Im sorry to say, but my time with Pride has turned out to be short. I am leaving the company this week after I return my truck to Salt Lake City.
There are many reasons for this, but the official reason is that I have accepted employment outside the trucking industry and will leave it at that.
I have scratched my otr itch and am done with it.
If you wish to contact me at thomasengle@verizon.net I can offer more information on this company and their policies.
Best of luck to all of you out there on the road every day!!!!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
april
I have been busy and not near an internet provider. But have been busy and so far so good. No complaints with Pride. I had one little glitch with payroll on some detention time owed and it was taken care of right away and without question.
Home for the night and then a delivery in the morning and I should have a preplan to Texas in the afternoon.
Rumors are flying around about changes in truck speed. We are presently at 68 mph and the rumor is that CR England is going down to 65 mph and that we might follow suit. Don't know for sure and I am not going to worry about it until it happens. We were at 72 mph and when they dropped it to 68 mph 30 drivers came in and resigned. Don't know if that will happen this time or not. Have to wait and see how it goes. Personally I will stay at 65 but anything lower and I will be looking around again. Time will tell.
Be safe!!!
Home for the night and then a delivery in the morning and I should have a preplan to Texas in the afternoon.
Rumors are flying around about changes in truck speed. We are presently at 68 mph and the rumor is that CR England is going down to 65 mph and that we might follow suit. Don't know for sure and I am not going to worry about it until it happens. We were at 72 mph and when they dropped it to 68 mph 30 drivers came in and resigned. Don't know if that will happen this time or not. Have to wait and see how it goes. Personally I will stay at 65 but anything lower and I will be looking around again. Time will tell.
Be safe!!!
Friday, March 28, 2008
First Load
First load was pretty much a-typical of all companies. Was set up for pickup Wednesday morning at 0800 and I didnt get it dispatched to me until way late in the afternoon. Turned out that when I got to Logan the load wasnt even ready and I had to wait for it! I picked it up and made it to North Willard before deciding to call it a night, at midnight, at the Flying J. Woke up at 4am to snow. Hadnt seen that for awhile.
Back on the road at 10am and drove til 8pm stopping at Jean Nevada. I could have drove for another hour but decided I would rather spend the night at a casino instead of Baker California where I couldnt even idle the truck and would be parked in a dirt lot someplace.
Delivered at 1030. Paid miles, 857.
Picked up a Costco load of cake mix down the 91 in La Mirada and then crawled on the East Bound 91 Freeway to home. Will be here for the weekend getting my truck road worthy and then back to Salt Lake City for a Tuesday morning delivery.
Learning the ins and outs of driving a 13 speed transmission. Always driven 10 speeds. I may get the hang of this yet!
Back on the road at 10am and drove til 8pm stopping at Jean Nevada. I could have drove for another hour but decided I would rather spend the night at a casino instead of Baker California where I couldnt even idle the truck and would be parked in a dirt lot someplace.
Delivered at 1030. Paid miles, 857.
Picked up a Costco load of cake mix down the 91 in La Mirada and then crawled on the East Bound 91 Freeway to home. Will be here for the weekend getting my truck road worthy and then back to Salt Lake City for a Tuesday morning delivery.
Learning the ins and outs of driving a 13 speed transmission. Always driven 10 speeds. I may get the hang of this yet!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Day 3
Day 3, last day of orientation. Actually only half a day. Finished up with log book lady and given our final paperwork and thermometers etc. Had a meeting with the owners of the company, Jeff and his son Jay England, and the Senior Vice President of Sales. Very low key, and I was impressed with all three men. Jay is a pretty young guy, at least to me he is, and he seems to have a pretty good grip on the reality of his situation. His Dad has put most of the company into his hands and he is doing a pretty good job from what I can see. Its a big responsibility and I got the feeling he is well up to the task.
Met my dispatcher and we talked about the routes available and where I like to drive and areas I like to avoid. I will be starting out on the SLC to L.A. to Dallas triangle with short deviations from those three cities as needed. Sounded ok to me.
Were issued our trucks after that, I was given an 07 Century with 230,000 miles on the clock. I was told it would be gone in about 7 months and I would get a new one. I like Centurys so it is fine by me. I was given my first load, a DH up to Logan to pickup a preloaded trailer and take it to Anaheim California with a delivery date of Friday.
The weather here is not looking good....snow is on its way tonight so I am getting the hell out of here as soon as I can.
