[devildice]

Originally Posted by Fratsit

DD,

I finally finished your thread last night at around 2 am..... LOL...I started reading when you started it, lost the thread...could not remember the title...and saw it up top the other day. Needless to say I was pretty stoked.

I am started my researching about three months ago, even thought I dont retire for another 5 years. I have a Word file 4 pages long of snippets, companies, links, ect so that I can track all the usefull info around here.

I am a DCC stationed at ATG in Norfolk, just left CVN70 (CARL VINSON).

Best of luck with Landstar. I see alot of there trailors in Va and NC.

Thanks again, Brother.

R/

Jeff

Glad you enjoyed it. I got lazy and stop updating it on a regular basis, but hope to revive it here real soon.

My first tour in the Navy was with VA-52 stationed on Whidbey Island, WA. We used to deploy aboard the Chucky "V". I also did a couple of tours at NAB Little Creek there in Virginia Beach. I am pretty sure it says it somewhere in my thread, but I retired as a CSC.

Anyways, you know how we "Chiefs" do it, so continue your research and best of luck to you. Keep me posted and if there is anything I can do to help you, just give me a hollar.

[Jay B]

Originally Posted by devildice

I am pretty sure it says it somewhere in my thread, but I retired as a CSC.

Whoa, hold the checklist cookie. You were a bean burner?
Dang, I don't know why, but I had you pegged as a Deck Division kind of squid. Anyway, where in Texas do you call home? I might be relocating to Fort Worth or Waco.

[devildice]

Originally Posted by Jay B

Whoa, hold the checklist cookie. You were a bean burner?
Dang, I don't know why, but I had you pegged as a Deck Division kind of squid. Anyway, where in Texas do you call home? I might be relocating to Fort Worth or Waco.

Yepers...........

I live in San Antonio.

[devildice]

As of Friday September 20th, my working relationship with Davis Transport is over.

For some it may be a shock :shock: to hear I left, for others, you all knew it was coming. Let me start off by saying Davis is a good company, I truly enjoyed my time there and absolutely enjoyed the people. But unfortunately they just could not meet my needs on a consistent basis. With that said, let me give a quick update as to what has been going on with me and what the future holds.

After 9 weeks out on the road, I came home on August 8th after delivering a load in Houston. I put myself out of service for 2 weeks as I needed the break big time. Although my intentions were to take the 2 weeks off and then get back out there, it didn't quite work out that way.

After my 2 weeks were up, I put myself back on the ready board but vowed to myself that I would not haul any cheap freight :x . Being as I live in Texas, this was almost a certainty that I would not be pulling another load for Davis as their customer base down here is practically zero. As I suspected, the loads I was offered ranged between .66 to 1.28 a mile :evil: . There was no way I would move my truck for that little, especially since none of the loads were going to put my in areas that I would stand a better chance of a decent paying load.

I knew deep down inside that this was going to happen before I even came home, in fact, it was the main reason I stayed out so long in the first place.......to "build up" a little reserve to hold me over for a while ;-). Within a few days of getting home, I started tying up some loose ends with Landstar as well as started doing some more in depth research on other companies. I even looked at the possibility of getting rid of my truck and trailer and going local.

I had several interviews for everything from Pepsi Bottling Co. to a heavy haul outfit to Sysco foods to local flatbed work. To my utter surprise, Local work (at least here in San Antonio) pays CHEAP!!!!!! Most average around $10-$15 an hour. Tanker yankers seem to get the best at $18 an hour. Still seems cheap though. So local work was looking dim. besides, as much as I love being home, call me crazy, but I have that OTR bug in my blood.

Anyways, I continued to get load offers from Davis that I ultimately would have to turn down. I was ready willing and able to get back on the road with them, but just could not move my truck for the rates they were offering. Mean while, I proceeded forward with my research of companies as well as waiting to hear back from Landstar. The one thing that really bothers me about Landstar is that they never gave me any sort of "check list" of things I would need to provide them. Instead, they would tell me to send them this or that. I'd fax it to them and then 2-3 days later they'd call saying all was good and now they need this or that :roll: . This "piece-mill" process would continue for several weeks and wear on my nerves something fierce. I think (I say that loosely) that I have all my wickets met with them and should be good to go. I am just waiting to hear back from them now.

