Need help in evaluating equipment out there!!

Company trucks for the most part are all the same. Bottom end fleet truck that's going to be tossed in about 500k miles. Gear ratios and whatnot are usually meaningless, because how the truck performs normally depends on the engine program the company idiots put in. With a manual, the truck won't pull worth a flip, but with an auto, the tranny won't shift right if they jack around with the engine parameters and cut the power down more than 10% from factory specs. This is why one driver won't have ANY issues with an auto and others will live in a repair shop. So it's a crap shoot.

I am an old school driver. I like to know engine, transmission, and rear end specs even as a company driver. But when the beancounters start jacking around a truck, messing up the performance from factory specs, I quit caring. As long as I'm not paying for fuel, and as long as I get paid for the time the truck is sitting in the shop, I will never complain.

One more thing: if a company has some idling policy and do not provide an APU, keep shopping. Don't be one of those drivers that we see in Laredo, stuck in the FlyingJ all weekend, running team, trying to be good employees and keep their idling time low, and the daytime temp is 118 degrees, two grown men sitting in a truck with the windows down in their underwear, and a hundred flies tormenting them. Don't do it. They only do van drivers like this. Make you run team and not idle. That's about as bad as one of those slumlord trucking outfits where they give you just enough fuel to get from point a to point b, but not to idle.

 

You WANT an APU. Especially if you are doing reefer. Anywhere where you have to sit for long periods of time you want the comfort of having cold or warm air blowing on you. Many states (yours especially) now have No Idle laws. The states don't care what your company's idle policy is. The preferred ones are the diesel fired APUs such as Thermoking Tripacs, Carriers, or the Rigmaster. Look for those. They can be easily identified by a boxy looking thing attached to the frame on either side, about the size of a breadbox up to a dishwasher. The added benefit is that most of the trucks equipped with those also have built in inverters where you can have regular wall socket outlets in the cab to plug in accessories. Many companies are going to the battery pack APUs. I don't have personal experience with these but the overwhelming opinion of drivers that I've talked to is negative on them. They take up to 10 hours of continuous driving to charge up and only provide maybe 8 hours of air conditioning depending upon the temperature. Crete/Shaeffer is using these and many of their drivers have told me they end up idling anyways due to the things running out of juice.

A company not having APU equipped trucks does not make it a bad company. But pay careful attention to their idle time policy. Don't just trust a website as these are not often published. Ask specific questions from recruiters and also research that company on this forum using the search function. If the company has the truck set to only idle outside of certain temperature ranges then you can often end up suffering. Southern Refrigerated Transport is a good example. I parked next to one in TN last year and it wasn't scorchingly hot but hot enough that you would have wanted some AC. I had my APU running and took a comfortable nap. The SRT driver had both windows open, and the cab vents open with a box fan up on the dash blowing into his sleeper. He looked a little sweaty to me. I would never run for a company that would charge me for breaking idle policy. Thats some BS invented by a desk jockey who hasn't spent a day in a truck.

Bunk heaters work very well, with or without an APU. I've had two trucks with them and as long as they are well maintained, they've worked fine to keep me warm. Even in -22F in Minnesota this year. Key here is "well maintained." At least yearly they should be taken apart by the mechanics and cleaned of soot and carbon buildup to ensure that they are able to light and heat properly.

Engine governors are a given at just about any company you want to work for. The industry average seems to be to set at about 63MPH top speed. Some companies like Prime, run a little bit slower (60-62) and others run a little bit faster (64-68). From what I've seen most of the training companies that hire new drivers tend to be at the slower end of the spectrum. The governor can be a nuisance but you get used to it and just plan accordingly. Any of your large carriers should plan you roughly between 50-55MPH travel speed so you have plenty of time to make your pickup and delivery appointments if you are using your time wisely. Other specs of the truck are not going to be published and most recruiters won't know anyways. Asking them what the rear end ratios are will get a dumb response, an "I don't know," or confusion. The best bet is to remember that most of the companies choose lower ratios anywhere from 2.64:1 up to the 3:30s with a direct drive final. They believe that it equates to better fuel mileage. The debate on that is worthy of an entirely different thread. If you are a company driver, you will end up creeping up hills all the time with heavy loads while owner operators pass you easily. Just get used to it.

Transmissions will vary from outfit to outfit. A lot of the fleets are going with automatics nowadays under the belief that they are more fuel efficient. Thats another hot topic that would cause a separate thread worth of debate. My personal experience says no but others might say yes. My personal experience with autoshifts was terrible and my opinion is that they are junk. I had two trucks with autoshifts and I could count on both to fail when I needed them to work. They constantly needed software updates (yeah no kidding freaking software updates), they both were very finicky and had gremlins such as popping out of gear and getting lost requiring me to come to a stop and let it start over from low, and they both tried to make decisions for me that often ended up being the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish. Sometimes this can lead to frightening experiences. But I've also heard that maintenance is a key factor. Bottom line is I prefer to shift myself. It makes me feel that I'm more in control of my equipment. Most big carriers have 9-10 speeds. Some of the flatbed outfits such as TMC are running 13 speeds. I currently have a 10 speed and wouldn't want any less. Generally, the more gears you have available, the easier it is to pull a load. It all comes down to personal preference which you will develop after a little while of driving.

As far as CSA scores go, that is a big factor in choosing a company. You should look at the safety record of a company when considering applying for employment there. If they have a terrible history then you might be putting your driving record at risk. A company that has a DOT reputation of having junky equipment will get pulled in for inspections more often. Remember that the driver shares responsibility for the equipment with the carrier. So if you get out of service violations, or even just minor equipment violations, even though your carrier may pay the fines for you and repair the faults, the points are going on your license. This shouldn't be a problem with most of the bigger carriers but if you are looking at small companies that hire rookies, do some research. I recently decided not to leave my large carrier to work for a small carrier in my home town just for that reason. They have a bad record with TXDOT over equipment violations and TXDOT is on them like white on rice.

Good luck out there and hope to hear more from you!

 

The first truck for many newbies is a truck that was abandoned by another newbie . The new driver is sent to recover the truck wherever it was abandoned and more often than not it is filthy and beat up .
I've heard some APU's that are louder than 30 year old Evinrudes . I don't know how drivers sleep in those trucks . I'd rather park next to a reefer .

 

I had one truck with an apu I liked it problem with them is they break often if your running regional during the daytime and not taking 34 hour resets in a truck an apu is unesassary I have a bunk heater for winter it will keep the truck at 80 degrees for 20 hours solid and summertime I have big windows with screens and a fan I sleep better with the truck off anyways my account will let me idle so when its uncomfortable during the day I will run the ac.

 

Gordon doesn't have APUs? Thats news to me. All the GTI brochures I've seen are advertising APUs on their trucks. Of course this may have changed but I believe their newer trucks are all APU equipped now. You might look at Interstate Distribution. I'm not sure if they hire trainees but they are also APU equipped. Central Refrigerated will hire in your area as well as Marten Transport. Both are APU equipped and both hire trainees. I'm not sure about Central's record but I beleive Marten is generally pretty clean. Stevens Transport may hire out there as well and they are APU equipped. I work for USA Truck and they are about 98% APU equipped. They do hire trainees and I believe LA and Phoenix are still are two southwest hiring areas.