Info on Hill Bros, the good, bad???

[Rocketdog]

Hello all wanted to get info about Hill Bros out of Omaha. I'm thinking of driving for them OTR.

Anyone have good, pleasant, positive driving experience here???

Anyone have down-right bad, negative experiences while driving for them?

I've been in the business a long time and know if you want the truck about a company ask those who have worked there. Recruiting does a good job selling, drivers do a good job telling their side.

O/O, lease purchase, company drivers- I'd like to hear from you all.

Thanks everyone,

Robert

[JR OTR]

I've been with Hill Bros since March, came on as a company driver with the intent to go lease. I did so in June.

You can read up on my various adventures here:

http://leasepurchasejournal.blogspot.com/

I just finished my tenth week under the lease purchase program and I will be posting my first quarter's results in about a month.

If you have any specific questions, ask away.

Jim

[Rocketdog]

Hey JIM, thanks for writing. I've been reading your LP journal from your blog. Quite an interesting assortment of information there. I spoke to Jason Bishop in recruiting about you and your blog...he knows you. I told him that your blog was helpful in making my decision to come over to Hill Bros.

I used to lease a truck through Central refrigerated---that became a complete nightmare. Several weeks I never made a dime, some weeks I did great. In the end...Central repossessed their truck 2 months before lease end.

One question I have for you: has there ever been a week where you either broke even or didn't make anything...just paid your truck payments and expenses???

I start orientation 8-25-08---but I'm skeptical about LP driving since I had such a bad experience. Since I'm not new to either trucking or operating a business, I'll be asking a lot of questions that require proof from the company before I do this again.

I'm bringing one of my best friends with me to Hill Bros also. He has been driving since the 1970's. He is also fed up with central.

If you have time.....private message me. I'd like to talk with you on the phone about the details of your experiences.......

Thanks.......Robert

[Rocketdog]

since I have under 50 posts I can't PM you I just found out.

Gunner1068 at yahoo is my e-mail


Robert

[JR OTR]

Hey JIM, thanks for writing. I've been reading your LP journal from your blog. Quite an interesting assortment of information there. I spoke to Jason Bishop in recruiting about you and your blog...he knows you. I told him that your blog was helpful in making my decision to come over to Hill Bros.

That is Jason "Ninja Recruiter" Bishop I think. Crack him with that when you get in, might get a few grins. I'm sure they are familiar with my blog -- cheap fodder for the secret recruiters dart board.

I used to lease a truck through Central refrigerated---that became a complete nightmare. Several weeks I never made a dime, some weeks I did great. In the end...Central repossessed their truck 2 months before lease end.

One question I have for you: has there ever been a week where you either broke even or didn't make anything...just paid your truck payments and expenses???

First, the way I approached the finances is a bit different than most. I had them hold all payments to me until all my escrows were taken care of so I'm paid up for a year on those. Once that was taken care of, my best week was a bit over $3,000 (very unusual, and due in part to fueling just before the cutoff) and my worst was something like $85. On average I'm guessing it is about $900 a week or so to me after all expenses, on average, but I'm waiting until the end of my first 13 weeks to post one quarter's financial results.

You absolutely cannot, in my mind, judge your progress on a week-by-week basis. You are going to have weeks where you just kill it and you are going to have weeks where you take some time off, you get stuck someplace for a day due to a shipper screwing up, or whatever. Never, ever, live on advances, treat it like a business and watch your expenses like a hawk. I would also advise having $5,000 or so in the bank you don't need for living expenses in addition to your deposit before beginning. The most common reason for any business to go out of business is under capitalization so don't let that bite you in the butt.

I start orientation 8-25-08---but I'm skeptical about LP driving since I had such a bad experience. Since I'm not new to either trucking or operating a business, I'll be asking a lot of questions that require proof from the company before I do this again.

I'm bringing one of my best friends with me to Hill Bros also. He has been driving since the 1970's. He is also fed up with central.

Either way you are going to have months before you are even qualified to go L-P with Hill Bros. Get into the swing of things with the system (you'll probably like the amount of preplans you get), get to know your dispatcher's foibles, learn the way we handle trailers around the Omaha yard with safety lane and all that then make your call.

Jim

[Rocketdog]

Jim, sounds like the same thing here as with other OTR LP deals. There were months where I made 2K to 3K a week...but other weeks I went negative. I understand "good weeks" and bad ones.

I'm trying to avoid getting back into a LP deal then having the carrier not load the truck enough so you can make a profit, sending you deeper into debt...to the point where they repo the truck.

Have you spoken to other Hill bros LP drivers who have driven in the wintertime??? AT CRS wintertime meant not making a paycheck- or much of one. This was due to the company keeping you in the snow and ice where the roads get closed a lot.

I'll be there as a CO driver for 60 days (or longer) to begin with to see if Hill bros is the right place for me like you said. If things work out and everyhing is as it has been "advertised" from Ninja Jason--LOL----then I'll be joining you out there.

Thanks for all your input. Keep the blogging going...I used it alot to make my desision to come to Hill Bros in the 1st place. Other drivers might have the same experience somewhere down the road....

Robert

[JR OTR]

I've spoken with other drivers in the months since I've been at the company but it is often difficult to judge how much their experiences will parallel my own. This is one of the reasons I blog, so everyone has the opportunity to see things from the perspective of the person actually out there in the trenches.

Stay tuned.

Jim