looking for a good heavy haul company

Yeah, a sure sign that the market is in decline. Saw a TMC truck pulling a 3 axle trailer last week. Thought that they had only 2 axle trailers.

Much talk about Keen. My experience with Keen as an O/O pulling brokered loads is that they always treat you like crap no matter what terminal you load out of. They always have bad attitudes and act like you are a ####roach to them. Kinda reminds me of how your treated at most grocery warehouses, but worse. Have no idea how they treat company drivers, but if this is the company culture it could be a miserable place to work.

 

65 is no problem my boss ask me to run at 64 mph and do unless passing or going up a grade and need a run for it. Most of the Keen loads are maxed out or permit loads so they drive very slow loaded, heck 64 mph after dragging heavy seems like I am flying.

 

Keen is a good company to work for, make good money in 3-axles and GREAT money in 4-axle tractors. Need to be on the road a lot but that is HH. Every yard is different to deal with but it's getting better all the time.

 

The only place that I've ever had an issue at a terminal was at their Carlisle, PA one. Some yardboy thought he could talk down to me. I have an instant cure for yardboys with bad attitudes.

I helped a Keen driver into a tight parking spot a few years back. He gets out the truck and starts talking crap to me. My company vs your company stuff. What does that have to do with us, the drivers? Geez, some drivers really buy into the whole elite company status stuff. Why? Every company out there has good drivers in the fleet (if they did not, the company would go belly up in the specialized/heavyhaul game). Every company out there has bonehead drivers who try to fake their way through.

Every company has great drivers, but very few. One alot of loads, you may not be able to tell a great driver from a good driver. Sometimes, a great driver will give dispatch a bigger headache than the bonehead driver. But when theres a problem load, the great driver can work out all the bugs, routing, permits, DOT, customs and brokers...whatever. He leads, and the company is there for support if needed. Give him a problem load and he will call you when it's delivered. He never fails. Your 'go to' guy in a crisis. You have a $40 million load, who do you go to? On a load like that, the shipper is so happy when you deliver the load that you think the shipping manager is going to name one of his children after you. I would like to see all drivers in our business make good money, whether they drive for the same company I do or not.

The way I figure, the only drivers that will pull cheap loads are the ones that are starving. The better he gets, the more money he makes, the less likely that driver is to pull a cheap load. Its one of those reasons why I always try to talk drivers out of doing one of those lease purchase deals through the company that they drive for. Those lease deals are designed for you to stay hungry. Need proof? If your lease payment has to be paid weekly instead of monthly, then it's not for your benefit. If you lease through a truck dealership, usually they give you a monthly payment. Why? So you can make the payment with ease. These trucking companies do theirs by the week. Make $10 grand one week, you pay your lease payment for 1 week. Turn around and go home for a week and you are facing having to dig yourself out of a two week deep hole. What about that $10 grand? Wont help you now.

If you are leasing a truck, and you have a $10 grand week, take that money and go to one of those buy-here-pay-here places and get a good used, O/O spec'd truck with good power, put your money down and get that trucking company you drive for out of your pocket.

"But wont your company treat you differently and load their trucks around you?"
Not if you are one of their 'go to' guys.

"But what about my $3000-$4000 completion bonus for finishing out this lease?"
Your lease payment is $700-$900 a week. Leasing from outside the company, your lease payment is $800-$1300 a month. You will make (save, actually) your $3000-$4000 in 5 to 6 weeks instead of waiting a year. Plus, YOU GET TO GO HOME! No more 'hometime' for you.

 

Lones Star is a great company. Start at anywhere from 40cpm to 50 cpm and they do heavy haul. dont mind Ron Price in orientation. Hes an ###. But Orientation is 700 dollars and for lunch and dinner you eat out at country kitchens and steak and bbq, I shoulda kept my mouth shut and stayed there. They really throw money the drivers way. First company I can say that about. All you need is a year. I liked them till I pushed a wrong button o n elogs. They wont fix it. THey make you sit all day. That will reset everything. Im sorry I cant sit. Im a performanced based employee, not hourly or salary. If i dont drive, I dont live. So for anyy other company that thinks this is right, take your job and shove it.

 

Former employer of mine is leased to Bennett now... I'll give them a call and get their take on it.

 

Somehow, I missed this post when it first started.
But H.H. most generally is not I'll be home every 2 week thing. Depends on who you work on contract with.
Me,I stay out for 9 months or so. But my wife travels with me and we mostly live overseas. Home now.
Keen I believe trys to get their drivers home often. ATS, Well depends on where you live. But plan for 2/3 months out. Again, depending where you live and the work they have going.
Combined, you are salary.. Read a post in my favorite company by tootie. Plus I have a friend who's there. Out for long periods of time..
Again alot depends on where you live and who you work for.
Another thing is, if they want you to work a job that lasts for 6 months and you say yes. They want to and will hold you to it..
So think hard about project jobs before you speak.

 

Warren Transport isn't too much heavy haul but is into wide tractors. Pay is decent for what you have to do and the people are really nice all around. They have a van fleet as well but the machinery side is where I'm at. Some step deck and a few flats around but mostly double drop RGN's. Recently purchased a couple dozen new RGN's to add to the fleet. Only about 100 machinery side drivers so it's kinda tight knit. I stay out 4 or 5 days and then drop by the house in KC. If you live along I-35 it will work well for you going north and south. JD has plants in GA and NC to make a nice triangle of freight along with JD, IH and CAT stuff coming back out of Mexico for assembly in KS, IA and Il. Hope this helps.

 

I guess that "new meat on the street" comment seemed like it needed another response...but don't take it personally.

Maverick has a small fleet of trucks with RGN's, I'm driving one of them...at first glance, it might seem that we are new meat but its not exactly true.

There once was a company called International Transport, it was a heavy haul company...Schneider bought them years ago and called it Schneider Specialized...in 2006, Maverick bought Schneider Specialized (glass and heavy haul division)...Now we're Maverick, the last of the original drivers from International Transport retired last year, she was a heavy hauler for over 40 years.

Anyway...we're not exactly "new meat"...

 

Well since it keeps getting sold, The size of the loads and trls. keep getting smaller. Maverick will never ever be able to match what the IT guys did back in the day..
Even when Schneider bought IT out they reduced the fleet of the bigger trls.