yes they are supposed to pay you 40 bucks a day but I haven't gotten that. The first time they said it was my fault and this time they said that i did get home on time, I was in my hometown on the 27th even if i was still working and didn't get to take time 'off; until way later in the day.

If you just say no that is refusing a load and grounds for termination.

Also I don't remember what detention pay is but I've gotten between 8 and 30 bucks from it.

My truck is in the shop right now (dealer) and will be until next Tuesday because of the huge christmas backlog. so good news is I get to stay in town and get an extra 4 days, the bad news is I will not be getting payed.

 

Cockroach; Are you back on the road yet?

 

i wonder what happen to bumper?

 

Yes, I am back on the road. I am on my way to MO to deliver some corn.

This may sound crazy but I missed my truck! being home wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. I am thinking of staying out here longer than I planned before now. I am getting allot better at my trip planning and things are not nearly as hectic as when I first started and I'm getting allot better at balancing on duty and off duty so i don't go crazy behind the wheel.

I'm sort of settling into a 10 off, 5 on, 3-4 off, 4-5 on routine, this is what I like the most.. I start driving around 3 or 4 p.m. and take my break before midnight, I can push it around that way if i need to balance hours between days. Plus I finish my night just as the drivers who got to the truck stop early so they would have a spot are waking up so its not to hard to find somewhere to park.

 

i know this has been asked, but what does it mean by manditory per diem? is this a bad thing?

 

Cockroach; At Central is the per diem optional? Or Mandatory? :shock:

 

Its mandatory, you don't have a choice and have to be paid per diem.

 

But all in all, Is Central a good outfit to work for? 8)

 

well i was scheduled to be home 2 days early for my home-time this week but the receiver changed my delivery dates and refuses to take this load before monday which means i can't pick up my next load, grrr... I will still be a day early for my home-time! woohoo.

the only problem i have had with my night running is I'm usually asleep when my dispatcher gets in so i'll have like 12 messages when i wake up, mostly like you forgot to send me a macro! i need this !! wake up! your getting me yelled at, they can't give you your next load till you send me this macro! wake up!

I just sleep through the qualcom beep nowadays anyway..



I'm on my final stretch here, I only have about 3 weeks with the company left. I can't really comment any more on my weekly pay, since iIhave not been that good at turning my trip packs in on time. I can say I have been making plenty of money to pay my bills, spend some on entertainment (even at truck stop prices) I have a bunch of dvd's, and got a new nintendo for christmas plus audio books. My off-time as well as my driving time has flown by. I cannot believe how fast these last couple of weeks have gone by. I am on my way back home and will have been out 3 weeks and it only feels like a couple days.

I can really start to understand why truckers accept being out so long and home so little. For me anyways the time on the road goes by so fast and all runs together. When i was at home and put my truck in the shop to stay home longer, after that it just drug on forever. Everyone I knew was at their own jobs so I spent most my time bored stiff wishing I had my truck back, haha! I was actually happy when I was rolling down the road again in 'my' truck. It very much feels like home to me now.


If you go through omaha nebraska, the flying J there has a nice menu, they have lots of shrimp (my favorite food) I got fried shrimp, buttered shrimp, lemon pepper shrimp, and bbq shrimp skewer, plus garlic bread, a baked potato, all you can eat soup and salad bar, and the biggest cup of sweet tea I have ever gotten at a restaurant for 14 bucks. it was a huge meal and good to!

something I have been asked allot is about my miles and length of trip.
most of my trips are over 1500 miles, the smaller ones are all to get me to somewhere where i can get a longer trip. the only time i ever did 2 short trips in a row the 2nd trip had a bunch of extra stops. 8 actually, so I got paid for the miles (450 ish) plus the extra stops.. $320 for a day and a half.. came out to about $17 an hour or so

Also I ran into another central driver today at a truck stop who has been with the company for over a year and feels about the same about them as I do. gets plenty of miles, they never try to make him run illegal. He gets all the miles he wants.

Some people just like to complain about stuff, your attitude and your dispatcher's attitudes are what really effect things in this job it seams.

Speaking of dispatchers my dispatcher is awesome. My voice is recognized when I call, and doesn't even have to ask me what my truck number is to look me up in the computer. I have never been yelled at, or lied to. I never get in trouble for being late or going out of route or fueling at the wrong place. I mean yeah stuff happens, make a wrong turn get lost and you go from being an hour early to being 30 minutes late.. and the fuel computer that tells you where to get diesel seems to think my truck gets about 5 more mpg than it does so I stop and get fuel at the 'wrong' places all the time.

I don't get any of the fuel/saftey bonuses, I make no effort to do so.

Anyways aside from the occasional hang ups which I have talked about in previous posts I have been very happy working for central. I get treated good.

Also I have decided slow trucks aren't as bad as ppl make them out to be. There is no way they can try to pressure me into speeding. my truck won't do it.. although sometimes i did wish i had a 72 mph truck.

oh and DONOT do lease purchase, they screw those guys over SO bad.
every few days on the qualcom the ower-op dep sends out messages to all drivers about companydrivers or new hires who have taken the next step in furthering thier careers and are the proud new owners of nice new (or used) shiny kw's... well they do not tell you how many drivers fail., they do however tell you when a owner op finishes a lease and brag about them getting an even newer truck or sellign the old one and getting a big load of cash for it.. I have counted them

Since I started with central about 40 people have signed on with the lease purchase program. In this same period 4 have completed their leases.

Remember, if you are a company driver you can leave central for any reason at any time for another carrier, who will pay you about the same or more (central has one of the lowest CPM in the industry) if you are a lease owner you are locked into a contract, you cannot leave, you cannot take your truck with you. if you leave or are fired it is a violation of your lease and goes against your credit.

yes thats right, as an owner op central can FIRE YOU and then put the cost of the truck on your credit report!! and they can do this.. DONOT lease your truck from the company you work for!! the company will nickel and dime you any and every way you can and the driver carries all the financial risk.

I already have 3 companies who want me to make the switch myself (j.b. hunt, gordon, and interstate) they know this.. as a company driver they can't bully you around as much. they talk big in orientation. (if you refuse a load, or fuel at the wrong place, or are late, or go out of route you will be fired) but in reality you are the driver, and they NEED you.

I saw a driver yelling at a dispatcher because she was running him to hard, but her rebuttal was that the driver had asked to have that many miles, you can't have it both ways, another driver had a load in to new jersey but was refusing it because he didn't want to drive in new york, so she had him drop it outside of newjersey for another driver to take in (and get a short low mile run) and then was still mad and yelling(i could hear him over phone) but I'm not sure what about. another one is having lots of miles and also home time every week, it just can't happen.. all the dispatchers i've seen so far where doing their best for their drivers.. most where just really unappreciative about it.

Anyways thats just my perception on the whole thing. Like others have said you reap what you sow.

Anyways I hope this thread has been helpful to those looking to get into the biz. I probably won't add anything more to it except to answer any questions that are asked until I part ways with central in a couple weeks, then I will post about how my departure with them goes. Thanks for reading.

The first few months are the hardest. If you think this is what you really want to do. Stick it out. It does get easier/better.

 

BTW:

ez-pass does not work in kansas!!!

All the drivers stuck behind me when I tried to go through the transponder lane and the gate wouldn't open for me can attest to this fact.