I hear ya', but with my trailer I get 75% of the L/H.....67% without it. That 8% difference could add up. Now if a load on their trailer pays well enough, I won't have a problem pulling it as long as mine is at home or at least my home terminal.

 

He really felt like they prepared him well for the cdl test and interviewing companies to choose the one that best fits his priorities. The instructor actually gave them a list of questions to ask the recruiters if the recruiters didn't tell everything in the pitch. Sage is also cheaper than the mills, they don't offer financing which is probably why. They also have one on one driving practice, not 3-4 students in a truck with the instructor (also sets them apart from mills). Hubby had his permit before he went to Sage and had all endorsements except Doubles/Triples because he really doesn't want to drive them. The instructor talked him into getting that one, too.

 

Guess it's time for an update..............

I was supposed to load out of Tulsa, OK on Monday the 13th going to Houston, TX. However, it wasn't until about 3:30pm before things got sorted out and the load was now going to a refinery in Tupman, CA with a much better rate. Since the day was shot, I told my dispatcher that I would just load it first thing Tuesday morning since I was only about 20 miles away. I called the shipper to find out what time they wanted me there and he said 7am would be good.

I arrived at 6:45am (early is on time and on time is late.....) and they weren't even ready for me. The load (structural steel) was scattered throughout their yard and shops. The the guy asks me how I want it loaded......I replied "well where is it"......so we walked around as it pointed out this and that. Now I am sure all the flatbedders out there will understand this......it's real difficult to try and get a mental picture of various sizes and pieces to put on your wagon when they are all over the place. It's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and all your pieces are scattered over a few acres. Nonetheless I get a pretty good idea of how we were going to do it and told the guy it may change a bit once we start loading. Although a bit of a pain, at least they were reseptive to how I wanted it loaded and not the usuall B.S. you get from some shippers where they say this is how we do it whether you like it or not.

By the time they gather all the pieces, loaded it, and I got it straped and chained down, it was already 12:30pm. I had hoped to get to Albuquerque, NM before shutting down for the night but by Santa Rosa I was exhausted and decided to call it quits.

The next morning I get trucking down the road and receive a call from a buddy of mine that I still stay in touch with from my previous company. It turns out that he was loading in L.A. and was headed East on I-40. Since we haven't seen each other in a while we decided to meet up at the Pilot in Lake Havasu, AZ where I ultimately shut down for the night. It was great seeing him and swaping lies .

Thursday morning I hit the road and make my way to Tupman. I have never been there and this place, especially the refinery, is out in the middle of nowhere. I make the drop an hour earlier than I anticipated and called in my empty status. My dispather asked me how I felt about leaving my trailer st the Fontana terminal. I said not too comfortable why?? He then tells me he has a 48' dry van that needs to go to some place in AR and was paying $6300 plus $1800 FSC. I said "10-4" lets drop this trailer.....LOL.

Just as I about to hit I-5 and start heading south, he calls me back and tells me that there was a "F-up" and the load got posted on their load board but he was on the phone with the V.P. of operations to complain about why they would send it out for brokage when there are L.S. trucks in the area. Guess the V.P. was not too happy but unfortunately the load was snaged too quick for them to pull it back.

Not all was a total loss as about 15 minutes later he called me back with a no tarp load from Fresno, CA to Dallas, TX. It weighs in at a whopping 3k and is 35' long. and pays half way decent. Would have liked the other load a lot better, but it gets me out of Cali and will carry my through the weekend.

You know, thus far, my heaviest load has been 35k and the lightest will be this up coming one at 3k. If you took all my loaded weights and averaged them out, it comes up to less than 20k. That explains the great fuel mileage I have been getting . With my previous company almost ALL my loads were between 40k-48k. On a rare occasion I would get a light one but it was far and few between.

On a side note, I am still undecided as to weather or not I chose the right place to lease onto. These guys seem to have the freight and at decent rates, but there are some issues or bugs if you will that I have experienced in the 2 weeks I have been here that have me questioning this company. I don't want to air them out on here, at least not right now. I am trying hard to keep an open mind and stay positive. I did have a little chat with my terminal manager and expressed my concerns. She is still reassuring me that these issues are NOT the norm and promises to do what ever it takes to smooth things out and keep me happy. I told her with all do respect, actions speak louder than words and we'll see.

