My first couple months with Shaffer / Crete

They have 5200 trucks, 150 are Cummins powered KW T680s, about 700 Internationals (Cummins powered Prostars and LTs, I think the Maxxforce trucks are all gone now) the remainder are Freightliners. Odds are, you will get a FL. They are not buying any more Internationals, the only bought Cascadias and 680s last year.

Former Shaffer AM and former driver. Still with the company. and thinking about going back driving, and if I do, it will be with Crete/shaffer.

 

Now, since this post was made the gov't rules have changed allowing personal conveyance, however, at the time this post was made it is a violation to do what you said. It is a "shadow policy." Crete was telling drivers to violate HOS.

I don't care what Crete allowed a driver to do. Once you are out of HOS, you are out. Crete can't fix that or change that or eliminate that problem. Continuing to drive puts you in violation. Ozark would tell us the same thing and one night in the snow after getting to a shipper late because they sent me 50 miles to pick up an empty that did not exist, they told me to just drive to a safe location to park. I told them I can't do that, there is no regulation (at the time) that stated I could drive over my HOS for any reason. I chewed them a new #### because they were telling drivers this and putting their licenses and careers on the line and there was absolutely no DOT regs that allowed that to happen.

However, things have changed, thank GOD. You can now drive under PC to get to a safe place to park.

 

The one method of being paid is over the satellite when the qualcomm beeped on hooking a trailer load going somewhere. Taxes deducted, netpay, how do you want it? Direct deposit, cash, or comcheck card and how much of each.

Essentially instantly paid as soon you fill out and send in a loaded call on pick up of a trailer that's loaded or completed loading.

To me that was one of the very best ways to be paid. I can then run the trip as a way to build savings, send money to the wife and have something in the pocket.

 

You would refine a trip assigned to you against your HOS, Fuel, Appointment time, weather and overall traffic status of the major cities along your route.

There is many things involved in trip planning.

Ive been getting forum posts here showing even greater precision using computer power to run HOS which for example showed a rolling ELD restart 2 minutes with midnight one minute away. BOOM hours to roll on without stopping.

In my day we would probably have lost 20 minutes on the side of the road doing paper work on odomerter miles, logbook and end of workday to open a new workday before proceeding.

 

Still think they’re a good option? I’ve been highly considering them since they’ve raised their pay again and I keep getting these 80k a year ads, which I know are likely far fetched. Just not sure which side to go with if I did and if I could do orientation here in Knoxville. Hmm.

 

I’m still with them. PA to AZ right now.
I beg and plead for miles tho. Maybe the drop n hook account your on is better. I did make #1 on the Crete side my first month. On their all star board in NK. That made me feel good. I also stay out for 2 months or so.
Been refusing there little runs. I tell them “your wasting good talents away”. Still feels like a vacation.
I’ll do PA to AZ in 3 days but I don’t mess around. Left door stays shut on my lil red truck. lol
632 today. Tomorrow I’ll do 650 easy. It is hard to do but if you want something so bad you’ll go after it. And I do!

 

And I like people’s net. Of course I was on paper before with small companies. To the small guys who work for lil companies... the transition is easy. You will feel like it’s a vacation.