Magnum ltd - fargo, nd

If you’re liking the company and will be staying awhile the Big Rig mattress company out of GA have some cool solutions that might help you out.

 

@MaineRoad96 how'd you go from a 2020 to a 2023? I've met some drivers who have been here awhile still rolling around in 2019's

 

Did you ask them if they wanted new trucks, or did they say anything to you or to their Driver Managers about wanting new trucks? Or did you just notice they were in 2019's after they told you how long they had been with Magnum?

I ask because a lot of drivers don't like getting into a new truck for various reasons.

I got into a new truck because I stated my case for wanting a new truck and my current Driver Manager made it happen (to be fair my first Driver Manager before he left said he would make it happen for me as well).

 

Just an observation i made. I did talk to a driver or two that's been here for much longer than I have but never asked why he was in that particular truck.

I specifically asked for a Cascadia in part because it was familiar to me and i thought that keeping familiarity was a good thing with relatively new drivers. Outside of routine maintenance and operator error, the only issue I've had with my truck is i had to get the passenger side steer wheel replaced. The guy who came out thought the tire was bad, but the actual wheel itself had pinholes in it. Thankfully I noticed the tire going flat and pulled off to a truck stop before I got stuck on the side of the highway or worse. That's why my truck has one dull wheel and one shiny wheel.

Got my truck at 195k and now it has 285k and still running strong. Only thing I would gain from a new 2023 is something with no mileage or previous drivers. The differences between the 19 Cascadia's and 23's are very minimal. The newer ones have a couple more aero things and LED headlights while the 19's and 20's don't have the extra aero bits and have halogen headlights. That's it.

I haven't even been with the company for a year yet, so asking for new equipment doesn't feel like it would be acceptable for me to do. Plus I don't usually make requests like that regardless, just because of who I am. There's drivers who want or need the newer equipment more than I do. So in other words I'll probably drive the tractor i have now until the company offers me something different. Whether that's 2 months or 2 years from now, who knows

 

I hear ya. Well a new truck was important to me for various reasons, so I brought it up.

I'm going through the new truck getting the kinks out phase right now. Had to have a software update a month ago to get the dash to stop freezing up on me. Now I've had a problem with a Transmission Fault that comes on and tells me to shut off the truck and when I stop I can't change gears anymore it only stays in neutral and says to seek service. I've been able to cycle the truck on and off and it'll fix it but then the problem occurs again.

They had me to a "Transmission Reset" which was real simple the other day and for now the problem hasn't come back. So if the problem doesn't come back then I'm good but if the problem comes back the truck will have to go to a Peterbilt dealership to get it looked at.

To me it's fine because I'm happy that I got a new truck but I can see why a lot of drivers don't even want the hassle of a new truck, so that might be why you're seeing them in their older trucks if their older trucks have been good them.

 

Stuff like this makes me wish we could request a standard transmission. Hate when I'm backing on an incline into a spot with a load and it gives me a message like "clutch overheating" or some such garbage. Creep mode is next to useless in some backing situations and feathering the throttle takes great care.

 

Well at least you will be easy to spot! I'm 6'3" tall myself, so it's not too often I run across someone who is much taller than I am. When I do, it's really a strange feeling, like I'm standing in a hole or something. Haha! I'll keep an eye out for you. Thanks for the welcome!

 

Wow, thanks for taking the time to post all that information! I got my license through Roehl Transport and drove for them for 3 and 1/2 years. I probably stayed longer than I should have, but they were decent people for the most part and they did what they said they would do. Equipment was nice. I started out with an old International with about 400,000 miles on it. It was an ugly old beast, but I put 125,000 relatively trouble-free miles on it in my first year. After that, they gave me a new International Pro Star and I ended up in a new Cascadia about a year later.

There were a lot of days like the one you described. I just figured that if I averaged the slow days like that out with the good ones where I was driving all day, it all averaged out. I never got rich there though. I never made more than $50K in a year there. I finally ended up leaving when I got fed up with going out to the northeast all the time.

It has been 8 years since I drove a truck, but I'm hoping I'll pick things up again pretty quickly after getting in the saddle again with a trainer for a while. The nice thing is that I feel like I know what I'm getting myself into with this job because of my previous experience. I know there will be some ups and downs with Magnum, as there would be with any company. I've always been of the mindset that most jobs are what you make of them and a good attitude will get you through a lot.

Anyway, thanks again for all the great info, and I hope to see you out there!

 

Taking a run through a new part of the country i haven't been to. Delivered in Jacksonville yesterday. Picking up a broker load in Savannah, GA today going up to New Jersey for Friday delivery. Both ends are open pick up/delivery times so it's a nice easy jaunt up the east coast. Never been on I-95 save for a small section in NC and the Jersey Turnpike. Probably not missing much. I'm not a huge fan of the eastern seaboard, except for maybe North Carolina. Worried about getting through the DC/Baltimore area especially without tearing my hair out.

 

Oh man, I'm jealous. I'm hoping to get lucky and end up being able to take a 34-hr reset down near Jacksonville to catch a Jags game. It probably won't be until next season though.

You're right - you're haven't been missing much on I-95. It has been a while since I drove that one, but it wasn't one that I've been hoping to get back too soon.

If you go through DC/Baltimore at the right time of day, hopefully you will be able to glide right through without too much problem. Best of luck, buddy.