Question:
Here I am, still in school, a Newbie by all means . Wondering about Crete - the good and the bad - appreciate all comments.Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.

Answer:
I'm not sure WHICH school you are attending, but....
Crete, does NOT hire out of just ANY school.
If you are Not attending a "Crete" sponsored school, you will need to CALL Crete, to make Sure they will hire you out of That school.
If Crete, Does accept the school you are attending...you will have to take an ADDITIONAL course that is specifically designed for Crete.

Answer:
JoeTruckDriver trains for them and lucky42 drives for them,but he seems to be here just trying to pickup recruiting bonuses,so take what he has to say for what it is,a chance to make a buck.
I did 7 years with them as an owner operator and left in March of 2002
Compared to the other long haul training companies you will be miles ahead in treatment and pay,but they still haul freight for a bunch of moron customers,so they are like every other trucking company in that sense.
One advantage is if you don't like crete,you can switch no problem to shaffer and get better length trips pulling a reefer.
I have a lot negitive to say about over the road trucking,but if you must do it,there is nothing I can say bad about crete,they are one of the better companies as far as long haul goes
Answer:
choclit - thanks for that info - very important. I am attending a school crete hires from and I have discussed employment with crete. They offer a fair start rate and seem to be very consciencious about their drivers.
Thanks zigzag for your input - much appreciated! I enjoy hearing from those who have actually worked for the companies I'm interested in.
I'm attending ATDS near Waco,TX. Good school, good instruction and is recognized by those carriers I am leaning towards.
I like Crete and Werner the most so far because of the threads I read hear and some conversations I've had with OTR drivers. My main objective is to gain just enough OTR to qualify for a regional position. I really don't want to go into places like the Northeast, Canada or the Upper West.
ZigZag - you talk of negatives in OTR careers and from all I read and hear these locations seem to present more problems for drivers than most others. But that's why I'm here bending your ears - I'm new and have nothing but assumptions now and I appreciate so much everything everyone says. Tell me straight as I know you will. While my wife won't join me as a team driver she will join me as a companion so working for a carrier who allows my spouse to ride is ALL important.
I'm following threads of all kinds, especially the Newbies accounts of their beginning months out. I would love to hear from lucky and truckdriver and I've enjoyed the wisdom from Hoss.
Thanks again to everyone.
Peace to allNever try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.

Answer:
Ketchum, you may want to pm JoeTruckDriver. He is a trainer with Crete, and has a detailed diary post in this forum (Newbies). See you on the big road.
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I worked for werner for 2 years in the early 90's and than was an o/o with them for 8 months,they suck,blow and I wouldn't work for them for 100k or more a year,they couldn't pay me enough to work for them,well maybe a million and I would do one year
If your wife don't mind it and you don't mind it,you will have one major problem beat,the total isolation from intelligent life forms,another plus is you can sleep while she screws with loading docks,like waiting for a door assignment or waiting for paperwork.It won't be that bad for you with a helper on board and a companion.
I suggest the 2 of you spend a weekday afternoon and evening at a major truckstop like the Flying J on I-20 in dallas and get a taste of it before signing up for training.the place is crazy and it won't be like that all the time,but offen enough you will have to deal with places like that.
At least with crete you do have some say so in where you run when they feel like giving you a choice of loads,but overall you will go where the freight goes.
The main thing is do you have a backup plan if you folks totally hate it,don't build yourself into a trap you can't escape,have an out,plan B
Answer:
The link below is to the thread JoeTruckDriver, usually posts on that Dtrain, is referring to.


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Thats funny but oh so true.
I agree the Flying hook will give you a good taste of what TS's are about. The Pilot there will do the same. Their both typical reasons why I avoid truck stops except to fuel and shower. Except for a few I've found along the way that are nice and quiet.
I know very little of Crete except what I see and hear. The drivers, although not all, seem to take more pride in themselves and in their job. they seem to dress a little nicer and are a bit more content in their job. I also don't hear much complaining about the company. Those are good signs to me.
Werner on the other hand. I wouldn't even give them a thought. But thats my opinion.
You'l find that even those around here that sound very negative and are very negative about trucking like Zigzag and REABLAM actually have alot of good advice for newbies. Their just a little more to the point in their post. Others like Hoss and White Dog have been doing it long enough and steady enough they can also dish out some good advice.
Good luck in your new adventurre and I hope you both find it to be something you enjoy.

