Thanks for the update, Fatsquatch! Look forward to hearing more as time goes on. I'm not going to school until Oct/Nov so I'm really trying to do my research, and find the company that will best fit my needs. I feel the more options the better, and I'd like to know more about some of the other/smaller companies, as opposed to the big mega carriers. Know what I mean?
BTW. What kind of equipment are they using? KW, Freightliner, Pro Star, etc...?
Tarren
Thanks for the update, Fatsquatch! Look forward to hearing more as time goes on. I'm not going to school until Oct/Nov so I'm really trying to do my research, and find the company that will best fit my needs. I feel the more options the better, and I'd like to know more about some of the other/smaller companies, as opposed to the big mega carriers. Know what I mean?
BTW. What kind of equipment are they using? KW, Freightliner, Pro Star, etc...?
Tarren
All of their trucks are either Freightliner Cascadias or Kenworth T680s. I think they said there are a handful of T660s and Columbias in the fleet as well, but they're on dedicated accounts or locals. All come with Eaton Fuller 10-speed transmissions.
All of their trucks are either Freightliner Cascadias or Kenworth T680s. I think they said there are a handful of T660s and Columbias in the fleet as well, but they're on dedicated accounts or locals. All come with Eaton Fuller 10-speed transmissions.
Cool! Thanks again for the info!
Thanks for the update, Fatsquatch! Look forward to hearing more as time goes on. I'm not going to school until Oct/Nov so I'm really trying to do my research, and find the company that will best fit my needs. I feel the more options the better, and I'd like to know more about some of the other/smaller companies, as opposed to the big mega carriers. Know what I mean?
BTW. What kind of equipment are they using? KW, Freightliner, Pro Star, etc...?
Tarren
All of their trucks are either Freightliner Cascadias or Kenworth T680s. I think they said there are a handful of T660s and Columbias in the fleet as well, but they're on dedicated accounts or locals. All come with Eaton Fuller 10-speed transmissions.
If you get the chance, look at the T680. Since I have driven both the Cascadia's and the T680. Storage wise the Cascadia has it, but I think the T680 has a better ride & is a lot quieter than the Cascadia. The bunk in the T680 is wider as well (the reason the cabinet's are smaller). The storage under the bunk in the KW is a little larger, so kinda makes up for the cabinet's being smaller.
Ernie
If you get the chance, look at the T680. Since I have driven both the Cascadia's and the T680. Storage wise the Cascadia has it, but I think the T680 has a better ride & is a lot quieter than the Cascadia. The bunk in the T680 is wider as well (the reason the cabinet's are smaller). The storage under the bunk in the KW is a little larger, so kinda makes up for the cabinet's being smaller.
Ernie
I'd like to get a good close look at the T680. That's a slick looking truck. But honestly, I'll be happy with whatever they throw me keys for. And it won't exactly break my heart to drive another Cascadia.
Day two: much busier day than yesterday. We had some new office personnel join our little gang. Started off with a live video conference with two other orientation groups in Dallas and Lebanon, focused on maintenance policies, then we shut off the conference feed and talked about PTI, CTPAT, and job hazards assesments. After a quick break we went outside and did some hands-on with the CTPAT and JHA stuff, which was mainly focused on looking for areas where trucks/trailers going in and out of border crossings might be tampered with for smuggling purposes and how to perform basic work tasks like getting in and out of the truck and trailer, fueling, and raising and lowering the landing gear in the safest ways possible. Then another quick break and back inside for a quick chat about things like the 7 driving basics and Smith System. After that it was lunch time, which was just some sub sandwiches, chips, and sodas brought up from the cafeteria. Again, they were HUGE. I almost couldn't finish my sandwich, and the brownie they threw into the box was too rich for my tastebuds, so I passed it along to one of the gals from the office. After lunch one of the compliance managers came in and gave us a quick rundown of the e-logs. Then JD from safety took over again and talked to us in quite a bit of detail about CSA and its effects on us as individual drivers and Interstate as a whole, then demonstrated by pulling up a web-based CSA violating tracking for Interstate drivers. It was very interesting seeing a list of individual drivers' violations and how many points were accrued for what. After that we took another quick break, then did another 3-way video conference with a gal from fuel and permits, who gave us a rundown on fueling policies, permit books, PrePass, and issued our fuel cards. Once she was done, a gal from worker's comp took over the conference and gave us the rundown on the company's work-related injury policies. After she was done, we had one last conference presentation from a gal from risk management who explained the procedures for reporting accidents/incidents as well as OS&D reporting. After she finished we were done for the day.
