EKLUND LOGISTICS

Hello everybody!!
Had quite a few people asking me to start a new thread with my new company. So here it is.......
I took about a month off after leaving SAV. Went to work with a local company out of NC. Very nice people but what disaster. Worked there for a week. Not for me!! Landed a job at Eklund Logistics in Wisconsin. Talked to them for about 2 weeks before jumping on. I am currently in the process of taking my drug test. They offered a rental car or plane ticket. I chose the car so I can bring more things I need. They said they can run me through the house on my first trip so I can grab my mattress and things I'll need for the road. THE LOWDOWN......
Offered me 67 per mile starting. 71 cpm after 6 months. Have Freightliner and International. I was pretty adamant I STRONGLY preferred a Freightliner and they agreed. All dry van no touch. Insurance seems decent. Running mostly Midwest. No west coast a little Northeast. Stay east of I-35. I don't like west coast so no problem with that. Leaving Saturday with a rental car. About 930 miles. They're paying for my hotel along the way. Start orientation on Monday. Should be in a truck Wednesday. I'll try to update when I get my feet in the door.

 

Sooooo
All done with orientation and got my truck and 1st load to Eden NC to get the rest of my stuff. Before I dive in. Let's get some of the general things out of the way. Stayed at the La Quinta Inn hotel in Appleton WI. Very nice hotel with Applebee's on one side and Texas Roadhouse on the other. Had my rental car I drove up from NC with. So I drove it 11 miles each way to orientation both days. They offered to take me back and forth but I didn't want to be without a car because you never know when you'll run up on a hot chick needing a ride. People were nice enough and helpful. The People's Net was a little pain to grasp but I got through it. Gave me a menu from a little restaurant up the street both days. The was pretty good. Met everyone in the office and my dispatcher. Seems like a nice enough guy. We talked for about 30 minutes to get a feel for what I liked. We have very little touch freight and I let him know that was an absolute no for me due to my back problems. He was ok with that. Truck is a 2020 Freightliner with 465,000. It's nice & clean and seems to be in good shape. Now for the details. Let me stress that these are NOT complaints or compliments. They are simply what I saw and learned.

They are VERY frugal!!....VERY!!!
No prepass in the trucks. If the chicken house is open, you're pulling in.

Drivers pay for Cat Scale. You will be reimbursed on your check.

No Sirius XM or satellite TV.

No built-in electrical outlets in the trucks. Inverter under the bunk.

No power door locks or kingpin release.

Drivers lounge is a desk mounted on the wall with vending machines on the other wall.

No orientation pay. No sign on bonus.

Truck registration is for one month then 11 months when the temporary registration expires. I was told it was cheaper to do it that way. Mine expires on the October 31st.

Insurance is free for the driver. $7,000 deductible but most regular stuff doesn't fall under the deductible.

Upgraded insurance for myself is $39.00 per week with a $3,000 deductible. Insurance coverage by United Healthcare. Seems to be pretty good insurance.

Layover & breakdown pay is $60.00 per day.

Detention is $10.00 per hour after 2 hours. They go after Detention HARD.

No minimums on inspections. If a pretrip takes 9 minutes then it takes 9 minutes.

Per diem is $50.00 per day. Not by the mile.

Trucks have Hadley valve installed. No more granny gearing the trailer.

I saw the milage sheet for the prior week. Lowest driver was 2,611 miles. Some drivers said they were grossing $3,000 per week.

Tickets can affect your pay. Depending on severity, your pay can drop 2 cents to 8 cents per mile for 3 months. Or not drop at all. Again, depending on severity.

No bonuses of any kind. No safety, no performance and no longevity bonuses.

Pay is 71 cents per mile but can be less if your CSA isn't clean.

Most trips you will do your 10 hours and roll. Trip planning looks to be kinda tight.

I never spoke to a driver who complained about pay or miles. Pretty much if you wanna run it's there.

LOT'S OF MANARD LOADS! D&H at the DC. Live at the store.

Average haul 628 miles.

My conclusions.
If you're looking for lots of perks and bonuses, You won't find it here. However, If you're more interested in making nice paychecks and affordable health insurance. Then this is the place you'll find it.

 

The truck.....

 

Other things I've observed...
You can loose 5 cents per mile if you're late for your appointment. I don't like the fact that your empty miles are not listed on your dispatch. They say you'll be paid for empty miles but would be much more convenient to include the miles on your dispatch.
I also find it irritating the driver has to pay for Cat scales and wait to be reimbursed. I understand sometimes you'll need oil or antifreeze and wait to get reimbursed. But cat scales are an everyday part of trucking. This shouldn't be put on the the driver. You also can't use your Cat scale app. You need a physical copy of the ticket and receipt. So instead of just breezing through the scale. You'll have to pull back around through the fuel line and wait 20 minutes for some guy to get his Popeyes chicken. Then go to the fuel desk and wait another 10 minutes for the guy in front of you to figure out what information he needs for his cash advance. Some people might be ok with that. I'M NOT! People are very friendly so far. Honestly I haven't seen much in the way of miles yet. About 1,500 this week and 800 last week. In fairness I haven't been available a full week yet because of home time to get my stuff and orientation the week before. Hopefully the miles will go up but I'm getting a lot of 300 and 400 mile runs.