[Sardonicus]

Anyone have any experience (good or bad) with Di Pietro? Within the last day or so I learned of them from a driver here in my hometown. I have done a search on the boards and can't find much of anything about this company. I guess they do only refer and only the I-5 and Phoenix. He seems very happy with them.

Also, along those lines, is there any cautions a new driver should have starting out with a refer or would it be better to start with dry van until until I have more experience under my belt?

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Sardonicus

Anyone have any experience (good or bad) with Di Pietro? Within the last day or so I learned of them from a driver here in my hometown. I have done a search on the boards and can't find much of anything about this company. I guess they do only refer and only the I-5 and Phoenix. He seems very happy with them.

Also, along those lines, is there any cautions a new driver should have starting out with a refer or would it be better to start with dry van until until I have more experience under my belt?

Many noobs start out as reefer drivers. I never hauled reefers though. I don't think that experience levels are so much an issue as deciding on what sets of frustrations you are willing to deal with. For one thing, you not only have to haul the freight, but you also have to babysit the reefer unit as well.

At some grocery warehouses, the waits to unload can be rather lengthy, the delivery times can be screwy, and the people who run the docks can be real jackasses. I delivered to a few grocery warehouses (dry van), and the only "problem' that I ever encountered was the wait time to get unloaded; for me, that was just a chance to cop a nice nap.

Even still, reefer companies were not offering any additional compensation for the added frustrations, so I never saw the point in hassling with them!!

Just my "Useless" thoughts, for whatever they're worth!!

[Sardonicus]

Thanks 'Useless' for the insights. Pardon my newness but besides fueling the reefer, what else is involved in the babysitting process?

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Sardonicus

Thanks 'Useless' for the insights. Pardon my newness but besides fueling the reefer, what else is involved in the babysitting process?

For the most part, it would be best to get some feedback from experienced reefer haulers. I do know that if the reefer quits operating properly, you need to know how to deal with making some repairs on it. I had one driver tell me that they aren't necessarily difficult to repair, but I don't know what all there is to making repairs.

In any event, I don't want to spend my time dealing with that stuff; I made money when the wheels were turning, and the reefer companies that I talked to didn't offer anything more in the way of pay or compensation. I understand that some LTL companies pay you for each stop you make, but I never did any LTL work.

I also understand that a certain temperature level has to be maintained inside the trailer, and if it is not, the load is subject to being refused by the consignee.

When it comes to driving reefers or LTL, please don't make the mistake of thinking that I really know what I am talking about. I'm just relaying what I have been told by others.

[glasman2]

Some companies offer more cpm for driving reefer. Like Gordon offers 2 more cpm than dry van, and Interstate Dist is 4 more cpm. Also from what I've been told recently by a few reefer drivers ( from both these companies ) if there isn't another load out of and area that you dropped off at, you hook up as a dry van to get back to where you need to be ( sometimes taking a load from a dry van driver ) because they need your reefer back on the road.

This is not first hand ( I don't drive yet ) this is word of mouth from drivers I talk to.

[homer]

i never pulled one of those contraptions either.ive spent too much time in those grocery warehouses tho.they got all their union rules that keep you from getting unloaded in less than half a day.you have to hire non union people to unload and put the stuff on pallets 6 different ways.and sometimes you have to unload it and they will pick it up with the forklift after you put it on the dock.they take a coffee break every 45 minutes and evry thing stops so they dont get too tired. you have to take that reefer box somewhere and get it washed out between loads.ive seen them put partitions in there and you can haul different stuff at different temps.you can find six different warehouses in gotham for each load and unload.have fun.