Orientation was easy, and I have no complaints with my truck.
Now to see how the miles go.
Met my dispatcher and we talked about the routes available and where I like to drive and areas I like to avoid. I will be starting out on the SLC to L.A. to Dallas triangle with short deviations from those three cities as needed. Sounded ok to me.
Were issued our trucks after that, I was given an 07 Century with 230,000 miles on the clock. I was told it would be gone in about 7 months and I would get a new one. I like Centurys so it is fine by me. I was given my first load, a DH up to Logan to pickup a preloaded trailer and take it to Anaheim California with a delivery date of Friday.
The weather here is not looking good....snow is on its way tonight so I am getting the hell out of here as soon as I can.
Orientation was easy, and I have no complaints with my truck.
Now to see how the miles go.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Day Two
Started the day off by taking the usual DOT physical. Had no problems passing it. Both my blood pressure and blood sugar levels were down. I guess it pays to take your meds huh!
After that was some more of the usual Safety and Fuel Management and Benefits speakers.
They dont show the typical videos here so no good afternoon naps... :(
Tomorrow is a half day. Logbooks, permits, meet Jeff England and then truck and dispatcher assignments. That will be the last thing in orientation and we have the rest of the day off to get what we need for our trucks and then get our first loads on Thursday. Hopefully a load home to get the rest of my truck stuff sitting in my garage!
Very easy orientation, paid $150.00 for attending it.
After that was some more of the usual Safety and Fuel Management and Benefits speakers.
They dont show the typical videos here so no good afternoon naps... :(
Tomorrow is a half day. Logbooks, permits, meet Jeff England and then truck and dispatcher assignments. That will be the last thing in orientation and we have the rest of the day off to get what we need for our trucks and then get our first loads on Thursday. Hopefully a load home to get the rest of my truck stuff sitting in my garage!
Very easy orientation, paid $150.00 for attending it.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Pride Transport
Like Chris, Kona911, I grew tired of driving local and decided to venture back out on to the highways and byways of America. I did alot of research on line and spoke with many many drivers and finally decided to apply with Pride Transport out of Salt Lake City.
Yes it is owned by Jeff England, and no, they are not part of the CREngland Trucking empire. He is the grandson of CR and he and his wife and son are sole owners and operators of Pride. There are a ton of rumours out there about this company and I will only address the facts that I am sure of.
I flew into Salt Lake City on Sunday, 03/23/08, and they reimbursed me for the flight. There are five of us in orientation this week and we all have individual rooms at the Days Inn near the SLC airport. One of the other drivers was given the company van and he takes us to and from Prides Terminal and anywhere else we need to go.
Today was day 1 and it was the typical first day of orientation. Started with a trip to the lab for the pee test and then back for a road test. The road test was taken in a brand new Freightliner Cascadia. I had never been inside a brand new, 25 miles, truck before. Gotta love new truck smell :) Even driving it for a short distance I found myself very much impressed by the Cascadia and look forward to getting one some day. I was told I would be getting a Century on Wednesday afternoon. I will leave more on it after I have been given the keys. The other option is a Kenworth K600 but I like the interior space in the Century better and having driven one for Crete, all of my storage bins were purchased with a Century in mind.
So far so good and now the fasting starts for the physical exam in the morning.
Yes it is owned by Jeff England, and no, they are not part of the CREngland Trucking empire. He is the grandson of CR and he and his wife and son are sole owners and operators of Pride. There are a ton of rumours out there about this company and I will only address the facts that I am sure of.
I flew into Salt Lake City on Sunday, 03/23/08, and they reimbursed me for the flight. There are five of us in orientation this week and we all have individual rooms at the Days Inn near the SLC airport. One of the other drivers was given the company van and he takes us to and from Prides Terminal and anywhere else we need to go.
Today was day 1 and it was the typical first day of orientation. Started with a trip to the lab for the pee test and then back for a road test. The road test was taken in a brand new Freightliner Cascadia. I had never been inside a brand new, 25 miles, truck before. Gotta love new truck smell :) Even driving it for a short distance I found myself very much impressed by the Cascadia and look forward to getting one some day. I was told I would be getting a Century on Wednesday afternoon. I will leave more on it after I have been given the keys. The other option is a Kenworth K600 but I like the interior space in the Century better and having driven one for Crete, all of my storage bins were purchased with a Century in mind.
So far so good and now the fasting starts for the physical exam in the morning.
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