we seemed to work well together. I know this is going to be a different ball game since before I was dedicated, but I think we can make it profitable for both of us. Plus, I thought this would put me in a good position for a dedicated run if one came open.

So, I'm going to orientation Monday, January 24. If anyone else on here is going, or will be through the Salem yard Monday or Tuesday, send me a PM and we'll get together and go to lunch or something. I don't remember if they feed us lunch or not to be honest. It was a while ago when I did it the first time so I'm sure there have been changes. I'll try to give everyone HONEST facts about Henderson as they happen. If you have any questions, just let me know!

Thanks!

 

Jonny, I really don't know since I haven't worked for them in a while and it was dedicated when I did. I assume I'll find out next week sometime.

The recruiter called me today and I got approval back from management (since I'm a rehire) and from the background check. I'll be at orientation 8 am on Monday and we will do drug tests, physical, paperwork, etc. Normal orientation stuff. I didn't ask how many were going to be through. Dad some weeks it's as high as 3-4, some weeks 0, most weeks 1-2 ish. We've got to learn the new paperless logs which I'm not so sure about. I guess everyone except dedicated drivers are on them now.

Wish me luck. If anyone is going to be in orientation Monday, give me a shout. I'm going to drive from home (no motel room, though they offered me one even though I only live 25 miles from Salem). They said I'll be ready for dispatch Tuesday afternoon but I'll probably wait till Wednesday morning to go out (depending on what they've got going on).

Oh, Dad said they are looking for more company solo's and teams. I'll let you know Monday cause I'll ask the orientation lady. They are trading a bunch of older trucks off and getting new Freightliners with side farings and Thermo King APU's. Also they are supposed to be getting all new reefers with strictly Thermo King's on them instead of Carrier's (which is smart I think).

See ya later!

 

I haven't been to the yard yet so I don't know. Dad said there are several trucks sitting there and new trailers, but I would guess they are older trucks guys have moved out of. Like I said before (I think in another thread) I went by Freightliner in Troy a couple weeks ago and they had at least 15 new Henderson trucks sitting there.

Well, orientation starts tomorrow! I guess no one on here is going or I would have heard about it. Hopefully there will be someone else in there to talk to. It's an extremely boring process if you have to go through it all by yourself!

I'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow night!

 

Well, I've kind of fallen off the face of the earth I guess so I'll try to catch up this thread for anyone interested in Henderson. I've been doing really well there so far. I've had good and bad weeks (like any company) but the good miles weeks are more frequent than the slow weeks. I'm going to try to update this more often (I'd like to every week but I forget) so I'll give you what I did this past week. Now remember I'm slip-seat so I usually don't work weekends (but I get a Saturday once in a while).

Left Monday morning picked up in St Louis to Louisville, Ky Tuesday AM.
DH to Owensboro, KY to McDonough, GA Tuesday night.
DH to Decatur, AL to Aberdeen, MD Friday AM.
DH to Watkins Glen, NY swap with another driver Saturday about 7 AM in Hebron, OH.
Brought his load from Hebron to Salem, IL yard. Called it a week.
2938 paid miles in 5 1/2 days.

As you can see they ket me busy! I worked Saturday because I'm taking a couple extra days off pretty soon so it'll be nice to have some extra $. We are taking the kids to St Louis to the Zoo when my father-in-law is here.

So far I'm pretty happy with them. All trucks have APU's (which I wouldn't drive without one now they are so nice) and inverters in them. They are getting rid of most of the Columbia's so more and more Cascadia's (which I like a lot). About everyone is on E-Logs now. They are trading in a bunch of older trailers so we are getting more new ones. I've had almost no problems with trailers.

I noticed in a "hiring truck drivers" magazine I picked up at the Beacon in Jackson, GA they are advertising real hard for just company drivers. They lease, but I ain't leasing. Must be needing more company side guys. You could do a lot worse than Henderson.

If you have any questions/comments please post em here. I'll try to be as honest as I can. I have no reason to blow smoke.