Page Transportation

613024

{"text":"I'm finally taking a moment to write about my experience at Page. I did orientation in late Oct in NY. It was really only a 1 day deal. They put me up in a hotel, nothing fancy, but clean. Everyone was extremely nice in the office and they move you through fairly quickly. The woman who normally does the orientation was out, so I had a fill in. \n\nI was worned about the shop from someone else, so I wasn't sure what to expect. While the guys were good to deal with, I ended up having to fix a coupe things that I wouldn't otherwise of fixed. Here's where I had to push back on a couple of things. One of the mechanics was insisting that had to install a light for a rear license plate. I have my own IL plate and IL doesn't even offer a second plate, so there's no need for a light back there. Evidently in NY trucks are required to have 2 plates, so there's that. Next I was told I needed to fix the city horn, that DOT required it. And he was wrong, so moving on. Then I was informed I needed 2 brake chambers, they were bad, alright fine, I'm all for safety. Then I needed new air bags. I'll admit the bags were old and should of be replaced, but it wasn't a DOT issue, but I did it anyway. (Truck rides a lot better now) then I was told I needed to replace the seals on both ends of the drive shaft and I said it wasn't a DOT issue, I'll get it done at my local shop. With all that, they're shop rate was $60/hr and I did pay them to hook up a switch to raise the front trailer axle and hook up the trailer air gauge. And I had them install the wet kit, which they did a nice job of. \n\nI come from the tanker world and I can honestly say I've had numerous days where I was asking \"what the hell am I doing\". A like over a month and things are getting easier and smoother. I asked for a spread axle and got one when I left NY. I do have an older double wall East and it's heavier then I thought it would be. So far I can fit between 22.5-23.25 tons. One trick I learned is if I have a flat rate load and I'm anywhere close to needing fuel, buy fuel before I get loaded. These flat rate shippers want to less then 79,000 gross and I got stuck at a 1/4 tank and no room for fuel. Also, I've since bought RV winterizer to spray the inside. Nothing sucks more then having to scrape fines of turnings from a frozen floor. \n\nOn to other stuff. The pay is 80%. If you have a trailer great, if not they'll rent you one. It's $60/day max 5 days, so $300 week max. The rental includes any maintenance. They offer EFS fuel cards and I've been happy with the discounts, but it also depends on where you fuel. I still compare to NASTC and if you fuel at Speedway, NASTC is cheaper. \n\nI run out of the MN affiliate, so they dispatch me and I run a lot of their freight. Since I live outside Chicago I mostly cover the 6-7 Midwest states. I'm not interested in going east of OH. About 70% is scrap of some sort with alloys, coke and some cake mixed in. Lowest rate I've ran was $1.50/ mile, but I got close to $4.00 going down. I typically average $2.40-3.00 mile. I'm going to start keeping better track of all miles vs gross revenue and get an actual true rate per mile. \n\nI know guys are going to ask, do I haul dirty dirt. I am not leased to that side. I talked to NY about that and there's pluses and minus to leasing to Page ETC. (Different authority) I'm considering switching to ETC in the spring, but a lot of the dirty work is on the east coast and jobs are 4 days to 2 weeks. I don't really want to be gone that long, but if the money is there, I may change my mind. Most of the ETC guys run regular loads in between dirt jobs, so it's not like their sitting around waiting for work. \n\nThere are days I miss tanking, I won't lie and I still may go bank to it. But I'm truly giving this a 100% effort in the mean time. As a general rule, one of the hardest things I've had to adjust to is the loading/unloading hours. Wtf! Who works 7/8-2:30/3??? I've never heard of a chemical plant shutting down for the opening of deer season also. But then I talk to my tanker buddies and they're scheduled to pu or deliver at 03:00 and I don't miss that. Most everyone has been really nice, but unlike tankers where a lot of the time you hear \"glad you made it, we were almost out so let's get you started\" I hear \"another pile of ___? Add it to the 60' high pile\". \n\nAlright, I've said enough. Catch you all later.","pics":"[]","canComment":true}