EPES TRANSPORT-Greensboro, NC

Tasty you might want to check with CT transport based there in savannah. They hire students and run a flatbed operation and advertised home weekends and alot of pre-tarped and d/h ops when the recruiter came to my school. Pay sounded decent too with slot of supplemental items as well. Sounded like a good gig until he said all automatic fleet and I'm just not driving an automatic truck

 

Tasty I know its to late , but I have been telling others to pick a carrier first then work backwards to pick out a school. Not picking on you ,more for others in your spot . Work some where else as little as 3 months and call back ! Best of luck !

 

well I try so hard not to get into arguments on here,for I don't want to be down there on that level with those types of people, and I'll try my best to say it politely.But what the heck here it goes anyway.#1 from somebody that has less then a years driving experience to my almost 21 years out here you have no idea what your talking about. and I mean that in a respectful way not being a smarta**.#2 it's called getting the job done no matter what.#3 and these are examples, of what has happened to me excluding the qualcomm part for I don't have one. when you are sitting in rush hour traffic in the cross Bronx at 17:00 on a fri. and your little babysitter (qualcomm) says you have 1 hour left to drive what are you going to do? you going to stop and set the breaks becasuse your babysitter says you have to. Or your sitting in Brooklyn,Ny.at 16:00 in the afternoon backed into a dock and the hood of your truck is sticking out in the street.and again your babysitter says your 14 hour clock is up what are you going to do? you going to tell the shipper and NYPD "My babysitter (qualcomm) says I'm out of hours I can't move my truck I don't think so. come on be realistic.again I mean this in a respectful way but PLEASE !!!! PLEASE !!! don't make comments such as the one you made above 1st off without having been in someone elses shoes also don't say them with no more experience then what you have.and if I'm not mistaking this is your 1st driving job is it not? don't take this post as a jab back at you thats not how it was intended.

 

okay so we won't get into an argument....because that's not my style either....so i'll address your opinions with some facts:

1) I may only have a year in the truck, but I have more than 20 years in the industry and around the trucks and drivers. trainsitioning from a flight position in my former career to managing an extensive warehousing/transportation/logistics air frieght operation and the drivers that went with it and have family that have been in the business longer than i've been alive so I won't be talked to like a rank ####### amateur....i've been well aware of what it's like out here since i was barely old enough to climb up into the cab of an old cabover

2) the days of"getting the job done no matter what" are over. attitudes like this are why we're on this ####### elog to start with, and it is such a cavalier attitude towards HOS that put us in this situation to start with and in part why the public at large has such a #### opinion of us as drivers

3) You don't have a qualcomm. how dare you take me to task when you have no clue what it's like operating under those constraints to start with and are used to being able to run multiple logs to 'get the job done no matter what'? you say you'd welcome being on the elog, but be careful what you wish for. you'll find once your miles and pay are cut by the constraints it puts you under, that the grass wasn't really greener and it will only take about a week to realize what you had now that you've got what you wished for. think you're going to run that last 30 miles to get home or to the yard when it's hometime just because you got that close when the babysitter says you're out of time? no, you're going to do 10 that close to the house.

