Going back OTR with Crete

Discussion in 'Crete' started by MikeyB., Oct 9, 2017.

  1. born&raisedintheusa

    born&raisedintheusa Road Train Member

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    Those are some really EXCELLENT paychecks! More power to you!

    God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!
     
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  3. born&raisedintheusa

    born&raisedintheusa Road Train Member

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    Providing that it is possible for the new student fresh out of a truck driving school, it is probably best to get a job with a company that provides the brand new drivers with a manual transmission. This way, they can get all the necessary experience possible under their belts.

    God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!
     
    Farmerbob1 and Rollr4872 Thank this.
  4. truckerbunny

    truckerbunny Light Load Member

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    @MikeyB. @Farmerbob1 Does Crete OTR see a lot of east coast or do you all get loads heading west too as a solo driver? Are your loads short (300-500 miles)? Husband drives for Shaffer but we only go from IL, to TN, to PA and wondering if it’s any different Crete side.
     
  5. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

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    I drive for Shaffer, OTR, so I cannot say what Crete OTR does with any certainty. However I have heard that average length of load is considerably less than Shaffer. Last I looked my average length of load was around 850 miles. I wander all over the US. Just got back to the east coast from a loop that took me from Atlanta to western Arizona, then southern New Mexico next to the Mexico border, then Denver, Lincoln, NE (dropped a load to save me from 2 days idle time), then to central Michigan, Harrisburg, PA, and back down to Atlanta.

    If you are tightly restricted to that small area of IL/TN/PA, are you dedicated? Also, after a year with the company, it seems like my average length of load is a bit higher and there are fewer loads going into the NE, but that might just be me getting lucky.

    Several things to consider:

    The drop and hook percentage for Shaffer is a lot less than Crete. At best, maybe about 50%, month-to-month in my experience, and normally 25%-ish.

    Length of load is longer on average for reefer loads.

    Reefer trailers need more time investment. They have to be fueled, and often must be taken to washouts. Frequently, you can't just sweep out blood, crushed veggies/fruits, or whatever else might be left in there. Chocolate and some other types of shippers can be very, very picky about odors, and some shippers will auto-reject any produce load if they see the tiniest bit of blood in your trailer.

    Pay is higher for reefer loads.

    Oddball hours driving and more time in shipper and receiver lots, or roadside parking, if you want to really reduce wasted time driving reefer.

    Fewer deliveries to retail stores with reefer loads. I've done one direct delivery to a store in 2.5 years driving reefer. Most of the places where reefer trucks go are places designed for tractor trailers by people who have a clue about the space we need. A lot of retail building docks were designed by morons, or the facilities might have been expanded or the blacktop areas modified over the years, rarely with any consideration for truck access.

    That's my quickie list of pros and cons. I'm sure there are others I'm not listing. For me, the money was the biggest thing, but now that I've sold my house and have a solid emergency fund built up, I'm strongly considering moving to Crete dry van even though the income potential is higher in reefer. To make more money on the Shaffer side, you have to really keep some screwy hours, or consistently get very long mile drop and hook loads (not happening for me.)
     
  6. truckerbunny

    truckerbunny Light Load Member

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    Funny enough we called to see if we were accidentally put on dedicated and they told us no he’s OTR lol. When you first started did they put you with a “new guy driver manager” for a trial period or something? My husband has only been driving for the company 1.5 months. We were considering dry van because of the drop and hook percentage. Plus Crete side seems happier than the Shaffer side, at least what we’ve experienced so far.
     
  7. MikeyB.

    MikeyB. Medium Load Member

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    On the Crete side I've been running back and forth between Michigan and Pennsylvania 90% of the time on i80. Average between 2200 to 2500 but hopefully I'll be getting more drop and hooks with the warmer weather *fingers crossed* yes unfortunately if you're new they will put you with a temporary asset manager to see how you run and stuff, any issues you'd need to fix etc. As long as you don't have any issues with on time delivery and stuff you'll be getting a permanent asset manager.
     
  8. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

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    Yes, there is a period at the beginning of employment where you are handled by a special team of driver managers. That normally ends after a favorable new driver review somewhere between 1 and three months after you start working with the company. I think I got mine at about six weeks.
     
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  9. truckerbunny

    truckerbunny Light Load Member

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    Awesome!!! Thank you this is what I needed to know. They never told him that but we had a feeling it was something along those lines.
     
    Farmerbob1 Thanks this.
  10. Thane

    Thane Medium Load Member

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    After the 3 month honeymoon period, you'll be assigned your more permanent dispatcher. The honeymoon period is better than the regular time you'll be driving coming in about 1.5 months. Lots of D&H in the honeymoon period, fewer grocery warehouses. Fewer D&H loads in regular, more grocery DCs.
     
  11. smokey12

    smokey12 Road Train Member

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    So your stuck running between those states as an OTR driver with Crete? That stinks..You never get out west?
     
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