Pumping some life into the Foodliner thread!

Hello to all Foodliner/Questliner peeps.

I'm back after a year absence,looking at the grass on the other side of the fence.

I can say that FL was better than I thought so went to my ex terminal manager to see if he had a position for me.

So here I am.

In the last year I have worked for,in this order:

Indian River Transport
H R Ewell

Went to the river to run local out of the port of wilimington and port of Newark.
It was hard to try and fit in as they have a seniority problem,don't get me wrong I understand you have to take care of the old timers.
But not at the cost of running the new guys broke.
It seems if you're tagged as a local guy,you will run local and that's about it.
I have my passport and only saw canada a few times,which is fine as the wait times are messed up most of the time.
So it didn't work,turned my truck in and told Melvin thanks Buddy but moving on.
Good: Equipment,paper logs and 70+MPH trucks
Bad: No detention time,waiting and waiting,paying for TRANSFLO(I mean REALLY?!),poor earning potential

I figured I'd try out H R Ewell,they're close to where I live and they have a nice benefits package.
Trucks are autos which is different but not as bad as I thought.
Running was hit and miss as far as money went,some weeks were good others not so much,but hey that's trucking!
Ewell is a odd company,alot of people not knowing whats going on and passing the buck,which is normal again for trucking.
When appointment times are so close you HAVE to run illegal to make it,it gets old.
Now I don't mind bending the rules a bit to make money,but when it's to the point they EXPECT you to do it all the time..gotta go.
Good: Benefits,70mph trucks,idleair APU
Bad: Running around tolls,dispatch,going to East Earl for everything,earning potential

So now I'm back with Big Red,I will probably step back into the same role I had before running Canada and system with local mixed in from time to time.

Yes Foodliner has issues,all the electronic gadgets(vorad,lane avoidance,speed gauge),getting a PO for other work done.
But nice to have a $1000/week gurantee(yes you have to jump through hoops to get it but can be done).
I don't like the minimum,so it doesn't effect how I run.

But I figure better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't.

I made good money here,so hoping it will turn out like I never left.

So I will keep you all up to date,any questions feel free to ask.

 

Ok update.

I have been running hard with FL,so far so good.

They have me doing Bulk as they had someone quit on a dedicated account and No-one at the terminal I run out of does Bulk.
So I ended up doing both,which has it's benefits.
I find it odd that no-one wants to do bulk,all you have to do is ask and they will train you.

Most people seem happy to collect the guarantee which is ok if things don't go well,but I wouldn't want to hover in that income bracket.
But that's just me,I don't mind working harder to make more.
I will run canada,the port and spend time away from home.
I know others have different things going on at home and that's cool,but don't complain when you're not making more money..Just saying

Equipment is ok,older truck for running bulk is junk,liquid truck is good to go,I like it because it doesn't have any of the electronic junk on it.
Maintenance is good,though they need to be jump started from time to time(yeah I know we're busy).

Dispatch is ok,really the only problem they have is communicating..which should be looked into.

So to sum it up,things are looking good at Big Red.

More to come in the following weeks.

 

Different person,different experiences.
I know some people have had problems with Foodliner,but all companies have their trouble.

I haven't had too many problems,no company is perfect,I'm just fitting in well for now.
Not all drivers fit in,I like to run and don't have to be home everyday,others are home everyday.
To each his own,what do I care how others run,it doesn't effect my paycheck.

I like what I have,where I'm at.(northeast area)

The new pay package went into effect,so pay has took a good upturn. (more on that later)

As for your comment about who I sound like,whatever what you think doesn't bother me.
I'm just trying to be positive about where I'm at,no more no less.

 

Yes you can take the truck home,there has been issues with guys running home every chance they get,so that gets the terminal manager on edge.
If you stay out a few nights then there probably wont be any trouble.

 

On to other things.

I'm currently running system,as FL is busy in the Charlotte area.
So here's my week so far:

Tuesday: did local run/shuttles to tank wash.
Weds/thurs: went up to Canada and back to tank wash.
Friday: p/u at port of Newark for run to Ohio
Saturday: sitting waiting for customer tanks to have room to off load,then I'm supposed to bounce down to Charlotte NC for a load to Florida.
But it will be determined by how I sit here,no worries though I'm getting paid.

So far everything has run well,no problems with pay or time off.
Minor trouble with equipment but I can live with that.

On the new pay scale(in my area),when you run short loads you get paid a flat rate.
Some are better than others,so I try and point my dispatcher to the good ones.
He knows I will run hard and stay out if needed so no problems there(most times).


System pays 41.5 cents per mile on the 1st load,after that it goes up to 45.5 for the rest of time you're on the road.

Delay is $16.50 an hour after the usual 2 hour delay

Drop/Hook pays $35 flat rate

Plus you have the $1000/week guarantee for the slow weeks.

All and all it's a good fit for me,you can make good money(1000-1400/week depending how you run) and tank work is easy (IMO).

So there you have it,more later this weekend.

 

Well I look at it this way Joe.
Every time someone says something good about FL you show up to denounce them.
I guess I must be a liar because you couldn't make here.

Maybe you're one of those guys that won't sleep in the truck out has to be home in 8 hours,I dont know or care.
Or maybe you had a bad terminal manager.
I have no reason to lie,what would be the point?!

All you do is whine about how bad FL treated you,let it go Joe.

You dont work here anymore be happy with what you have.

I run hard and make sure my po's are put in.
Also run out of the NE, Chicago then back to albany pays well and leaves an extra day for local runs.