Answer:
Crete is a decent company to work for, I've been with them since May '98, and I like it here.
The trucks are governed to run a blistering 65-mph, which seems slow, but usually keeps us out of trouble.
The thing that I like most about Crete is that there isn't a "Good Ol' Boy" network - dispatchers don't play favorites with drivers. Instead of having drivers managed by a dedicated dispatcher who can make or break them, Crete dispatches loads by "zone dispatch" - the person who handles New Jersey freight is different from the dispatcher who handles California, Ohio, Missouri, etc...
Also, there is a feature that they call "Load Select" - when you empty out, depending on the freight availability, operational necessity, and a few other factors, you can be offered a choice of up to three loads. For example, when I emptied out in Muncie, I had a choice of going to Charlotte, NC, somewhere in Wisconsin (I forget where), or Boston. Since Boston had the most miles, and I had the time to run it, I took that load. In the instances that this is available, it gives you a little control over where you go. It isn't available everytime I empty out - sometimes I don't have a choice where I go, the freight's gotta go, and there I am.
The miles are good - I left my home in Jackson, MS last Sunday to go to Detroit. Since then I've gone to Muncie, IN - over to Boston, MA - down to Knoxville, TN and up to Fort Wayne, IN - over to Trenton, NJ - and today I have a two-stop load that goes to Boise, ID and Spokane, WA. From 8/15 to 9/1 I'll have run 6912 paid miles, plus made $60 add'l for extra stops on two of the loads.
My first stop is early morning 8/31 in Boise, so I'll hang out here at the Petro in Bordentown, NJ and reset my 70, then cruise across the country to Boise. When I empty out in Spokane, I expect I'll either go to Moses Lake, WA to pickup potato buds (dried mashed potatoes) to go to McDonough, GA or back into Idaho to pickup potato buds to go to Chicago. (It's been awhile since I emptied out in Eastern Washingon, and I'm trying to remember the freight pattern...)
They provide a E-ZPass so I don't have to pay the fees on the turnpikes, or any of the bridges in the NYC area. I hit the E-ZPass lane and keep rollin' along while others wait in line to shell out $$. The only drawback is that they don't pay us to run the Ohio or Indiana turnpikes - but I suspect that will change in a year or two.
They have a few drawbacks, but no company is perfect, and I think that this is one of the better companies to work for.
If you have any specific questions, e-mail me and I'll be glad to answer them."Climb back in the cab, cross your fingers for luck.
We gotta keep movin' if we're going to make a buck. "
- Roll On Down the Highway, Bachman Turner Overdrive


Answer:
Spotscat,
You might also end up down in White Swan, WA, picking up doors.
Ketchum,
I was leased on to HTL, a sister co. of Crete, from Feb 98 to Nov 02. HTL was a great company to deal with, long loads, decent dispatchers, etc. I thought I had found a home......Then Duane Acklie, CEO of The Acklie Companies and his son in law, Tonn Ostergard decided to roll HTL into the Crete system. It sucked. My miles dropped, the office help were jumping ship and STILL, if I went back to being a "company" driver, I would go to an Acklie company, in a heartbeat.
As far as Werner is concerned, I leased my other truck on there, in 2002 and decided within 2 weeks that my driver wasn't the only one that HATED them. They were obnoxious a-holes from top to bottom. I had a BIG disagreement with a dispatcher over my truck. My driver called, saying he was told to shag trailers in Laredo, TX and wouldn't be compensated for it. BULLS**T.No way. My truck moves a trailer, it and my driver are paid. Dispatcher raised all kinds of He//, so I went over his head to some a-hole that was supposed to be in charge of ALL dispatchers. He told me that what the dispatcher says is the way it will be. Note: My driver DID NOT shag those trailers. I would rather work for Swift than Werner, and I will neverwork for Swift.
Hope this has been of some help.

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Do an archives search of 'em here, at layover.com, ooida.com, and safersys.org. BOL

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White Swan is no more. We quit hauling JeldWen when we lost Pozzi.

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we lost Pozzi? Well they don't keep me very well informed. I wonder who got that and why we lost it?
We need a Crete board so we can keep up on all the news. I some times think that is why I don't do dictated, get to liking something and it’s pulled out from under you.

Answer:
Hey Ketchum, is it absolutely a must for you to go OTR. You live in Austin and I just got offered a belly dump position in Georgetown. I live in Smithville which is about 42 miles southeast of Austin and it is about 80 to where they want the trucks parked so I had to turn it down. It is pretty much a local position working on the SH-130 project. Guaranteed work for the next 10 year's. I talked to the guy and he told me as long as the person know's how to drive he'll try them out first in a belly dump then move them and train them on a end dump. The pay was pretty decent too I talked to one of his driver's that is a friend of mine and he said he's making between 120 and 200 bucks a day. If you want to know more about it give me a pm. One more thing in about one and a half to three months he is going to start parking his stuff in Manor, TX.

Answer:

They have a driver rating system,seemed it was always the same little group at every terminal on the top of the monthly miles lists.
I quit and went back and during orientation the guy had a slide show and he is going over what the dispatcher see's on his computer,explains every little detail,line by line,box by box and I notice the truck numbers are 3 different colors,so i ask and he blows me off,like he don't know the reason,so I ask is that how dispatch knows who is a runner,who is regular and who to kill off and smoke comes out of the guys ears.Busted.
so it will depend on if your truck number is red,green or black to what dispatch offers you,unless your labeled a bad boy,you will do ok and if you get labeled a company pet,you will get the cream off the top.{{{Tip,don't ask them the same question}}}
Don't create waves,just do your job and always remain calm when talking to them,they flip out if you show stress in your voice,they can't handle stress in NE.