We still didn't get our badges, but were told they'll be here tomorrow for sure, probably around 10 or 11 am. Two of the four of us are supposed to head down to Wilsonville, OR to pick up our trucks after we finish orientation about noon on Thursday. I'm supposed to be one of those two, but I asked the gal if there was any way, since I'm going to be parking my personal vehicle at the terminal there in Tacoma, to not have to go to Oregon to pick up my truck. They're talking about renting a car for the two of us to drive down there, but it would be significantly more convenient for me to not have to unload all my stuff out of my pickup into a rental car, and then out of the rental car into my truck. She said she'd ask and see what she could do. I also heard a rumor that the four of us are supposed to be getting new trucks, but since rumors are usually at least 75% bovine excrement I'm not holding my breath on that one.
One thing that has impressed me about this company over Central/Swift is the attitudes of the office staff. The office personnel at Central, especially after the merge with Swift, always talked about how they appreciated the drivers and what we do and blah blah blah, but you could always sense this underlying attitude of "you're expendable, your replacement is right outside on the training pad right now, you're not really all that important." I haven't felt that once from any of the people I've interacted with at Interstate. They not only say that drivers are important, but they radiate that sentiment. I don't really know how to describe it, whether it's something in their body language or facial cues or what, but you get the impression they actually mean what they're saying, not just paying lip service.
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
Driving While Intoxicated
Sorry for the delay in updating this, but the last day and a half or orientation were a little nuts, and of course I've been busy since then. But here's a quick wrap up on orientation and the past couple days.
We got our badges about 10 am Wednesday. We heard about payroll procedures, scanning our trip info so we can get paid, benefits, macros, complaince, and were officially assigned our trucks. Sure enough, I was being sent to Wilsonville to get mine, but I was promised to be returned to Tacoma the same day so I could get my gear. We also learned that not only will the company remind us when our DOT physical is due, but also schedule and pay for it. Central just laughed at me when I asked if they paid for or reimbursed for medical card renewal, so this is a huge plus in my book.
Thursday was a half day. We went over some hazmat info, but not in a whole lot of detail since none of us had hazmat endorsements. We got to talk to our fleet managers, as well as the ops managers for the departments we're running in, which meant 3 of the 4 of us were talking to the reefer department. The ops manager for reefer, Ed Meyers, was the one who set me up with a load out of Wilsonville back to Tacoma so I could get my stuff. My current fleet manager is apparently only a temporary situation. She's kind of a transitional fleet, and helps us get our feet wet and make sure we understand how Interstate operates and such, and after a few weeks we'll be assigned to different fleet managers.
We finished up about 10, and were given express codes to write Comchecks out to ourselves for our orientation pay, and the two of us going to Wilsonville were given confirmation codes for the train down to Portland, which was supposed to leave at noon, but was about an hour late. They had a town car service meet us at the train station there and drive us to the terminal.
And then the fun began. We got to the terminal , got our keys, and signed our trucks out. Somebody goofed along the way, though, because when I went to log into the Qualcomm it kept kicking me out saying I had bad credentials. Which meant that I had to verbally dispatch the load back to Tacoma at every step, and to top it off it was after 4, so I had to do all of this with the night crew. Everybody was super friendly and helpful though, and after my initial freaking out about it there was zero stress involved. I got back to Tacoma right at midnight, dropped the load in the yard, got my stuff, grabbed something to eat real quick, and went to bed.
First thing Friday I went into the office to get the issue with the Qualcomm sorted out, which took all of 10 minutes. It seems nobody had notified the guy who puts everybody in the system that we'd been assigned trucks, so as far as he (and the system) knew, we didn't exist. Once that was taken care of, I had the shop install my CB and waited for a load. I finally got one about 10:30. I got to bobtail 250 miles to Burbank, WA to pick up a preloaded trailer headed to Union City, CA. The load delivers at 9 am tomorrow, so I'm sitting at the Pilot in Dunnigan since that's about as close as you can get to the bay area. I figure if I leave about 5 I should be able to get there around 8-8:30.
So there you go. Overall I'm fairly impressed with the company so far. They seem to make an extra effort to take care of both their equipment and their drivers. Of course I'll know more after I've been with them more than a week, but I feel like I've made a good decision to go with these guys and I'll enjoy my time here.
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
A refrigerated trailer.
Sorry for the delay in updating this, but the last day and a half or orientation were a little nuts, and of course I've been busy since then. But here's a quick wrap up on orientation and the past couple days.
We got our badges about 10 am Wednesday. We heard about payroll procedures, scanning our trip info so we can get paid, benefits, macros, complaince, and were officially assigned our trucks. Sure enough, I was being sent to Wilsonville to get mine, but I was promised to be returned to Tacoma the same day so I could get my gear. We also learned that not only will the company remind us when our DOT physical is due, but also schedule and pay for it. Central just laughed at me when I asked if they paid for or reimbursed for medical card renewal, so this is a huge plus in my book.
