[GMAN]

I am sorry to hear that things have not worked out as you had hoped. The hos changes won't help anyone. I don't see having to log a break and being on duty. Of course, I also don't see some of the other idiotic and useless hos rules these bureaucrats have thrown on our industry. When I found out that Malone is now requiring new owner operators and lease operators to install EOBR's, I expected many to leave or not lease on to them. I am a little surprised that they are forcing those already with a lease to install them.

[cdreid]

Thanks gman. i got what i was looking for out of it. i learned how to be an o/o. When nothing went wrong i made money and got home.. but i chronicled some of my breakdown adventures..
Theres a local co that hauls wood chips.. home every night. 800 a week. May try them.. sounds boring though. Theres another small one the owner wants me to come on to so he can get into fb. i also found some trucks id like to buy.. i just need to find a company with nc/sc freight. i >>>loved<<< running my own truck. its very hard consider going back to company. May even do the l/p with sammons though i dont like their deal. Basically w them youre guaranteed a paycheck. Downside is if you run hard as hell most of the benefit goes to the company

[crownking]

Im thinking of signing on with them i just call recruiting but i still need some more in depth
Please call me 317-748-9321 king

Originally Posted by cdreid

I've just signed on to crst malone and i thought id give my experiences here over time. Hopefully i will try to do this regularly.

Orientation - I went to orientation in rockport (who's shop coincidentally has a very good reputation). Unlike most companies orientation was HECTIC. We spent the first day on paperwork, safety and securement training.
The second day we spent on safety and securement. I've never driven a split axle or done flatbed so i ate this stuff up. Malone is HUGE on safety. They dont want you running illegally ever. There was a guy coming back to malone who was fired for having a single seat belt ticket 3 years previous. They also use a company that reports on trucks. CRST has a bad rating but that's because all it's companies are under one umbrella. The newbie training companies horrible safety rating is basically screwing the flatbed etc operations so they are hardcore on dot and safety. One thing that stood out was the LEAST experienced driver in orientation had 5 years experience. Only two of us didnt have flatbed experience. I wondered why they didnt complete all our prehire before we got there then i saw the office.. those people are BUSY from the second they get in.
Third day more securement and final paperwork including signing the lease. From there they sent all the lease operators out in rental cars to pick up their trucks. Mine was in atlanta. It was insanely hectic. Picked up my truck and got a call from my terminal (alabama) manager who'd set up a load to delaware because another drivver got hurt. The truck was empty so called maintenance and they sent a guy to fuel it and follow me to the truck stop. Picked up the load next morning and drove home to load my junk.

The truck - the lease drivers (9 out of 11 in orientation) got 2009 to 2010 columbias. The 2010's were 3 year leases. I got a 2009 with 700k or so on it and an 80 week lease. There IS a balloon payment but they offer to start pulling Cents per mile to pay that off whenever you want. Your choice. The maintenance program works more like insurance.. everyones money goes into a pool and if something breaks it just gets repair. Maintenance is .13 to .15 a mile (depending). Everything important is covered. A year before end of lease it drops to .10 but the lease program changes and engine etc arent covered. Imho overall a good deal becasuse you dont have to worry you'll drive 3 months and need an inframe. IF you get a truck that never needs repair of course youre getting screwed. If you need a new tranny it's pure win.
If you buy a 20k truck and it needs 25k repairs though you'll be offered a new lease. I like this OVERALL except for the last part. I see what theyre doing though.. it's basically insurance.
Payments are $325 a week except for the slow time (3 or 4 months a year i forgot) when your payment drops to 140. This part is Sweet.
All the standard fees. If you ran 3k miles a week your Total would be 1100 BUT.. from everything ive seen most drivers drive half of that or a little more.
Loads pay Well. In the areas most of us run anyway they seem to average around 2 a mile. Some more (theres a load from pa to ny on the board right now that pays well over double that). In really bad areas it seems to pay much lower but so far not any that actually lose money.
Lots of loads... as im looking at the board right now if i were willing to run a little out of route i could make money and get home a lot running the nc/sc/ga/pa/oh/il etc area.