4)I've had runs, and more than a few of them so far, that would have put me in the cross-bronx friday afternoon traffic both coming and going but i was smart enough to take 287 up and around and not be the ####### caught in that mess having been there with my trainer during rush hour and having seen what that was all about. I can read a map and use it to my advantage....and made my appointment time and never was question about the 70 miles OOR..and that applies not only to NYC but to just about any major metro area anymore.....be it atlanta, miami, nyc, chicago, and even smaller places now with the elog where normal rush hour traffic will screw you big time if you can't find a better way around during certain times of the day if you're unlucky enough to be there. there's usually more than one way around a situation other than being a ####### and getting caught in it when you knew it was going to be there. I've also been the one with my nose sticking out into the street in Deleware, New Jersey and Massachusetts, Pennsylvania....hell, just pick a northeast state and i've had my nose sticking out into traffic in almost all of them when the 'babysitter' said you're out of time....or had to stop traffic on a busy street to get backed into the hole at the very least.....fortunately, we dont' have to deal with very many places like that where you're actually out in the street when you're in the dock, but two in massachusetts and one in deleware come to mind immediately.....and that's exactly what happened. set the brakes and don't move for 10 hours....and you can #### well believe i've already told more than one shipper or receiver that I was out of hours because it took them 4 hours past my appointment time tog et me loaded/unloaded and the truck will not move for the next 10 hours......or 8 or 2 if there's a way to use the split if the time is close but not enough to get to where I know there is parking......and i find it is the case where you have to utilize the split far more often than you normally would to make things work with the elog.....the one i'm on riight now is a good example of that where i'm in south florida with little to no parking, a firm 3am appointment and can't hang around once i'm unloaded.....and also so far down here that i had to run my time almost out 2 days straight to get here from the northeast.....but by knowing how and when and where to use the split, i ended up down here with enough time to get unloaded and get enough time back to get out of the dock and 40 miles up the road where i know there will be parking and then get the rest of my time back. usually we can work something out....most of the time it's how you approach it and how you approach them and start by letting them know well in advance that you're going to be out of hours in their dock and go from there....i've only had one instance where it wasn't possible in newark and they were jsut complete jerks about it, but i drove around to the back of their building and snuck into a spot where i could hide get 10. you have about a mile leeway you can move the truck before it kicks on duty but that's it.......it isn't the 'babysitter' you have to worry about, it's the phone ringing from safety once you go over your 11/14.....and it will happen. as soon as you run over the 'babysitter', it flags your log in safety and they ring your phone wanting to know why you ran over. don't say it won't happen because it already has. ran mine over to get out weather and traffic during the hurricane that came up through virginia recently and as soon as i shut down, saftey was ringing my phone wanting to know why......I left in plenty of time to get where i needed to go with 4 hours to the good side and then 95 was shut down for 5 hours due to flooding and a big wreck. that was considered 'unforseeable' because even though i left with a good cushion of time, there was no way i could know that the road would be shut down that long....at least I had a documented reason why and was able to dodge that bullet, but forseeable traffic like the example you give just isn't going to cut it with safety when that happens. we all know what the cross-bronx is like that time of day 7 days a week so it isn't a valid reason to run over your time. you have to figure out how to work around it now instead of just sitting there and waiting in it and saying "ill park once I get out of it".....if it means unhooking the tractor to get it out of the road if you're sticking out into the street, or leaving early to stop in the middle and start a split so you have hours to get back out then so be it, but when that box says it's time for you to stop, you WILL stop, or you'll be one of the old school who can't adjust and find yourself very quickly unemployed and unemployable due to log violations.

I come to the truck from an extensive background in aviation that started flying transport category aircraft that weigh twice as much as this truck at gross and will kill you (and others) twice as quick. pre/post trip, HOS, and regs are a religion and we as pilots hold ourselves to a much higher standard with regard to legality of operation and I bring that higher standard of operation to the truck. Would I like to be on paper and be able to run the way I know alot of guys are doing? Absolutely. If for no other reason than just to be able to avoid alot of the situations that arise from being tied so tightly and accountably to that box and just get somewhere to park..... unfortunately, that just isn't the way it is anymore.....and if you can't adapt to that and think you're just going to run as you please to get out of a bad situation on an elog, you're going to have a very rude awakening. trip planning, creative routing around spots you know are going to be trouble, and creative parking solutions are the rules of the game with this box, not thumbing your nose at HOS and thinking you're going to get away with it because your "21 years" doesn't mean a #### thing to this box and your job hangs in the balance if you can't work within the constraints. and believe me, some of these loads you have to get creative to make it work within the timeframes and be on time on both ends.

I stand by my original assessment even more strongly since you opened your mouth about your "21 years experience". you #### well know better and if you're letting yourself be run that way, it's YOUR fault. with that much time in, you should be able to write your own ticket and have your pick of any job out here, but since you do find yourself in such a position that your being "forced" to run so illegally, I have to wonder what the story behind that is.

It's YOUR license. YOU are the final authority with regard to the safe operation of the vehicle. you aren't being "forced" to run illegally and if you are, then you're just as guilty for not reporting it.

the higher standard of operation I bring to the truck from my aviation background is why I will survive in the elog world, and you will not unless you can adapt and lose the 'whatever it takes' mentality. it just won't work with an elog.

I don't take exception to anything you said.....and respect the time you have out here.....but those attitudes won't fly with an elog and you will have to adapt or retire.

