Seriously considering Conway
 

Sometimes I hear they're going through a lot of changes and mergers but I also hear they're still a place to find decent work.

I live close to their terminal in Fremont, IN and this might be a chance for me to be doing some kind of local work with more hometime.

Talked to them and I need more endorsements for their driving jobs. I already have a CDL and a year experience with PAM but for Conway I need Doubles, Triples, and Hazmat. Sounds like I'd be one of the people running triples down the 80/90 Turnpike.

Getting those just requires written tests right? Not another driving test? As for the Hazmat my understanding is that requires written tests plus a fee for background checks?

conway
 

Dont forget finger printed for the TSA. I know in Pa you have to go the nearest state police barracks, where they fingerprint you.. They also run your finger prints thru the FBI data bank .

Finger printing for TWIC is done on site, at the TWIC center, by the contractor NorthrupGrumann.

HazMat finger printing is done where ever the state dictates.

Doubles/Triples, Tankers & HazMat are written tests only.

Doubles & Tankers are relatively simple. If you know brakes and combo's - there's only a little more additional info required to pass.

HazMat can be a PITA. LOTS OF DETAIL (as well there SHOULD BE - hazmat hauls some pretty NASTY and DANGEROUS stuff).

TWIC and HazMat are somewhat COSTLY propositions. Since I'm in school right now - I went for the TWIC first (though you can get a small DISCOUNT on the TWIC cost if you already have a hazmat) - since the hazmat test for a LEARNERS PERMIT HOLDER is only good for 30 days (and school runs 9 weeks). Since I already had the BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION done for the TWIC - my Hazmat app was approved by TSA in under a week.

Best of luck finding work.

In this economy - ANY JOB is a GOOD JOB - especially for those of us with little or no experience. Even drivers with years of experience are having a difficult time getting employed nowadays. EVERY LITTLE EDGE you can give yourself (endorsements, TWIC, valid passport, no convictions, clean MVR, no accidents, etc.) can be the difference between a JOB, and a TURNDOWN...

Rick

No. You need to have the Double/Triples endorsement on your CDL just for the simple fact that you might be out on a P+D run and have to take a set of pups. If you are going for a line-haul position, then yes you will be pulling them constantly.

Haz-Mat test is a pain. If you read the book from the state you will be fine. I know in Delaware the written test is done on a computer with pictures. If you look at the picture for some of the questions you can get the answer. The background check is a PIA also, but needs to be done.

Other then that....I know guys at Conway and they never talk bad about the company. They seem to like it.

Wrong military contractor. Lockheed Marting administers the TWIC program. I'd say it was a bone thrown to LM by the Washington fat cats.

I think linehaul is basically a gravy train. HAZMAT tests is ez, takes about 10-minutes. I think in PA once you get 18 questions correct you are done.

I talked with Conway last fall. The guy told me to get my doubles endorsement and he would hire me. Lo and behold a few weeks later they shuttered the terminal.

In what state?? I took all three on the computer....

If you want a better job then you should get the endorsements anyway.

As for being a new guy at Conway Freight you would be on call Mon-Fri and occaisional weekends but not many. There are 3 aspects to any LTL company and as a new guy you would be subject to working them all. City P/D, dock, and Linehaul.You may work 70 hours a week when they are busy or you may work 20 when it is slow. In all likelyhood you will drive a forklift more hours than a semi. You might work an entire shift on the dock and not even drive a truck. City work is typically days. Delivering and picking up from customers. Dock is 24 hours a day. Linehaul is typically nights. Driving terminal to terminal. A new linehaul guy would get the shortest run of perhaps 75-100 miles one way. You would probably start around 5 pm and work the dock until around 9 pm, then drive to a nearby terminal and work the dock another 3-4 hours, then drive home. Whoever said linehaul is gravy doesnt have a clue. Thats why linehaul pays more than city. There are gravy runs but you have to be there a very long time to get them (15 years?). Triples are only run from certain terminals and I'm not sure if Fremont is one of them but you wouldnt get that work anyway. You need 5 years experience with doubles first and then that work goes to senior men. Its a good job but life at the bottom can be very rough for 5 years or so. Feast or famine, not working at all or alot of shifting schedules, tired all the time, driving the worst POS in the yard. Conway's old clunkers are 7 speeds, no AC, no radio and spring ride. A new guy should make 35-45k, a top city guy 50-65k , a top linehaul guy 80-95k. All depends on how many hours they want. Other good LTL carriers to consider would be UPS Freight (where I work), Fedex Freight, Old Dominion, Estes, R&L among others. If you have any other questions I'll be glad to help.

