My Expierence at CR England

You got that right about the entrances not being where you think they are.
I also have the link to the cat scale finder; blue beacon; and a truckstop finder which lists the truckstops, Walmarts (some may not be good for parking though, esp if you zoom in on Google because of the area (lots of decorative trees and islands in parking lot). The finder really helps in some of the states which do not have a lot of branded name fuel stations.

I also have the Pilot stations on microsoft excel sheet, downloaded from their site; and Love's (it doesn't have the addresses though, just the highway and exit number). And I add to the sheet when we find other branded stations or rest areas in a particular area. It comes in handy a lot of times.

I use 411.com in a lot of cases to track down some of the weird warehouses that have one name but are actually something else. The link has a reverse address check, reverse phone number check, or name or business check. I should join the FBI I think really.

I'm at home though now so we burn up the cell plotting the plan of the day and all these programs make life a lot easier most days.

 

I saw a sign at shipper once that said "we are not responsible for shipping" some shippers will want you to pay to have load reworked. If you know your going to be over 40000 lbs, you need to watch it, have them load it like a 48'. Look at drive air gauge, and of course get it scaled right away. The law is very clear about who is responsible for weights. The driver, as always. I wish I could put a sign on my door that says " I am not responsible for driving!!!"

 

You got that right, I just don't know what has happened in the last 5 yrs with these shippers. Not only that it seems like some of the branded meat shippers do not even know how to count what they are loading, there has been on occasion they had 13 extra cases on the one load, then you have to wait while someone decides who or what to do with it.

Clorox (they had all kinds of stuff on the load; kitty litter, cleaning supplies, etc) loads a long time ago use to be a real nuisance, they seemed like they always ended up with a major smash somewhere along the line where they were not stacked right. Ended up on one load taking the load back to the terminal because it was leaking.

I like the loads they dispatch and it already says the load is going to be possibly over weight; where in the world does CRE get that they are supposed to be taking loads like that anyway.

 

Thanks for crapping on me, MysticHZ. Fact is, I've been out of work for two years, and I can no longer afford to be picky. I don't like the situation any better than you would, but I can no longer stay home and wait for money to appear like mana from heaven. Due diligence is a great idea, if you have choices to choose from, and are trying to pick the best one. As it is, the longer that I wait for the 'right' opportunity, the harder it's going to be to make it work - and all I have is the one, anyway. If you're making a better offer, I'm all ears.

I fully expect to get screwed; that's what happens to the desperate. You can wait around for it to happen to you by default, or you can get out there and have some input into how it happens - but either way; if you've reached the point of desperation, chances are that you're about to get screwed. If you like, I'll be happy to fill you in, as it happens.

Oh - and when I drove for Werner, years ago, they did pay students during training. In fact, I made more per week during training than I did per week, during my first several months as a solo driver. Life can be funny, that way - and recruiters can be evasive and deceptive; especially when they have a good idea that recruits won't like the straight truth. Sometimes, they can be just plain stupid, thinking that they know things that they have only been lied to about, by the people that they work for. At least if I have some idea what to expect, I might be better able to prepare myself for it. I was hoping for straight answers from someone that is ahead of me in the pipeline; someone that has already experienced the screwing that I am headed for.

Not so much looking for the lifestyle criticism from someone that clearly has no understanding of my situation. I'm glad you have the freedom to be choosy. Not everyone does. If you can't answer my questions (and I'm quite certain that CRE does pay people, at some point), then I can at least live without the condescending, judgmental attitude.

 

Hey fmd, you probably have to take the 10 day refresher, think ther is a $50 admin fee and no pay during refresher, once on a a truck with trainer, you get $430 a week during phaze 1, then 12 cent a mile on combined truck miles during phase 2. You can use your fuel card to take a $100 draw once with trainer. You just need enough to eat while at school. Bring ramen or anything cheap that you can microwave. We helped out guys who were broke when I was in school, a lot of us won't allow a fellow truck driver go hungry.

 

Thank-you, Brownyjr - that's exactly the information that I was looking for!

 

I think it depends on your DM, they always like team trucks and who knows what their boss is telling them.

 

Goodluck, break a leg.

 

Dont drink the kool aid