Question:
I have read that their cars are junk, and they don't make repairs is this true?
And how are they to work for?
Chuck

Answer:

I was a company driver for U.S. Xpress up until January 2000 when I got tired of their Freightliner Century Class tractors and the condition they were kept in. They used to do good upkeep on their cars in the late 1990s, but like many companies, had to cut back on their maintenance budget when fuel prices skyrocketed in 2000.
From what I last heard, they were doing PMs on them at 60,000-mile intervals with non-synthetic oil! (someone please correct me if this isn't the case). That's entirely too long for any car to go without having the undercarriage inspected and a grease job.
I do remember them repairing stuff whenever we notified them of problems, whether it be on the road or in their shop, but their own shops were often backlogged. Their cars are, on average, in pretty lousy condition due to the fact that too many drivers nowadays simply don't care, and/or have no clue as to what to check during a pre-trip inspection (if they ever even do any kind of inspection on their cars at all) .
As far as a company to drive for, I wouldn't recommend them. In recent years, their night & weekend dispatch operations in Chattanooga have proven they can screw up damn near anything. They are nowhere near the same company they used to be in the mid to late 1990s.

Answer:

Capt. Chaos,
Thanks for the info they have offered me Colton regional CA,OR,WA,NV & AZ at .37 a mile and home every 10 to 12 day that's better then the others have offered me.
But i don't want to drive a POS either.

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Sounds like a pretty decent deal, as they have a lot of freight that runs in the I-5 corridor.


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If you look over a car that's offered to you and find that it's in good shape, then do your best to keep a close eye on its condition. If you live near the Colton yard, you can leave the car there to get maintenance and repairs done while you're at home.

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i run local 4 them in jersey i forget the service intervals, but it's within 5,000 of what frieghtliner, volvo, or peterbuilt say for warranty. they are up tight about there warrenties. the overal shape of the car is up too how the last driver/drivers kept it. if you get the chance to do a recovery do it if you like that car better then its yours. i have a 2002 century im a b*stard about the shape of my car so its in excelent shape, but there is glue residue on the plastics, shelfs missing, and a few holes in the walls and dash. nothin you can do about that.
they will fix anything you write up at the shop, and as far as stupid sh*t i had a few of my gauges replaced lights blown out and even had them aprove me too get me floor lights fixed frieghtliner had to put in a new switch and rewire them, and all this on the road. so i never had a prob with the service just go through the car when you get it. if its a p.o.s. then write enough up to make sure its in the shop for two or three days and you'll get a different car

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Thanks guys,
I live in Sacramento so i think it would work out real well for me.
I have been doing a search here and there on the net and thats where i saw the referance to POS cars.
It's either this or england (I have been off otr for a while) i like the pay at USX a lot better.
So i go to colton sunday for oreintation on monday for USX.

Answer:

I would like to say that I worked for both C.R. England and U.S. Xpress. Of the two companies I would say USX is the better by far. I had to quit in October of 2001 for health reasons. Prior to that time I found USX to take excellent care of their cars. Let us not forget that it is the driver's responsibility to see that his tractor and trailer are inspected and repaired if necessary. I don't believe the company is going to come to the driver to say let me check your car for you. I found USX always willing to repair anything that was necessary in order to make your pickup or delivery while on the road. Any other repairs were made when you requested a load to one of the terminals. While I drove for them they kept their cars in excellent shape. But then I always inspected my tractor and any trailer I picked up and requested the necessary repairs. I have been trying to remember the name of a regional driver I know that runs the west coast for USX. If I can remember his handle, I will forward it to you.
Just remember no job is perfect. But after working for C.R. England, USX was heaven (that's not to say they didn't have their problems).
I wish you all the best and hope you go with USX.

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Ditto. Excellent maintenance, as far as I'm concerned. They never fail to get anything repaired that I report. They're sticklers on PMs.
I'm in my third car in a year and a half, but not for the reasons you might think. First car, the satcomm went out on it, and it had to be taken to a terminal to get fixed. I run a northeast dedicated, so I never GO to USX terminals. So, they moved me into another car (at my approval) in a recovery situation. I went to a FTLR dealer in NJ and picked it up. But it was a Columbia, and after I drove it for awhile I discovered that the seats didn't agree with my fat azz. So, they let me pick out another (car, not azz). This time, I got back into a Century, which I love, and have been happily tooling along ever since.
Yes, slobs mess up nice cars - what can ya do? Just pick a ride you like and drive it down the road. And, if you're assigned one at a terminal that's not up to snuff, let 'em know - they'll either take care of it or let you choose another. They want you to be happy. It's not difficult. After you're with the company for a while, you'll be assigned a brand new car anyway. And, if you become a trainer or a team driver, you'll get a new one right away.
IMHO, you won't find a better company for driver support than USX. Yes, night and weekend dispatch is slow sometimes, but they cover twice the number of drivers day shift does. A lot of companies are setup like that and they have the same gripes. My day FM keeps me assigned ahead of time, though, so I rarely have to deal with night and wknd help.
Good luck to you.

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FT has a good point!
When I started at USX in '97 I picked out the oldest car they had available on the yard, since it would be traded soon. Just a few months later, I was assigned a brand-new FL Century and got to keep that car for almost two years. I had to give up that car when I took two weeks off at Christmas one year. The car they assigned me to at the Houston yard was a real POS, and I lasted about three weeks in it before I got to the OKC yard, rented a car, and went home.
About a week later, I was headed back there for Owner-Operator orientation with a '95 International 9600 cabover that I bought from Wal-Mart's fleet.
If you can, put yourself in position to get a brand-new car, and do your part to take care of it by making sure you report everything that you detect wrong with it.
I know USX cut back on their maintenance in 1999, but hopefully by now the Management has taken notice and got their fleet in better shape. I remember seeing Gawd knows how many USX company cars that were broke down nearly everywhere I went for awhile. Haven't seen as many of them in that situation lately.

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I have no direct experience with U.S. But I know two drivers who work for them, and they sound pretty good to me. In fact -- U.S is my "bail-out" company if I have to leave Werner quickly. I'm pre-qualified and ready to roll with them at the drop of a hat.
The thing is -- they're going to have some characteristics that are worse than comparable carriers, and some that are better, like everyone else. Add them all up and shake them out ---- U.S looks pretty good. In fact, it looks like I "could" make just a little more money with them than Werner, but might not enjoy the liberal days-off policy I've worked out with my division (and other things) that keep me tethered to Werner for now. Their cpm is impressive, but they only average "8,500 miles per month" (recruiting) and do a lot of short-haul and railhead runs.....
U.S is sure advertising their new pay packages heavily on XM Radio -- mostly on the FOX news channel station. Clever conmpany -- trolling for experienced drivers from those who've made a long-term investment in an XM radio and listen to FOX. Any carrier that can target the drivers they want that precisely is probably relatively intelligent in other areas too....

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.92 cents for O/O now.
PK