Refer Expense

JCT pays for all trailer washouts, reefer fuel, lumper fees, trailer/trailer tire repair, and as long as there is no neglect on the driver's part, will foot the bill for freight loss due to reefer malfunction.

As far as wait times...a pretty standard wait time for loading/unloading is 2 hours. Sometimes you'll get out of there sooner, and sometimes later (sometimes MUCH later..IE meat/poultry loads). Although a great majority of loads/unloads are live, on occasion you'll get a pre-loaded trailer.

Running reefer is a piece of cake. A lot of times the loads are heavy, so you'll do good to manage your MPG's...and once you get used to the reefer engine running, you'll sleep like a baby.

Hope that answers a few of your questions.

 

2 hours wait time is pretty common????? More like 4-6 hours on average-What sort of pay do you get for detention after 2 hours???

 

No matter how many question marks you add, yea...2 hours is pretty common. If you had read my post, you would have seen that I said loads/unloads are sometimes longer than 2 hours, sometimes shorter. Case in point, earlier today I was unloaded and out the gate at my delivery in about 45 minutes. Is that the norm? No. But neither is 4-6 hours on average.

@Aminal....JCT will refund all of the funds in your maintenance account as well as the performance bond AFTER the truck is returned to them in a like condition as you got it (minus general wear and tear). Meaning if it needs tires, a PM, a windshield, etc, etc...and it didn't need those when you signed for it, then yes expect JCT to require those items to be taken care of when you walk away from the lease. It's in the contract that you sign what items will need to be in order, and the cost deducted from your maintenance account should you have the shop do it when you turn your truck in. In short...yea it's your money and you get it back.

 

I understand your hesitation regarding recruiters. When recruiters are paid to put butts in the orientation seat, yea it's hard to know where the BS ends and the truth begins. When I applied, I had already spoken to literally dozens of current and former JCT drivers about their experience, so any info I got from my recruiter was already covered.

As far as the $1 buyout, yes it's real. Although I'm sure a great many JCT drivers never make it through to the dollar buyout, there are plenty that do. JCT regularly posts drivers pictures with their new title in hand on their Facebook page...should you care to look that up.

Finally, I'll leave you a few pros vs. cons with JCT. It should be stated, however obvious it may be, that these are my observations....other JCT drivers, past or present may see things different.

Pros:
- Length of runs. The majority of all our loads are greater than 1000 miles. In fact, it's quite rare to get any load less than that. This means more time in the seat, less time twiddling your thumbs at shippers/receivers.
- Equipment for the most part is top notch. I got a new '14 Cascadia, and have no complaints.
- Pretty much all the staff at JCT (there are a few exceptions) treat you like you matter. Especially the planners. You run hard and help them, and you will be taken care of.
- Pay isn't bad, considering the end goal of paying off a truck. Could I make more CPM as a company driver somewhere else? Sure. Same could be said for outright owning my own truck. But all in all, I make pretty good money with JCT as it is now.
- Pretty much every expense short of truck payment, maintenance, and fuel is covered by JCT. As I said earlier, they cover all trailer and freight related charges, all tolls and scales, as well well as fuel taxes, pre-pass/ezpass...all covered.

Cons:
- Although hometime is usually handled properly, there are a few instances of JCT not getting drivers home on the day they've requested. It really boils down to putting your foot down, and professionally explaining to JCT that your hometime date is not a suggestion.
- Our ancient Qualcomms suck....lol.
- The orientation process is quick...some may say too quick. So it's good to have other drivers to lean on for info as you may leave orientation with a lot of questions.

As I said, those are my observations. Hope this helps answer a few more of your questions

 

I agree with about 98% of this.
I've been here 5 years and missed my home time date ONCE, and that was by 1 day.

Qualcomm? Its just a means of getting your load info. The only newer version of the QUALCOMM that I am aware of is the mini one with the slide out keyboard and GPS system. Most drivers already have their own GPS.

Yes, they pay for EVERYTHING here except truck payment, truck fuel, insurances, and maintenance to the truck. All permits, tolls, scales, lumpers, pallets, washouts, IFTA, 2290, etc......everything is paid for by JCT. If you have to go out of route to scale, washout, or even return to a customer due to weight issues, they will pay you those miles (you must request this; its not automatic).

One of the great things here at JCT is the support system. Between office personnel and drivers, its extremely hard to fail. They have 2 full time people here that do nothing but help drivers with their business and issues (miles, shop costs, etc.) No one person knows everything, but if you want to succeed at anything, you must ask questions and learn from people that are successful here.

Length of haul should never be an issue when looking for a place to pull freight. Whether you get 5 500 mile trips, 2 1200 miles trips, or 1 2500 mile trip. Its the same number of miles. More trips may chew up your 70 hour clock, but everyone needs a little break now and then. IT IS NOT NECCESSARY TO RUN 3000+ MILES TO BE PROFITABLE. You can bring home the same amount of money with 1800 miles. It all depends on your business practices (fuel strategy, being the most important). Your time management, and yes, even your level of cooperation when the company needs help.

Now, don't get me wrong. JCT has issues, just like any other company. Those issues will vary for each driver simply because every driver has different needs/requirements. There WILL be times that they totally piss you off. It happens. Move on.

Hope this helps a little more