Jct - any bad news with these guys?

Just remember JCT is the only co.that in cab 5th wheel locks,The reason,people tend to get bent out of shape with them and pull the pin.

 

I leased a truck through them a few years back. It didn't work out for me unfortunately and I think it was just bad timing more than anything. The first 3 months I was on the new driver's board and they ran the wheels of my truck. 4000 miles a week solo. I was just killing it, making money hand over fist. There were days you would run 900-1000 miles. It didn't happen all the time but it wasn't unusual. When I was there they had next to no team trucks but were accepting team loads so the solo drivers would have to take them. Dropping loads at drop yards a day or two before it was due and grabbing another one and back on the road. It is reefer so there will be times you get stuck waiting for the product to come out of the field. The times I did sit they charged the shipper and I got paid $500 to sit there and watch tv for a day and a half. They will call the shipper and tell them if they want the truck to wait then they have to pay. If they don't want to pay then they'll send you somewhere else to load. They never left me sitting in a situation like that and not pay me for it. Just like ALMOST anywhere else I've worked, if you are polite and professional with your dispatcher they will do the same for you and really, there are so many turds out here, they will appreciate it and go out of their way to take care of you....Then it happened.....They hired a new dispatcher and I got put on his board because I'm an easy driver to deal with. He would throw me on stuff that I would get to the delivery two days before it was due and would have to sit and wait. I went from 4000 miles to 2000 miles a week. 1500 miles was my break even point. Don't plan on being home either. Especially if you live in the eastern US. Most of their loads keep you out west or are pushed for time going to the east coast. I learned real fast that 2 days at home meant not making ANY money and sometimes owing money back to the company for that week. If I were to do it again, and I've thought about it, I would go for a less expensive truck than I did the first time (a 2006 W900 with 150,000 on it, leather wide ride seats, carrier apu) and I would try to stay on with the new driver dispatcher. He "tests" you to see what you are capable of and if you prove yourself useful you may be able to stay on his board. I didn't know by getting assigned to a regular dispatcher I would lose my ###. The new driver dispatcher was the best dispatcher I ever had. He really worked to get you miles. Make an impression with him. Don't tell him no to a load if you can avoid it.

In short. If you are willing to bust your ###, stay on the road all the time, and get lucky enough to get a dispatcher that will work for you its a good place to be. You will literally have to stop any life outside of that truck to make it work though. In just a few years of that you'll have the title to a truck with 500,000+ miles.....hmm....time to start over again. LOL.

Another thing to consider if you go there, when it comes time to "pick" your truck (its literally a foot race) the number on the truck tells how many drivers have leased that truck before. For example L1876B. The "B" means two others had the truck before. "C" means three others have had it and so on.

 

Sorry things didn't work out for you, but a lot has changed at JCT in the past 4 years. First and foremost is that they are now on elogs...meaning no more 4000 mile weeks or 1000 mile days unless you're a team. Also, they have tons of east coast freight. I have only run the East Coast since I started on April 1st, and have been home twice already...both times under a load. The longest I've had to wait to be loaded is 2 hours, but most of the loads I have run have been drop and hooks at the shipper with a live unload at the receiver. I don't know what to say about the DM's because I've never had an issue with my current one or the "new driver" dm, but I was only with the new driver dm for a week.

500,000 miles on a truck is nothing. You can run these trucks to 1,500,000 - 2,000,000 miles if you take care of them. And when you pick your truck, it is not a foot race. They flat out tell you that, if they catch you running (or even walking fast,) you will get to pick your truck last. Truck selection was no issue for me. I picked the truck that I wanted without any problems. You are correct about the numbers and letters, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. One of my "classmates" picked a 2009 T660 with a "J" letter on it. It was one of the cleanest 660's I have ever seen. Another "classmate" of mine picked a 2010 Peterbilt 386 with no letter on it. He didn't even leave the yard before he found several things wrong with it.

 

Instant termination of contract if you tamper with backup alarm.