I was also looking closely at a company called Lone Star. I did some research and although I wasn't able to get as much info as I would like to, they do seem like a pretty decent company (at least on the surface). They are based out of Texas and have a terminal about 50 miles from me. After talking to the terminal manager at length, they seem like a pretty good fit for me and so I submitted my application. I got the green light from them and was ready to head off to orientation when I ran into a small snag. Davis filed my 2290 on my behalf but waited until almost the last minute to do so (Aug. 26th). I can not sign onto Lone Star until I have my stamped schedule 1. To make a long story short, I was finally able to get a hold of the IRS and they verified that my taxes were paid in full and that if I faxed them my paper work they could in turn fax me a copy of the stamped schedule 1 within 2-3 business days.

This past Friday I terminated my lease contract with Davis. They knew it was coming and one of the owners tried to change my mind to no avail and said that I was definitely re-hireable and they would be more than happy to have me back should I change my mind.


So, for the past 6 weeks I have been home knocking the crap out of my "honey-do" list and putting on about 10lbs of beer weight :shock: . If all goes well, next week I should get my schedule 1 and then I have to make a decision on Landstar or Lone Star. Right now I am leaning towards Lone Star but who knows. I'll update again once I make my final decision.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by devildice

Mean while, I proceeded forward with my research of companies as well as waiting to hear back from Landstar. The one thing that really bothers me about Landstar is that they never gave me any sort of "check list" of things I would need to provide them. Instead, they would tell me to send them this or that. I'd fax it to them and then 2-3 days later they'd call saying all was good and now they need this or that :roll: . This "piece-mill" process would continue for several weeks and wear on my nerves something fierce. I think (I say that loosely) that I have all my wickets met with them and should be good to go. I am just waiting to hear back from them now.

I feel your pain. Their approval process is very sloppy. You may already be approved, and they just didn't call you. I wouldn't wait for them to call - pick up the phone and find out if you've been approved. If you are, don't be surprised when they don't schedule you for the orientation. They pretty much leave it up to you as to when you are going to come. They should have sent you a checklist in your application packet - if you've submitted everything on that list, then you should be set on your end. After that, the only thing that may slow you up is if a prior employer is dragging their feet. If they tell you to get your drug test done, you've been approved.

I'll tell you this about Landstar - nothing they do or don't do will make or break you. Your success is entirely in your own hands. If you fail, the only person responsible is you. There is good money to be made here, if you can figure out the steps to getting at it. They are extremely anal about safety and logs. If you like to "push" your logs, then don't even bother, because they will end up terminating your lease. The last I heard, they turn down about 75% of the people who apply. It took me 2 1/2 years to get in here. The first time I applied, I was rejected. They won't give you a reason why either. You have to wait 2 years before you can reapply.

I really wish I would have come here last fall though. I missed out on what would have been an awesome winter. I'm hoping this winter will be just as jammed, but that really all depends upon who gets into the White House.

[devildice]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

I feel your pain. Their approval process is very sloppy. You may already be approved, and they just didn't call you. I wouldn't wait for them to call - pick up the phone and find out if you've been approved. If you are, don't be surprised when they don't schedule you for the orientation. They pretty much leave it up to you as to when you are going to come. They should have sent you a checklist in your application packet - if you've submitted everything on that list, then you should be set on your end. After that, the only thing that may slow you up is if a prior employer is dragging their feet. If they tell you to get your drug test done, you've been approved.

I'll tell you this about Landstar - nothing they do or don't do will make or break you. Your success is entirely in your own hands. If you fail, the only person responsible is you. There is good money to be made here, if you can figure out the steps to getting at it. They are extremely anal about safety and logs. If you like to "push" your logs, then don't even bother, because they will end up terminating your lease. The last I heard, they turn down about 75% of the people who apply. It took me 2 1/2 years to get in here. The first time I applied, I was rejected. They won't give you a reason why either. You have to wait 2 years before you can reapply.

I really wish I would have come here last fall though. I missed out on what would have been an awesome winter. I'm hoping this winter will be just as jammed, but that really all depends upon who gets into the White House.

