Profile For dirtrocker

I worked for them for 13 months. I had no problems at all with the company. I only left because I wanted a more physically challenging job and I wanted to run solo. I went to riverside not cedar rapids so I can't tell you about it. I honestly made between $600- $850 a week. Only time I saw a $300 check was when I stayed on home time an extra day. My PERSONAL experience is that they are a very good starter company.

I got in my first accident. In the receivers yard. My trailer scraped the corner of a dropped trailer. The receiver said it was between my company and the trailers company. It was a non roadway accident with only the two companies involved no dot involved. Does this go on my cdl or is this just on my company record?

Did this happen today at the LOWES yard in Hagerstown MD?

Thank you to everyone for the replies. I'll have to try the PVC thing out. Yes, the old wooden ones I have do work fine but I can not place them and strap my load while being loaded because I have to get on top of load or use a ladder. My company did supply some plastic ones but are only about 6 inches wide. I figured for drywall that they should be at least 12 inches wide.

So because of where I live my DM told me get used to hauling sheet rock. I love 11 miles from plaster city.

My question is what is the best type of Vee boards to use and where is the best place to buy them.

My company provided a bunch of 6 foot long old wooden POS ones. I saw some guy using some nice plastic ones that looked like maybe 12 inches and a cool tool for installing them which seemed to save a crap load of time over crawling up the load after they were done. I didn't get the chance to ask him about it though

Thank you

I'm Officially part of the flat bed family. I got my truck at COTC ON 07-13-17. It's definitely a lot of work but I actually feel pride after securing and Tarping my load. So far (with the exception of plaster city every shipper or receiver I've been to has been a very tight place to get in or out of, way more than dry van.

Any way, I'm loving it so far although I'm very slow at Tarping right now.

I would go on line and bookmark crstpay.com. it's a lot easier to view your pay statements there than it is on the app. And download the comdata app also. You can check your balance free from the app as much as you want. If you call to check your balance it costs money. Plus it's a lot easier to authorize com checks from the app rather than calling. You can also transfer funds from the comdata app to your regular bank account.

If I remember correctly it took about 24 hours before I could log in on the app

I am on the way back from Temecula, California to Delhi, Louisiana tonight, but will be making a stop in Round Rock TX with this load of rocks I picked up in Tecate, California. Tecate is a little Mexican border town with no legal roads going into it for big rigs. In fact you are only allowed to have 30 feet from kingpin to your rear axle on the roads that lead into this town. So... I was an outlaw trucker this week. It was quite the adventure getting my tractor trailer around some of the tight curves in the roads without knocking some other motorist off the side of a precarious precipice. This is not something I recommend to anybody, but I can be foolish at times.

This load is a good example of the gray areas that exist in trucking. I had to break the law just to get to the shipper, then they had no scale (it really was just a dirt drop yard where Mexican trucks drop off freight which is then forwarded onto American carriers for the final delivery) And despite the weight printed on the bills, I knew that I was overweight as soon as I got out off of the dirt roads and onto some real stretches of highway. There was not even a scale available to me until I crossed over into Arizona - at least a hundred or more miles from the Mexican drop yard. That is when I was able to confirm that my gross weight was 82,380 pounds! I parked for the night at the Golden Acorn Casino on Interstate 8 and waited to leave at 1:30 in the morning, just hoping that no one would be manning the scales at the California/Arizona border.

There are times in this job where you just have got to figure out ways to get things done despite the fact that you could possibly be getting yourself into a jam. Once I got over into Arizona, I contacted the broker and let him know that I was going to go to our terminal in Phoenix and have them off-load one pallet of rocks so that I could get it legal, and he would just have to find a hot-shot carrier to get that final pallet to his customer. He didn't like it, but what's he gonna say? We're on a recorded phone conversation, and he isn't going to advise me to run like an outlaw on that line. He knew I had him over a barrel, and he just bit his tongue and agreed that we had no choice.

The good old Golden Acorn Casino. I live about 12 miles from there. I actually worked in that casino for a few years. I installed almost all the cameras and set up the wiring and DVR's

Remember, Nathan, trucking companies won't spring for auto-shift transmissions unless they see a better bottom line and equal or better safety for people and equipment. So auto-shift isn't a joke.

Did you know an auto-shift has a manual option? Read the instructions, or look harder at the shift paddle. Hint for slippery conditions: manually select a gear one step higher than you think. The reduced engine power at the wheels will help reduce slipping.

My company blocked the manual mode and the power mode. We are restricted to the economy mode only.

Today I have officially had my CDL for one year. I have managed to get by with no tickets or accidents. And yes, it's been with the same company.

Thank you the everyone on this board. Especially to all those who stressed to stay at your first company for a FULL year. If I would have left early I would not have been accepted to COTC.

My start date will be 7/10. I'm still driving for CRST at the moment and have nothing bad to say about them. They did everything they promised me.

I'm going to finally be a part of the flat bed family. I can't wait.

Sorry for rambling. I'm just excited.

Again thank you to everyone here. You guys/gals are amazing people