Joe & Tow's new trucking adventures/ex GTI thread

Good Luck chowie

 

Well so far I have been asked by 3 people to stay. 2 of them were FM,s and the operations manager asked why I was leaving and asked if there was anything that could make me stay. I came here to make money and that has gotten lower as I stayed. Being taken off a long run to run a load 200 miles does not cut it. The pay and home time I got with GTi just can not compete with what I get now. Gti is a good company in the west but not so much in the midwest. GTi is NOT a long haul carrier. Most runs are in the 2-400 mile range in the midwest and better in the west. Doing 2-400 mile runs you spend at least 1-2 times a day doing live loading or unloading or drop and hooks that do not pay. Even on a easy drop and hook you could spend over a hour a day at a costumer location not making anything. Last trip I spent over 22 hours live loading and unloading and made less than 150.00 in detention. In order to make good in the midwest you need to do 2 short runs a day. Then most of the time you burn the 14 hour clock up before your driving time expires.

Im not saying this a problem with just GTi but a problem industry wide. Its not so bad if you are running for a 2 to 3 days stretch on a long run but on a day to day basis It can add up very fast over time. Pay was ok at 40 cpm and I seldom had any problems with it and then they were just missing paperwork or number and payroll corrected them fast. In all fairness I was told they were looking at the driver pay to make it more in line with heartland But at the miles you run in the midwest even 50 cpm is not a lot with out any extra pay you get for doing every day things you do not get paid for. Eqp was good after you got a good truck and had it taken care of. The truck I got I left in better shape then when I got it. Apu was nice to have but not sure if they will keep them on all trucks. Heartland and GTi have some problems they need to work out. My feeling is Heartland cares more about the money it makes then the drivers it has. Untill that changes they willl always have a big need for drivers.

If your looking for a short to medium haul Mega carrier that runs very legal and not run you hard then you might want to look at this carrier. Do not expect to make much over 50 k a year working long hours. Any question I will be happy to answer

 

Greyhound, you're exactly right about the money part of Heartland. It is the primary reason why I left GTI in february and won't work for a publicly traded company...they are beholden to stockholders first. Any attempt to reason otherwise is dishonest. Even with Swift's recent announcement to raise driver pay, it was with the eventual intent of better dividends to stockholders. SEC runs legal and I'm getting great miles...out west, back to Tennessee, and unloading in Miami now. Yes, I took a cut in pay but the miles run and the lower stress level more than make up for it. I enjoy driving again and for SEC in particular. And these days in trucking, that is saying alot! Good luck to you!

 

Well both Lessors and SEC told me today that they are still working on my app. 10 days and they are still working on it, geez.

I am leaning toward SEC just to stay away from grocery warehouses, at least less grocery warehouses anyway.

 

Totally agree!

I have better offers as far as mileage pay but there's a big advantage running how you like and where you like. That's why I'm waiting to get an answer from SEC before I make my final decision.

 

Regional and short-haul carriers should pay like the one I worked for...percentage. The miles didn't count and loads were given out by who was available, not seniority. Base was $700 which wasn't bad. Much less stress that way.

 

So I picked up in San Diego and I'm headed to McDonough, GA. Ran I-8, then 10 and now in Louisiana on 20. There's a change, I've noticed, once out of Texas and into Louisiana. I can say right now,it's been years since I've run in Louisiana, and I hope it's years till I come back, if ever. I don't give a #### if these ignorant ######## starve to death.

 

GTI was a good company at one point. That point has passed. It's now in the hands of Heartland (Scumbag) Express. When it comes to who's important, it's the shareholders. Not the people actually working for the company. On the reefer side, I had some good long runs. In the end, it was more short garbage and hurry up and wait. This month here I ran about 14,000 miles. That's two months at GTI now.

 

Whats your problem with Louisiana? Love me some Cajun food

 

OH Cajun... I can go for that