I just did the math and if i were willing to sit in PA for a couple days then be in ny friday id bring home 13-1400 this week. I'm not and am running back to sc if this load is there monday morning.
Basically id get paid 1300 bucks to sit on my *ss all week. Wow.. way different than company van...
Then i plan on a short haul or two and home. If i havent mentioned it i really like their load board.

Safety in rockport is headed by a great guy who was an otr driver for over 20 years. He knows his stuff. He's hardcore about safety.
Dispatch is serious about you getting rest. Most safety concious company ive ever seen.
Agents and fleet managers (they ARENT dispatchers) treat you with respect. Nice.. Ive talked to a few lease drivers and o/o's since. So far they all like the company a lot. No idea about the company people.
Rockport terminal manager was straight to the point, polite, seemed like a good guy who didnt bull****. bull**** seems extremely lacking so far. thats different..
Alabama term manager didnt really give me a chance to turn down my first load though you could read between the lines. Im pretty sure because this is a: your first run and b: they REALLY needed this delivered. I was going to deliver it friday night but got held up by a lot of misc things and then found out they oculdnt take it til monday morning anyway (which is why i went home). I plan on leaving at 6am sunday morning and shutting down sunday night as close as possible. It's < 600 miles so not a problem. Oh and it pays $2 a mile to the truck. the load back pays This load may cover my fixedc costs for the week. Everything after this run Gross - fuel - .15cpm = profit. We get some pretty hefty fuel discounts at TA etc. Worst case it comes very close. If im right about how the board works it definitely does.
You can get paid twice a week. I dont know how they divide truck costs between them, i imagine everythign at first. If thats true then tuesday ill recieve a $0 check and next week. IF i pull this off as i think, have no breakdowns, run 5.5mpg or more my second settlement should be hefty. IF. And if im not missing anythign etc. I'm calculating 1100 a week in fixed costs + .71 a mile fuel (including pump discount). Again IF im right .. if i didnt have to sit in NJ or DE for a day id make an insane settlement (by grabbing at least another 700ish mile run this week).

I fully expect i have missed something.

The CONS of the company:
Because of circumstances i didnt have time to get the truck to a shop and get the things i want/need done to it. I want an oil change and i want a mechanic to see if the dampness in the oil is condensation or something serious. (note it looks much better now but im still having it changed). The right seat is SCREWED. I wouldnt care but it literally flops around. There is a chip in the windshield. I wouldnt worry about it but windshields are only covered at the beginning so i want it replaced. I'm worried about fuel mileage and power. Im pulling 44k and the truck has SERIOUS problems with hills. This is on a split axle on a truck set up for a lot more weight. My fleet manager is a complete newbie. But he's a nice guy so far. Neat in a way as we'll learn together. Less neat in.. well..newbie. Night dispatch etc are Awesome.

Some upsides: $ per mile. Im literally shocked at the difference between flatbed and dry van. Shocked. Trialer: i was told just to drop the trailer it was hooked to to pick up this preloaded one (we stick with one trailer period). It was pretty sweet. The one i picked up is brand spanking new and the driver who had it kept it beautifully organised. The securement gear looks brand new. I should end up paying used prices for it.
Honestly... i'm seriously thinking about buying my own side kit if this works out. Screw tarping. I wish they ran. I wish they had curtain sides. When/if i buy my own trailer im going to ask if i can use one (thanks for the 1000th time gman).

So far this looks like EXACTLY what i wanted (except my first load being northeast) and the load board is looking good. If i can get over the fear of new things (flatbed) this will be great i think. I need to rig up a redneck apu (or get a real one installed) and seriously.. get the sidekit. And if the truck doesnt turn out to be a pos i think i'll like this. Crossing my fingers! We all know initial impressions are usually a little too optimistic.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by JR OTR

Dear Jesus did I read that right? You signed a 80-week lease for a 2009 Freightshaker with over 700k miles on it? Mother of pearl, good luck with that driver.

True that!! Is it just me?? The more I read cdreid's op, the more worried I became. In the long term, I just couldn't see how the dollars could make sense.

Having said that, cdreid provided some excellent information regarding his experiences.

[freebirdrfd]

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