Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

Same here. In the year I've been with them, I've never found a trailer with any issues that couldn't be fixed with a simple changing of a light bulb. And I am quick to do an inspection when I hook.

 

Sorry guys no B.S. hard not decline a load when looking for a empty which will get me my next load so dont pull the gravy load trick doesnt work on a empty. Maybe half of you dont even check the brakes but I did on everyone. Also tried q-com roadside and they said they couldnt even go and fix trailers on someone else lot.trying to find an mt is very hard in the midwest. Pull into any terminal and people are asking if you are dropping an mt. Same in Columbas Oh. same in Edwardsville Ks. same in Gary In. same in Ocala Fl. been there and done that and didnt even get a t-shirt. Some of the guys i've talked to in terminals said they never check them. As far as hinges maybe driver who dropped trailer maybe yard dog 50/50 but still needs to be repaired. I never complained of my loads even had taken alot of t-calls cause someone didnt want to go west of the mississippi cause they lose .01 per mile. I would rather roll than sit -.01 or not.

 

After 4 years with Swift I have found maybe 2 or 3 trailers that could not be driven. Most problems with trailers I found I was able to fix. Lights, glade hand seals easy fixes. I will admit it can be fun looking for trailers at times. When I can't find one, I usually contact my DM and he gives me directions to some emties.

 

Thats what brought me from Minneapolis to Souix Falls S.D. looking for a trailer. Ended up taking a 14 ft which brought me to Iowa to get next load. The biggest problem was getting an empty at Walmart. But I now look at doing flatbed with another company which pays more per mile plus tarp pay. Miles may not be the same but about .07 cents a mile more. I live in Florida so freight going out is always hard. Another thing is I am ASE certified technician for 20 years and can fix most any problems on trailers but just get steamed when previous driver did not report problems. They had to know and didnt care or just was too stupid to even know. Don't get me wrong, if I was in a different area (other than Florida) Swift probably would work out. Our terminal had the bottom of the barrel for trucks. Mine looked like a demo derby truck when I got it and was told I would only have it for a couple of weeks till a better one came in. LOL

 

The only place i have ever had problem with MT's is Laredo TX because the TexMex drivers like to steal things off them, mainly the air connection grommets.

Not getting an MT is a LAME excuse. A simple call to your DM or terminal and 2 minutes later directions to an MT. We dont ever have problems with them.

As far as .01 cents a mile, its never happened to me as an owner, and i don't recall it happening to me as a company driver.

Fright in Florida is no excuse either. Bacardi in Jacksonville always has loads ready, and Ocala has plenty of freight to give.

Tell you a little secret. If you get stuck at a terminal, walk inside and talk to whoever is behind the desk and tell them you need a load!! They have stuff waiting, might not leave that very second, but its better than sitting out there with the rest crying isnt it? I walked into the Edwardsville terminal after delivering a load without a preplan on me. Asked the guy need a preplan. He let me in and let me LOOK at what was available. Got a 1400 miles load leaving the next morning weighing 10K. Needed a good nap anyways. That simple.

And the problem with Atlanta is not getting an MT, its dropping a loaded trailer on that sorry excuse for a yard they run, drivers drop trailers in the middle of no where and run....

 

You're right that they will send you directions to an mt, however, the place they send you may not allow you to take one or not have any at all. Happened to me a few times. Wal-Marts are notorious for filling the mt's with pallets and K-Mart is greedy with theirs or don't have any at all.

Once, I actually deadheaded an mt to a Costco in IL to drop and was told to bobtail out. Then they send me a preplan to pu at nestle in Davenport. Tell me to go to Wal-Mart in Spring Valley IL to get an mt which would not let me take one out.

Had to go 100 miles to get one out in the middle of nowhere and couldn't get it in time to pu the load. Of course, I was paid for the search for the mt but to say it's not a problem occasionally isn't exactly the truth, especially when it cost me a gravy run.

You can hardly find mt's at most of the terminals. Now Martinsburg has a ton of mt's the only problem is, they're either red tagged for things that can't be fixed quickly or a roll off.

It depends on where you are at IMO that dictates whether or not an mt is easy to find. One thing I've learned to do at the terminals is walk around and write down numbers of trailers that look like they could be mt (regardless of whether or not there's a seal) and call either your dm or anyone at the terminal and run the trlr numbers through.

I've gotten a few that way that even had seals on them but of course, they were mt.

 

I don't know why they would tell you to go to a Wal Mart to pick up an MT. The only trailers we pull for Wal Mart are Wal Mart trailers and Swift reefers. We don't have any Swift dry vans.

 

Sometimes at Walmart you have to drop your load. I have picked up MT's at Walmart.

 

ive hauled several dry van loads for wal mart...chep pallets are loaded into our trailers a lot

 

99.9% of the time when going to Wally World its drop and hook at a Regular
DC. Grocery DC its 60% of the time its a drop and hook. When I was OTR they would tell me when I got off my home time if I needed a empty trailer to ether go to the Wally World DC in Brookhaven, Ms or the grocery DC in Roberts, LA