Anyone out there drive for Marten? Just wondering because I'm getting on with them next week from Schneider. Anything you can tell me about the company-good or bad-would be greatly appreciated.
By the way I'm a new user and love the website-lots of good stuff here.
Thanks

Gross Pay
7/21/2006 Friday, July 21, 2006 $1,424.12
7/28/2006 Friday, July 28, 2006 $746.30
8/4/2006 Friday, August 04, 2006 $754.56
8/11/2006 Friday, August 11, 2006 $1,156.96


8/25/2006 Friday, August 25, 2006 $831.96
9/1/2006 Friday, September 01, 2006 $1,083.24
9/8/2006 Friday, September 08, 2006 $816.84
9/15/2006 Friday, September 15, 2006 $572.04

example of past month pay, sep 15th had hometime in it

avg length of haul around 900 / little higher when out west
ive had many 1500 mi trips and several 2500
usually preplanned with not much waiting for next load
most lumpers on account
take hometime anywhere
1 day for every 5 out / minimum 2 weeks out
liberal fueling at most pilot, petro, TA but no FJ
no ez pass / tolls reimbursed
no scale reimbursement / built in gauge on trailers and tractor gauge
just started trans flo

have had a few bad customer waits 2 maclane food, 1 US Foodservice and 1 Americold

Generally avg UL/Load 2-3 hours/ better than last dry van co I was with
around 40% drop hook

diverse routes all over / dont get stuck in one area too much unless you want dedicated or southwest regional /

professional and orderly but not too much. Also not smiley and all friendly but more on the business side

mostly dispatched with plenty of time / 15% on tight schedule / 10% w/ too much time

good customer relations / able to drop early and other stuff that goes with good customer relations.

probably think of other things later

things that bug me

often in Chicago, Baltimore, NJ when in east, but can run out west and take hometime with family in Los Angeles.

no scale reimbursement

no ez pass / see Baltimore, Chicago, NJ

cant get used to reefer / hard to get to sleep

noticed you are in oregon, great domicile in my opinion. alot of 11 western which is my favorite. I also like I-5 corridor. And you get real long runs leaving northwest heading east. sometimes all the way to Mass or NY.

OK! Thanks for the info!
Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. But no ez pass? Hmm......... :?:
The pay is much better than Schneider currently. Only been making about
$500-650/wk with the great pumpkin for last 5 mos, that's not ok when I can do better elsewhere.
Length of loads sound pretty good, too.

Until next time, Adieu.

Drivenaway, I'll add my thanks for the detailed info. I am also considering Marten.

Oregontrucker, there are several other Marten threads on this site. TK the Trucker is someone else here that used to drive for Marten, and as far as I know still does.

a Celedon thread that mostly talks about Marten

another Marten thread

check out Southern Refrig too SRT both reefer outfits

Just keep in mind. No matter what company you are with there will always be one out there that pays better and seems better. The grass is always greener on the other side till you get there. Also remember, do not just go off of just one persons experience. Everyone has a different experience. I am not saying that he is not being honest with you but just talk to several other drivers from that company as well. A lot has to do with your relationship with your dispatcher and such. Good luck to you.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

Well put...this is the case at almost any company. BOL!

I've done a little more exploration with Marten and it seems like a good choice. I've gotten feedback from a few guys who drive for them and the general consensus was positive. I would have loved to have stayed with the great pumpkin but just wasn't getting the good loads or miles that I had gotten with them at first. I hate to say it but that seems to be a major problem at Schneider nowadays. Even some of their million-milers are leaving for this reason. The newbs get all the good runs while the experienced drivers get the not so good ones. I'm generally not one to complain, but it just doesn't make sense to stay in that situation when you can possibly do better with another company running solo. I guess every company has good and bad points, so we'll see how it works out.
I appreciate all the pointers 8)