Triple Crown Services Co, - Fort Wayne, In.?

Okay, I have talked to some Triple Crown folks, because they spend a lot of time hanging around in railyards, and I frequently find myself there as well.

They are an intermodal hauler, but they haul their opwn trailers, not container chassis and boxes. Their trailers are almosy all set up where they can have a railroad gear locked into the back of them, and be pulled down the tracks as part of a train. Sometimes you will see a train go by, and it will have 200 or more triple crown trailers being pulled behind the locomotive. When they reach the yard, they are uncoulled from the rail gear and are ready for road use.

Result of this is that they are heavy trailers, and very solidly built. They mostly run out of specific railyards, and you need to be near one of their places to work for them.

As far as I know they are all 0/0, and they seem to have a pretty liberal policy towards the trucks. Not that they run junk, but a good condition older tractor doesn't seem to bother them. Pay is reported as decent, not spectacular, but you can go home just about every night and that usually means less money in the long run.

Definitely a step up from port container work, probably worth looking into if you live in a place near one of their locations.

 

Based on your interest in Triple Crown, and the fact that you are hauling RV's, can I safely assume you are somewhere along the I-80 corridor in Indiana?
If so, here's one that runs steel and other similar commodities along that corridor, running from Northeast Indiana to NW ohio on a daily basis. Sterling Express 101 W Hwy 6, Valporaiso In 800-368-3367.

I've talked to a few of their drives over time, and they seem to be happy with them. They do a lot of work alonmg that route, so if it fits your location, it might be a good way to ensure you can get home from time to time.

 

Triple Crown has been advertising in the Atlanta area with a $3000 sign on bonus. They seem to be mostly intermodal. They don't look too bad, but looking for the scoop. Anyone have any info? I noticed some of their trailers at Nestle the other day, and they don't have a standard pin for the fifth wheel. The trailer appears to have a special hook up extension on the front end with a hole.



Here's their website:
Triple Crown Services Company

 

If I remember correctly, the special hook ups (on the front and rear) are for when it's piggybacked onto the special rail car (for transport).
I have spoken with a few of their drivers, and they all seemed happy with the company and their jobs. A recruiter had told me that running for their local fleet, you will run around 1500-2000 miles per week. If you go into their longerhaul fleet (14 out, 4 home) you can run more like 2200-2500 miles per week.
I was hoping to get hired in with them, but alas, I have one too many tickets for their liking...

 

I think what you saw was the hooking device used when it is on a railroad trailer. There is a standard fifth wheel pin under the trailer.

Triple Crown is a decent company, but they do have their share of issues. Because they are mainly an intermodal operation, they deal in a great deal of "Just-In-Time" freight, serving for the most part, the automotive industry with parts. That presents a problem at the moment, because so many automotive companies are scaling back their operations.

Triple Crown also has trailer maintenance issues, which is a common occurance with those that work from rail yards. The maintenace facilities don't see the equipment often enough.

I looked into them a couple of times, and I just didn't find them attractive, because they didn't pay well, their lease agreements were not defined very well in some areas. I consider them to be a sub-par company.

A quick check of their website tells me that not much has changed. There is nothing at all listed, in terms of details about their compensation package. That's a red flag.

Check them out carefully. What might not appeal to me, might be okay to you. Ask for a blank copy of their lease agreement, and check it over very carefully. A big issue to pay close attention to, would be how they assess and pay fuel surcharges.

That sign on bonus will likely come with strings attached that will not make it worth it, especially if they are deficient in their compensation package.

 

A wise man once told me to be leary of sign on bonuses. Most often I view them as a red flag. It just makes sense that there must be something wrong with a company if they have to "bribe" people to come to work for them. At one time in my career I worked for a company that had an intermodal division. While I never worked in that division, I had some close friends and even a family member who did and they had all sorts of delays due to equipment break downs. As Turbo said, the trailers are 98% of the time in need of maintenance but are seldom run through a shop. I personally wouldn't work for any intermodal company or division, even if they do have nice tractors, which is not all that common.

 

You really believe that? Seems more and more companies are advertising sign ons. In fact PAM is advertising a sign on bonus in one of the local papers here.

 

I thought we had a truce about the whole PAM debate? And yes, I really do believe that. Not only about the whole "bribe" thing but additionally I've found there are often times a catch to the sign on bonus (i.e. you won't get the entire thing for as long as 2 or maybe even 5 years). These catches make the term "sign on bonus" a misnomer and should more aptly be called a longevity bonus.