Running with JCT

There will be a selection of used Cascadias and ProStars at least and probably some new Cascadia Evolutions. I don't get thru Sapulpa very often so it's a little bit of a guess. I selected a used truck with an APU. The policy used to be for new drivers getting new trucks to have to wait 90 days before they would put in a Tri-pac. Trucks don't come with refrigerators, but if you get one with an APU it will have an inverter.

I had a different recruiter, but I think that she was pretty honest, (for a recruiter!).

There is no "slow down", lol. If you show that you can keep moving and make appointments on time, they will give you plenty of miles. Your truck will come with full fuel tanks and you'll get an EFS fuel card. No out of pocket, lol.

The purpose of this thread is to share my experiences with JCT, good, bad, and ugly. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll give you the honest, sometimes painful, lol, answers. Gotta run, I'm on the wrong side of Houston this morning!

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Got thru Houston like a boss, but getting up at 4am sux! Got to Van Horn 640 miles later with 7 minutes left of my 11. Stopped in Junction for my mandatory 30 and had lunch at Churches Chicken. Upon leaving, I noticed that there's a Cooper's BBQ on the other side of the freeway, DOH! When I was a kid we would go to Cooper's in Llano, Texas for some of the best brisket I've ever had. Had the GPS save that location for later! One of the things I like with lease/purchase is the freedom to run how I like. JCT tells me when to pick up and when to deliver, but after that they leave me alone. I can run whatever route I want and fuel wherever. For this trip I'm running hard to get there early on Friday to have the best chance of dropping in the yard or doing a relay to keep moving. I almost never take a 34 on the road unless the logbook is just smoking. Dropping this thing tomorrow will let me make some miles Saturday. Also, if I deliver this at 3am Sunday, with no pre-plan, I might end up sitting in Phoenix over the weekend and NOT get a legit 34 hr reset. Fridays are always good for pre-plans though so still looking for that Wilcox deadhead. Looking down the line for fuel it looks like $3.82-3.84 all the way to Phoenix. No more cheap fuel in Arizona I guess. Also had the cruise control work for all of two hours today. Managed only 6.4 mpg for the day with that 4,000 foot climb. Tomorrow is less than 600 miles. Have to wait and see what the planners have for me.

 

I got a PM regarding my Scangauge. One gripe with JCT is the way they spec out their trucks. My last company truck had a fuller instrument panel than this! I like having the instant mpg reading or at least the turbo boost gauge, neither of which came with my truck. The Scangauge D (www.scangauge.com) plugs into your J1939 port and reads your ECM. You get a lot of options on what parameters to display. For about $160 it will pay for itself in fuel savings.

And as for truck specs, how is it that a truck that costs more than a house doesn't come with a key fob? I mean, I haven't locked myself out of a car since my 1966 Mustang, but this truck is just waiting for me to accidentally bump the lock when I get out to check the reefer. Sheesh!

 

Yep. One $30 lockout call later (after 3 years in a Volvo) I have a key well hidden under the hood and another one laced into my shoes. It's embarrassing how many times I've had to unlace my shoes, lol.

 

18K, ouch! Yep, JCT pays me just enough on a 600-mile day to be able to eat some BBQ. . . if I order from the kid's menu that is!