 

WOW!!! with all that!? and you still.....still all you did there NEW BREED was make the very point I made all along.you get into situations out here that you can't control. sometimes you have to do what you have to do and as far as just running however I want to just because I'm on paper logs is where your wrong.with the exception of one time I run the way I want to run not the way my company wants me to run.go get yourself another 4 -5 years out here and at least 1 or 2 other jobs with different types of operations and then you can rant and rave about how you do it perfectly legal. Well I respect your managing airport /warehouse pilot. whatever you want to call it you did.logistics this and managed that. and your entire family is/was in the trucking industry since the covered wagon and you have been out here since you were old enough to climb in and out of a cabover and all your other attributes you think gives you knowledge to hold that steering wheel.But thats not the same as experience behind the wheel but as legal as you think you are doing it with your babysitter.I bet you your not as perfect as you think you are.Here...here is one example how I can prove it.NOW LETS BE HONEST here, how many times have you put yourself in the sleeper berth and you were not actually in the sleeper.how many times do you put yourself off duty after showing your 15 min. arriving at the shipper but you are spending 30- 45 min. inside just trying to get checked in.how many times do you put yourself in the sleeper at the truck stop but your sitting in the front seat being a windshield zombie or looking over your laptop perched up on the steering wheel . So your not as legal eagle as you think you are.again I say this with all do respect with less than a years driving out here you have no Idea what the hell you are talking about there green horn. OH by the way you said I have no idea what it's like running under the constraints of an E-log.there you go again assuming.I have run on E-log myself B4 a few times as a matter of fact actually they are not so bad. and I don't think you heard me speaking out against them as it seems that is the way you are taking it.running on E-logs and making money and making the best use of your time with it boils down to 2 things #1 the load planners and dispatchers timing and #2 the driver not wasting that time.oh one other thing and i'll stop editing this post I'm so proud of you that you can use a map and avoid such disasters as backups in the cross Bronx.however again you assumed I don't do that or I wouldn't be sitting in said backup.again you have got no clue what someone else has to do or go through but you still keep talking about something you have no experience in.I deliver and pick up in the Bronx,Brooklyn,Queens,Long Island,Etc. every week so it is kind of hard to go around such things as backups.you can plan, route, reroute, plan your day down to the minute, still sometimes you still have to do what you have to do no matter what E-log or not.

 

i'll concede your point about the assumptions......and he who is without sin....well, you know the rest.....

however, you make your own assumptions and i do it by the book and don't fudge my time the way you insuniate.....it can be done by the book with proper planning and execution and the ability to quickly think on your feet when it doesn't go as planned and at least have an idea what your plan b is going to be before you need it.

as for the rest of it, we'll just have to agree to disageree, and i can live with that. show me two of us that can agree on anything haha

but, there just might be those rare few of us greenhorns out here who have just a little more going on for ourselves than you seem to think....or would like to admit to yourself lol.......time in the seat counts for alot, and I in no way try to say that it doesn't.....whether it is flying a 180,000lb aircraft at 140 knots to a landing in 1/4 mile visibility and a 200-300 foot ceiling.....,or driving an 80,000lb truck at (sadly) 63mph.......but my qualifications and experience make me uniquely qualified more than most having been on both sides of the dock, the office and the wheel......and then add my management/time management and analytical skills to the mix to get the job done, without taking the shortcuts......

and i'm quickly gaining a reputation with my DM as being one who does get the job done, legally, and within the constraints of the elog.

some of us just are naturally good at what we do, no matter what it is.....and the proven and documented fact is, that i'm good at doing this.....and the more i learn the nuances and little ways i can tweak that box more than what i can do now, the better i'll get and the tighter i can run it down to the last minute

and show me a trucker or a pilot that doesn't have a little natural born arrogance lol....it's a prerequisite to sit in the seat....either one of them.

i have nothing but respect for your time in the seat and the viewpoint and insight it gives you......i'm earning mine. one on time load at a time.

 

Not to change the subject, flyingmusician, but i just read in your previous post that you drive into NYC. The EPES web-site says no NYC or Canada....can you clarify?

 

No FORCED NYC.....we do deliver there and they pay a premium for it but you don't have to go in if you don't want to i've pulled one going to brooklyn.....and hazmat as well pays a premium but isn't required

 

I am supposed to be starting orientation at Epes Transport on Nov. 13, 2011. Sdaniel is a trainer and even tho I haven't met him face to face yet has been a tremendous help getting thru the first stage paperwork trail. He is a great guy and an outstanding representative for the company.
My question to Epes drivers is how much freight do you have that comes in, near or thru Columbia, SC? And what are my options parking my truck / trailer for home time? I live in a neighborhood with houses so close that when you sneeze three houses down they say God bless you.

 

Pops we have good freight through columbia ! I am away from my truck , how far are you from orangeburg sc . we are puting in a new termial ( I think ) . But some park at truckstops others talk to shopping centerrs (walmarts, etc) just need promission first . But local advise may be best on this one thou . Best of luck !