Anyways, I am held up for the night at the TA in Buttonwillow, CA. Since I can't load until noon tomorrow and am only about 100 miles away this is just as good of a place as any. The "light at the end of the tunnel" is that tomorrow I will be headed out of the beautiful (insert sarcasm here) state.

 

I too was happy with Sage especially after hearing some of the horror stories about other schools. So who does your hubby pull for now?

 

I made my drop this morning and called in my empty status. I am now sitting at a Dallas truck stop (hate this place) waiting to hear back from L.S. Hopefully my wait won't be too long.

On a bright note, I was hauling 2 neon bank signs back to the manufacturer because of problems with them. Together they weighed in at a whopping 3k and my fuel mileage from Fresno to Dallas jumped up to 8.4!!!! It was almost like getting paid to DH......LOL

I'll update as soon as I find out where my next adventure takes me.

 

Was the problem with the signs the fact that they had the wrong name on them??

Are you settling in there DD?

 

LOL.....no they had the correct name on them, but they were 2" too wide :eek:. The sign company (based in Dallas) hired a local (Fresno) shop to try and fix them but they were unsuccessful. So I got tasked with hauling them back to Dallas for a very nice rate!!

And yeah, I am starting to get settled in.




Might as well make my update here.........

I was told Monday evening that I had a load to pick up Tuesday in Bridgeport, TX going to Wichita Falls, TX, a whole 75 loaded miles, but because it's a permit load, it will pay me just under $6 a mile AFTER my DH figure in ......short miles but easy money!!!! Anyways, she was waiting on the confirmation and would call me first thing in the morning with all the info so I ended up staying the night in that $hit hole of a truck stop (Flying J) in Dallas . Come this morning she tells me that the load got moved to Wednesday (due to crane issues) and was trying to find me a local pick up and delivery to keep me busy and making money. I told her not to bother and that I would just rather get the hell out of dodge and head towards Bridgeport. She was a little surprised at my response but said it was up to me. Before I could hang up the phone I was grabbing gears getting out of there........LOL.

I am sitting at a small but quite TS off HWY 380 in Decatur, TX. I am about 15 miles from my pick up and was told that the crane will be there at 9am and not to be late.



P.S.
This is the start of my 3rd week with Lone Star and I am happy to report (hope I didn't just jinx myself) so far so good. The first 2 weeks were real rocky and every time I expressed my concerns I was appeased with the "sorry, this is not the norm and I promise it will only get better" speech. 2 days into the 3rd week and it has gotten better, just hope the so called "bad streak' is over!!!!!!!

 

I just have to tell you that I am enjoying reading about your new adventure. You aren't BS'ing about numbers, and are admitting that it isn't all roses (although I would love to hear what the bad parts are......). You're doing things Booth couldn't have ever done, because his ego got in the way. Good form, sir.

 

Thanks Rev.......I appreciate the compliment!!! :bow:

So far the rates L.S. has offered me for legal loads have not been the best in the industry but have definitely beat any rate I ever got from my previous company. In fact, if I were to average all the rates out (which include the FSC, my DH) it comes to $2.50 a mile, $2.498 to be exact. Again it's not the best by any means but certainly not the worst either.

I am sure you and a few other would like to hear the not so good things I have experienced and I promise to post about it some day. I am not trying to hide anything per say, just want to give L.S. a fair shake and ensure these issues are or are not isolated incidents with me before I air out any possible dirty laundry.

Tomorrows load will be interesting for me as it will be my first ever OD load. It's only 14' high and 9' wide but it still requires a permit due to the width and therefore I will get my "cherry popped".......LOL :clap:

 

In a way, I think it would be helpful to post that kind of stuff, just so you can show us if and how they resolved it. Either way, they will get the fair shake. So far, you are making it sound like a great place.

Come on - spill it.