Well in this economy if I could make that much in a local job that still sounds like it's worth checking out even if it's random work and not all driving. Getting out of the truck seat might be a good thing anyway.

Dude, I didn't mean they were handwritten essay tests - just that there were no SKILLS TESTS INVOLVED. I'm in Florida (the WORST STATE for a newb to try and get HIRED from).

I took mine on the computer too...

OTOH - for the PASSENGER ENDORSEMENT - you're SUPPOSED TO do a pre-trip/basic skills/road test in a BUS to get the endorsement on your license (I guess it would also give you a Class B or C license, depending on the WEIGHT of the bus you tested with - if you didn't also do a pre-trip/basic skills/road test in a tractor/trailer).

In my case, I took the CLASS A pre-trip/basic skills/road tests - but since I had taken the PASSENGER written test (along with doubles/triples, tankers & combination/air brakes when I got my PERMIT) - the lady at DMV put my PASSENGER endorsement on my CLASS A CDL when I went in to get the plastic after passing my road test at school. After passing my HazMat WRITTEN (since there's no hazmat SKILLS TEST) and my background check got approved, my license now has PTX for endorsements.

I'm not saying ANYTHING about it - since it saves me the $300 it would cost to go somewhere and do all the SKILLS TESTS with a bus. I wouldn't have any problems PASSING the tests, since I owned my own bus last year and was ALREADY doing the pre-trip and all the "skills" to the tune of 50K incident-free personal miles in '07.

Rick

What exactly does dock work entail ? What are the challenges and working conditions ? I'm curious to know because, since I haul pneumatic bulkers, I don't need to go anywhere near a dock.

no choice
 

Yea what he said, you don't to get pick line haul or pd. Once you get into ltl there's this thing called seniority and you better get used it. pd one day then send you home cuz you may have to run a longer night run and the other way around. Job is not for drivers who just like to sit. You will work, but you also will be compensated well for your work. I don't much about pam but if its anything like us express and there dollar general accounts and you have to unload all those boxess from the ground. Ltl and dock work will be a piece of cake. I regret ever leaving ccx Id be at top rate right now and home every day

Most of the freight is on pallets so its alot of forklifts. There is some hand freight. Sometimes skids gets tipped over and have to be restacked. There is alot of getting on and off the forklift to check shipping labels, move dunnage, sign bills on to a manifest, etc. There is oddball or ugly freight and either is not on a skid or is on a skid but doesnt stack well. We use the whole trailer so we build decks, use dunnage, stack racks, load bars or whatever we need to cram more freight in. It would be similar to packing the station wagon for vacation. BTW its easier to stuff freight in a trailer then it is to get it out so unloading a poorly loaded trailer can be challenging. The nature of LTL is handling small shipments, I dont mean small size I mean small quantity, not enough to justify a full truckload. We use a hub and spoke system. Lets use OH for a small example. We have terminals in Toledo, Cleveland, Richfield, Youngstown, Mansfield, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinatti. Now each terminal spends the daytime delivering and picking up freight. In the evening this freight is put on outbound trailers destined to a hub, Detroit, Pittsburg, and Columbus for example are hubs. We have freight for all these small cities but not enough for a direct run so we take all freight destined to these Ohio towns to Columbus. At the same time they are all doing the same thing. Road drivers come in at night and take the trailers to Columbus and have a big dock party exchanging all the freight. After I pass out my freight and have recieved all my freight from the other drivers I go home. When I get back, inbound dock workers strip my trailers and put it on city trailers to be delivered and the process starts all over. Thats a small snapshot of regional overnite delivery but we have over 200 terminals and can ship anywhere in the country. As you gain seniority you get longer runs, meets, turns, and things that dont involve dock. Or your run is too long to spend much more than an hour or so on the dock and still make it back in time. We have teams, triples, laydown runs (take your break in a hotel and return the next night). All sorts of stuff. Some guys like the dock. I mean we get $23/hr to drive around on a forklift. Extreme heat or cold can be challenging. Some loads are easy some are difficult. Its a mixed bag. Think of LTL as a bus network with schedules, regular runs, switches, and exchanges. Some freight gets on and some gets off at each stop. The more full the bus the more money you make and the fare is cheaper. Now think of OTR truckload as a taxi service. You pay for door to door no matter how much freight goes in the car for a higher fare.

Your right...My bad! :o

i went to charleston last week and paid my money,do they call when the twic card is ready or is better to track on website.