I think :? I am approved.....I have taken the drug test and they received the negative results, had truck and trailer inspected at their approved location (Petro in San Antonio) and have sent what I believe is all the paperwork they need. When I talked with them last week, they wanted darker copies of my truck inspection and my DD214 (military service). She said that was all corporate needed and once she got them she could get me scheduled for orientation. i faxed those docs off on Wednesday and called Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to verify they received them and that was all they needed. Unfortunately I ALWAYS get her voice mail and she never calls me right back, it's always 2-3 days later :evil:

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by devildice

I think :? I am approved.....I have taken the drug test and they received the negative results, had truck and trailer inspected at their approved location (Petro in San Antonio) and have sent what I believe is all the paperwork they need. When I talked with them last week, they wanted darker copies of my truck inspection and my DD214 (military service). She said that was all corporate needed and once she got them she could get me scheduled for orientation. i faxed those docs off on Wednesday and called Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to verify they received them and that was all they needed. Unfortunately I ALWAYS get her voice mail and she never calls me right back, it's always 2-3 days later :evil:

Yup - you're approved. They really need to work on their application process. It's a PITA.

I don't know how much research you've done as far as rates going in and out of TX at Landstar, but I'd be happy to help answer some questions if you'd like.

[devildice]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Yup - you're approved. They really need to work on their application process. It's a PITA.

I don't know how much research you've done as far as rates going in and out of TX at Landstar, but I'd be happy to help answer some questions if you'd like.

PITA is putting it mildly A buddy of mine (Broncrider on here) that was also at Davis is now with them. He has looked at the board for Texas and says there are some pretty decent rates. When the LS recruiter first sent me their info packet, she sent a print out for that day on the inbound and outbound and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of freight and the rates. I asked her if those rates included the FSC and she said no.........after the rates I got from Davis, I was extremely pleased.

You're pulling a van for them right? Are you seeing a decent rate? talked to ONE van driver in Washington one weekend a few months back and he was fed up with them. Said he was going to buy a flat and get rid of his van.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by devildice

I asked her if those rates included the FSC and she said no.........

She lied.......kind of. Most of the rates on the LS board are "all in". There are very few who post rates without the FSC already included in the rate. It isn't until you call on a load that you can have the agent break it out.

You're pulling a van for them right? Are you seeing a decent rate? talked to ONE van driver in Washington one weekend a few months back and he was fed up with them. Said he was going to buy a flat and get rid of his van.

Yeah, I pull a company van, but I'll likely be buying a trailer this winter. I just can't stand giving LS 8% of my revenue for pulling their trailer. As far as rates go, it really depends upon where you are in the country, and where you want to run. I'd suggest spending a nice chunk of time after orientation looking at loads throughout the country (look in the morning during the week). See where the rates are higher, and try to build a freight lane out of that. Many of the agents here have dedicated shippers, and it isn't terribly difficult to get into one of those dedicated runs. Some agents, like the one that I pull for, have dedicated runs throughout the country. The loads they get rarely, if ever, hit the load board. They just don't need to post them. The best loads usually don't get posted, but every once in a while you can find one on the board, and get in with an agent to get more of their freight.

FSC is all over the board here - some agents have awesome FSC, others have really piss poor FSC. There is supposedly a LS "standard" when it comes to the FSC, but it isn't posted for BCO's to see, and few agents follow it.

[devildice]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

She lied.......kind of. Most of the rates on the LS board are "all in". There are very few who post rates without the FSC already included in the rate. It isn't until you call on a load that you can have the agent break it out.

That's not cool........now you've just bummed me out. Although I hate to admit it, but those rates are still better than I was getting with Davis.

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Yeah, I pull a company van, but I'll likely be buying a trailer this winter. I just can't stand giving LS 8% of my revenue for pulling their trailer. As far as rates go, it really depends upon where you are in the country, and where you want to run. I'd suggest spending a nice chunk of time after orientation looking at loads throughout the country (look in the morning during the week). See where the rates are higher, and try to build a freight lane out of that. Many of the agents here have dedicated shippers, and it isn't terribly difficult to get into one of those dedicated runs. Some agents, like the one that I pull for, have dedicated runs throughout the country. The loads they get rarely, if ever, hit the load board. They just don't need to post them. The best loads usually don't get posted, but every once in a while you can find one on the board, and get in with an agent to get more of their freight.

FSC is all over the board here - some agents have awesome FSC, others have really piss poor FSC. There is supposedly a LS "standard" when it comes to the FSC, but it isn't posted for BCO's to see, and few agents follow it.

I don't blame you, even though 8% doesn't "sound" like much, we all know it adds up real fast. What is the supposedly FSC standard?