Hunt
I work for them as a company driver. A pretty straight-up company, they’re probably one of the best flatbed companies to work for. Used to be all o/o. Now have a lot of company drivers. Most loads are not tarped (less than 1 in 5 are tarped). Their tarps have 6 foot drops, no end flaps and don’t fit a lot of the loads, so you have to turn the tarps sideways. Pay is better than most. Insurance cost is reasonable but the coverage is not great. They do allow pets, but you have to pay $500 to have one. Home time is a rarity. I am home around 2 days a month. I’ve been out as long as 8 weeks without home time. They like to talk about how much they care about their drivers. But like most trucking companies, reality doesn’t always match their sentiments. They are an OTR company and your home life just doesn’t matter. You either accept it or move on. Their equipment and maintenance are ok. Trucks are fairly weak going up hill with a load and are governed at 62 mph. The trucks look ratty because they only reimburse one truck wash per month. Flatbeds go to some pretty dirty places, so a truck that’s washed once a month gets dirty and looks crummy almost immediately after its been washed. I clean the inside of my truck a couple of times a week, but hardly ever wash it because there’s no point. They are strict about log accuracy. Logs must be legal and are audited against Qualcomm records and expected to be in agreement. If not, you will get a notice from Safety. Dispatchers are usually good to work with. There is one DM for all drivers. Attitudes toward him are mixed. I don’t have much interaction with him so it’s no big deal. They leave you alone to do your job. There’s no nit picking as long as you do what’s expected. You will see a lot of country. I’ve been in 46 of the lower 48 states. East coast is about 10% of my loads, which is 10% too much. NYC and Canada are rare. I’ve never had to go to either. Loads include farm irrigation equipment, John Deere and Cat loads (including oversized). Less than 5% of my loads have been oversized. They haul just about anything that can fit on a flatbed. Trailers are 58 foot flats, drops and RGN’s. I ran about 125,000 miles last year. This year so far has been spotty, but I’ve done ok. Problems with payroll have been few and resolved quickly. Hunt is part of Crete, so they have a good financial backbone, but Crete does not interfere too much with Hunt. In summary, they are pretty straight with their drivers, pay better than most, don’t tarp a lot and will keep you busy. Negatives are no home time, sub par insurance and disregard for your personal life.
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