They called me and I went to their office to activate the card.

thanks ronjon,i went down to the post office to get the website i needed for my passport card, i went to website and every time i tried to pre-register online it said the server was busy,so i just printed it out and took it down there the old way.now waiting.:deal:

We had 10 drivers out of 58 (including me) who never got their phone call. I would give it whatever time they tell you then start checking the website, Just in case.

If u get in stay in, ltl is the way to go union or not. I regret ever leaving. Id be at top rate now which is sum thing like 23 -25 an hour in pa at least I can't speak for other teerminals. Its not much work it goes fast once the rush comes in when ur in a hurry to make cut times. Hand freight also depends on what lane ur in. For example, we were down the street from uline and we would get a few trailers a night. And packing peanuts are very very light, buts its a pain to move 50 bags from one end of the dock to the other end lol. What that being said, over time after 8, AFTER 8!!!!! How many companies in any field do that anymore

If u get in stay in, ltl is the way to go union or not. I regret ever leaving. Id be at top rate now which is sum thing like 23 -25 an hour in pa at least I can't speak for other teerminals. Its not much work it goes fast once the rush comes in when ur in a hurry to make cut times. Hand freight also depends on what lane ur in. For example, we were down the street from uline and we would get a few trailers a night. And packing peanuts are very very light, buts its a pain to move 50 bags from one end of the dock to the other end lol. What that being said, over time after 8, AFTER 8!!!!! How many companies in any field do that anymore

Just out of curiosity, why would LTL need TWIC? I thought that was just for port entry? Or do they go to some places that require TWIC access? I don't live near a port, but I had to get mine with my first tanker job cuz all the terminals seemed to be on the water.

Fremont is a major hub for Conway. When I worked out of the Fort Wayne terminal (got laid off and never went back, MISTAKE) they were expanding the Fremont terminal. I did linehaul to their every night. Its not a bad place to work at all. They have something like 220 doors now. Its huge. A couple of times they would have me go up and work their docks instead of fort wayne cause they for some reason can't keep people at that terminal. The manager when I was there was very anal. Not many people cared for him.

Don't expect a driving job if you are looking to work for Conway, instead expect a lot of dock work loading and unloading trailers, with some driving in between. That is basically line haul, which is what new drivers start out doing. When you get some seniority you can go for city P&D which is all hourly with overtime, (if it's busy enough). Dock work can really suck at times if you get awkward freight or a poorly loaded trailer, but the other drivers are usually friendly and will help you out. Some of the managers can be real pr|cks, especially to the new guys, so just learn to ignore everything they say and only seek help from other drivers. Trust me, that'll make things much less stressful!

Weekend work is rare, and in this economy I'd be surprised if a new driver was able to get any, but if you're running line you most likely wouldn't have the hours to get it anyway. I don't know what the policy is with triples, I'm in CA where we can't run them, but considering the pay is more I would assume the old timers snap those up in a heart beat.

A lot of drivers don't like touching freight, so whether this is a good company or not for you depends on what kind of driver you are. I think this is why most new drivers are younger, lesser experienced drivers, because they typically don't complain as much, but that's not to say they won't hire older more experienced drivers. A lot of it has to do with attitude, if you have a good attitude you'll be just fine.

If home time is something you want, I'd highly recommend this company. 70 hour work weeks on line might not leave a lot of home time in the beginning, but stick around for a while and get on a gravy M-F 9am-7 or 8pm (+overtime) city bid and you'll have your home time as well as a decent pay check. The benefits are great too, although their new focus on weight management has lead to less cakes. (The cake they had was amazing, I think I miss that more than anything else! :tears:)

How much per mile for conway linhaul when you start with the company?

take my advice- dont do it
 

dont even consider Con-way ! i drove for truck-load, my partner fell asleep at the wheel and ran us off the road in Oregon in "07'. I was in the sleeper, clean logs and blood & urine. they tried to **** me out of surgery (broke neck , 3 places & broke back, 3 places. $187,000.00 dollars. Luckily, I had signed up with a 5 star worker's comp law-firm prior to the surgery. We are now, just getting to the settlement phase of the worker's Comp claim. I am now addicted to morphine ( leagally), and will never be able to work at any job again. I was told by Con-way employees that it does not matter what is "right or wrong", that I "have to play the game" They cut off my benifits, because they can.
reguarding the surgery----- they signed a faxed agreement to allow the surgery, and during 9 hr's of surgery called my wife and renigged on the agreement. it took almost a year to force them to pay for the mounting bills (with no re-hab during this time) which aggravated my condition and has lead to permanant disibility.
If you do decide to work for these ass-holes, I would strongly suggest that you take out EVERY & ALL insurance policies available, as you Will need them , just so you and your family can hold onto at least what you already have, and try to maintain it