Thursday was a half day. We went over some hazmat info, but not in a whole lot of detail since none of us had hazmat endorsements. We got to talk to our fleet managers, as well as the ops managers for the departments we're running in, which meant 3 of the 4 of us were talking to the reefer department. The ops manager for reefer, Ed Meyers, was the one who set me up with a load out of Wilsonville back to Tacoma so I could get my stuff. My current fleet manager is apparently only a temporary situation. She's kind of a transitional fleet, and helps us get our feet wet and make sure we understand how Interstate operates and such, and after a few weeks we'll be assigned to different fleet managers.
We finished up about 10, and were given express codes to write Comchecks out to ourselves for our orientation pay, and the two of us going to Wilsonville were given confirmation codes for the train down to Portland, which was supposed to leave at noon, but was about an hour late. They had a town car service meet us at the train station there and drive us to the terminal.
And then the fun began. We got to the terminal , got our keys, and signed our trucks out. Somebody goofed along the way, though, because when I went to log into the Qualcomm it kept kicking me out saying I had bad credentials. Which meant that I had to verbally dispatch the load back to Tacoma at every step, and to top it off it was after 4, so I had to do all of this with the night crew. Everybody was super friendly and helpful though, and after my initial freaking out about it there was zero stress involved. I got back to Tacoma right at midnight, dropped the load in the yard, got my stuff, grabbed something to eat real quick, and went to bed.
First thing Friday I went into the office to get the issue with the Qualcomm sorted out, which took all of 10 minutes. It seems nobody had notified the guy who puts everybody in the system that we'd been assigned trucks, so as far as he (and the system) knew, we didn't exist. Once that was taken care of, I had the shop install my CB and waited for a load. I finally got one about 10:30. I got to bobtail 250 miles to Burbank, WA to pick up a preloaded trailer headed to Union City, CA. The load delivers at 9 am tomorrow, so I'm sitting at the Pilot in Dunnigan since that's about as close as you can get to the bay area. I figure if I leave about 5 I should be able to get there around 8-8:30.
So there you go. Overall I'm fairly impressed with the company so far. They seem to make an extra effort to take care of both their equipment and their drivers. Of course I'll know more after I've been with them more than a week, but I feel like I've made a good decision to go with these guys and I'll enjoy my time here.
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
A refrigerated trailer.
And just in case anyone was curious, I was given a 2014 Freightliner Cascadia with just a hair under 189k on the odometer. Very well appointed too. Full lumbar controls on the seats, trolley brake, OnGuard, hard-wired 1500 watt inverter, fridge, sleeper access door, screened sleeper windows, in-cab scanner, faux wood trim on all the cabinets, and extra lights in the bunk and footwells. It even has a small built-in alarm clock in the sleeper. Way nicer than either of the trucks I had with Central.
Interstate
Home sweet truck. 
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
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Somebody had mentioned that I should update y'all on my experiences with Interstate , since I'm the first one on the board to go drive for them. (Starcar maybe? I don't remember who.) So here you go.
Day one: pretty laid-back and low key. There were only 3 other guys there besides me. Met JD, the head of Safety, heard a little bit about his background. Got our pictures taken for our ID/access badges. Their badge maker in Tacoma is on the fritz, so they're having our badges made in Lebanon, TN and overnighted to us. We should get them tomorrow. Went for drug testing and DOT physical. Yes, Interstate does indeed do both UA and hair follicle drug testing. They had to lop a few hunks off my beard for that purpose.
Then back to the terminal for lunch, which was prepared/provided by the company cafeteria. Good food, and good sized portions. I had a Philly cheesesteak and fries that I could barely finish. After lunch we split into pairs, and two of us went to do the backing test and the other two went to do the drive test, then switched. We got a couple of tips on how to unhook from trailers with less banging and less wear and tear on the equipment, then a quick tour of the shop, and then it was back upstairs to do a couple of computer trainings on ethics and ADA compliance. After that we were done for the day.
So far I'm cautiously impressed with this company. They're making a huge financial commitment in upgrading their equipment, both trucks and trailers. They're getting rid of all of their tractors that are more than 2 1/2 years old, and trading out roughly half of their trailers in the next year. The Tacoma terminal is HUGE. The lounge has about 10 massive plush leather recliners that I was afraid to sit in, because I didn't think I'd want to get up again.
The showers were good-sized and nicely put together. They weren't luxury spas, but they're at least on par with what you'd expect at a PFJ or TA/Petro. There's a secured/gated parking area for drivers who want to leave their personal vehicles at the terminal, all of the buildings are magcard secured, and there are security cameras EVERYWHERE. Even though the terminal is in one of the seedier parts of Tacoma, overall it felt like a very safe location. I don't want to get too worked up yet though, until I've met/heard from a few more people and heard a bit more about the company. But so far, I think I've made a good choice.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Interstate:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).