OK, I'll try this point by point thing.
mbadriver wrote:
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You are in for a big surprise. I enjoy working with Superior, but as anyone will tell you, it has its drawbacks.
Equipment -
Underpowered Internationals. You won't find ANYONE bragging up the Superior fleet. None of that "all our trucks are 05, 06 or newer."
They may be underpowered, but I've been passed up by you guys on the hills more than once. An underpowered truck is nothing new to a Crete driver. My current truck has 582,000 on it, but I keep it spotless and it's not any different than a new truck.
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Take your Crete Freightliner Century Class and cut about 2/3's of the sleeper. They are tiny, they have no aux heater. The engine runs from the time you start it until you return to base.
Sleeper size really isn't a concern for me, I'm content with the bare minimum. As far as an aux heater, I could care less. I never idle unless the temp gets down to the teens(mostly to keep the trucks fluids from freezing). I sleep like a rock in cold weather. Summer heat is a very different story.
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As a new driver with them you whatever truck is laying around the yard. The Best of the Worst. It will be filthy, and most likely leaking something somewhere.
I wouldn't expect anything else, standard practice at most trucking companies that I've dealt with in the past. I've had to detail a truck or two before moving my stuff in. Hope for the best, expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed.
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Administrative:
If you need a lot of hand holding (trip routing, directions, fuel stops) forget it. You are definitely free to think for yourself (i like that!)
That's Crete to a tee, except they give you routing, directions(most of the time)and fuel stop. LOL! Outside of that they do expect you to be able to think on you feet and solve unexpected problems on your own without someone holding your hand every step of the way, that's why some drivers have a difficult time with the company. Crete actually expects you to be able to think for yourself. Here is your load information, get it there, and leave us alone. In my time at Crete I have talked to my fleet manager once, about a non-critical issue early on. Outside of my fleet managers assitant(who is a very pleasant woman) who I call to set up hometime and change fuel routing on occasions, I don't know a single person in the company and don't really need to. I do my job, they pay me, everyone is happy.
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Support: They leave at 5pm.
Same here, God help you if you need help from the night or weekend crew!
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Miles: That story has been beat to death. You don't need a lot to make a good living at Superior.
You will need the miles at Crete, but not as many as at other companies. If you know how to manage your time and your logbook, you will be able to get plenty of miles.
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Downside - to low miles = a lot of work. You gotta do a throrough pre-trip you never know what the condition is off the trailer you just picked up at the tank wash, or was pre-loaded. Climbing on top checking all the caps and seals, dome lid/seal, clean dry odor free. Internal valve pump, external valve. You just can't trust or assume anything.
You can't trust anyone. Sounds like good advise to me.
Allot of work is no problem, as long as the paycheck justifies the effort.
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Unloading - its compensated, but still is work. Up and down the ladder, sling hoses, air up, air down, inspect for heel. Buckets, caps, plugs, velcro strips. A bit of change from opening doors. Also the rumor is tank yankers suck at backing. Baloney, the places you off load can be a riot. Back around a 90-degree turn, down the hill, another 90 to the blind side - all the while the product is bouncing you around like a pinball.
Unloading through a hose or a reefer one box at a time, I'm willing to give the tanker thing a try 8)
Backing, 5 years of delivering materials with and end dump to constructions sites should cover that, at least you don't have to worry about the wind blowing your truck over as you unload a tanker
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It's a change from being a door swinger. The money is decent. I like my job and the weird little challenges. Not having some dimwit dispatcher sending me routing information devoid of any common sense is probably the best benefit Laughing
The door swinging does have it's advantages. "Hey, I'm backed to the dock, let me know when your done"
Being treated like a person is alway nice, although I can't complain about Crete. They are good in that department, but it sounds like Superior has them beat anyway.
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It's almost worth hiring with Superior just to spend the training week with Sharp and McPeek Laughing They are a hoot Wink
I'm going to request mbadriver, I hear he's a real pushover