leaving the pumpkin patch coming over to interstate looking for some fresh input

Uncle Pete's truckstop has decent food.

 

I was with interstate in 2009. I drove a Freightliner that had over 1 mil. miles on it. It was broken down a lot. It had an automatic in it and I hated it. I asked several times for a different truck and never got one. The biggest problem they have still is, they cannot get you home on time. Never! And the bad part is I lived in Louisville, KY. After a year, I gave up on them and told them bye. Maybe you will have better luck. Some people are good and honest, my dispatcher lied to me constantly. So, I never talked to him.

 

So far my experience with IDC has been pretty good. Over 56k miles since July 1. I was assigned a 2012 Cascadia out of orientation, which runs like a top. And I've only been late once for H/T. You will be treated with respect by offices and shops. The Tacoma and Fontana shops have been quick and accurate on repairs and no funny business from mechanics. The Tacoma yard is exceptional: gym, grill, shore power plug-ins, private showers, laundry etc. Most rigs are well maintained.

That said, it's not perfect here. The trucks have no APU's or Opti-Idle. They do have a bunk heater but batteries are so weak that you'll have to start the truck after 4-6 hrs. They have 1500 watt inverters, but with the battery power they are useless. The rigs have Shorepower plugs which are nice if you have somewhere to plug in. Idle has a 5 min cutoff (tap the throttle to override) unless the temp is below 27 or above 72.

One current dust up is that we used to be paid $10 for every dock we bump. They've recently taken that away and instead pay detention pay when you're held over 2 hrs (2.25 hrs = .25 hrs detention). I just did a 2 stop in Salt Lake with 4 hrs in docks, mileage pay only.

They've drastically cut back on local terminal drivers. As such, OTR drivers have to do more local loads. Any load under 150 miles is now considered "local" and pays at $13/hr. My argument on that is simple; those hours come off my books, I should be paid at OTR rate (CPMx50/hr) instead of 40% off.

Trailer condition is currently poor. Do careful pre trips to avoid DOT problems. And for God's sake, becareful on the landing gear. Many are stiff as heck and can throw your back out. That said, they are upgrading the trailer fleet to include air ride and tire pressure monitoring.

CSA scores are weak enough that California is making us pull into all scales (5 scales in 240 miles last weekend). Light load, empty (heck even 2 times bobtail) doesn't matter; you roll the scale.

 

Error on my last post: Locals are 100 miles or less including deadhead.

 

No worries. Look me up once you get your rig.