This week on the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett chats with John Gray and Josh Cochran, Owner Operators at Oakley Trucking. During the episode, Josh and John talk about their experiences fresh out of orientation at Oakley. Topics in the conversation include the importance of doing research before making a move, the recruiting process at Oakley, how orientation sets you up for success, and more.
Key topics in today’s conversation include:
- Oakley Update: Reminders on following rules at customer’s facilities (1:23)
- John and Josh’s journey to Oakley (3:16)
- Finding out about Oakley (5:25)
- Doing the research before making a move to become an owner-operator (8:51)
- The first phone calls with Oakley recruiters (11:08)
- The truck-buying process (14:02)
- Orientation processes at Oakley (20:16)
- Learning to operate the equipment (27:25)
- Advice to those thinking about coming to Oakley (31:59)
Oakley Trucking is a family-owned and operated trucking company headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. For more information, check out our show website: podcast.bruceoakley.com.
Transcription
John Gray 00:12
One thing is really impressive that I found out about orientation. Randolph would show us numbers. And these numbers that Randolph actually showed us were less than some of the numbers that the drivers have sent me. So we didn’t get the top 2%. So it’s not like you’re, you’re, you’re saying, Oh, well, you could do this. And there’s a lot of companies out there like that. They throw it out high, and you end up coming in low. Here. I don’t know that isn’t a lot of respect, because we got to see basic numbers. And those numbers are impressive. We were told how it was gonna be and that’s the way it is. And that’s the way it’s gonna be.
Jeremy Kellett 00:47
Welcome to the Oakley podcast, trucking, business and family. This show is brought to you by Oakley trucking, headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The purpose of this podcast is to communicate with Oakley owner operators and their families by giving them up to date information concerning Oakley trucking and the trucking industry. From business advice to safety updates to success stories. Also to give an insight to outside truck drivers that might be interested in joining the Oakley family. This is Jeremy kellett director of recruiting here at Oakley trucking and I’m your host for this podcast. This is the Oakley podcast about trucking business and family. And today on the episode we’re gonna have episode a day where we’re sitting down with two owner operators that have just leased on to Oakley fresh out orientation hadn’t even hauled a load yet. We called them in here this afternoon after they got through the trader demonstration. And we’re gonna visit with them on the recruiting process and the orientation process. I think it’s gonna be a good little segment here for you guys to tune in help you understand what they just went through, and maybe give you some tips too on what to do and what not to do so, first, before we get started on that let’s do an Oakley update sponsored by Arrow Truck Sales. Arrow Truck Sales has been in business for over 60 years and a longtime partner of Oakley trucking and the Oakley podcast. Dre visor and Keith Wilson do a great job at putting you in the right truck to fit your needs and our needs here at Oakley. They carry all makes and models to choose from with on site financing through transport funding. So whether you’re a seasoned owner operator or a first time buyer, be sure to contact Keith Wilson at Arrow Truck Sales at 573-216-6047. And tell him you heard it on the Oakley podcast. So the Oakley update today is pretty simple. You’ve heard it before, but I’m gonna have to reiterate it because we’ve been getting some customers calling us that the weather’s changed. It’s all beautiful. It’s hot and everything is out there. And we’re getting a few customers calling us that guys are showing up in shorts on the facilities. And it’s just not, it can’t happen. When they’re calling us telling us it’s a problem, then it’s a problem. So I’ll just want to remind you, when you go to shipper or receiver, you gotta abide by the rules. And a lot of them have different rules that you have to figure out what they are, you know, some of them you got to have your PPE on as soon as you step out of the truck, you got to have a hardhat, safety glasses, steel toe boots, in some places. I mean, it’s all different because I understand I’m talking to hoppers and dumps and pneumatics. And there’s always a little bit of difference in what the customers require. But it’s really simple. I mean, we even had one call in and they had their real young son, get out of the truck and go into the scale house and get paperwork doesn’t know you know, you can’t do that. Just thanks. Use common sense. I know you do it every day and it can get relaxed. But just remember, man, it’s all about appearance. It’s about oh please reputation and it’s taking care of these customers that pay us and we pay you so we should abide by the rules at all customer facilities. So appreciate that. Hey, let’s get cranked up here. We’ve got John Gray and Josh Cochran. You go by Josh don’t Yes, sir. Josh Cochran. These guys just, you know, completed orientation today and got them up here. I thought we would get, you know, just a little fresh. Look at what the process was that they went through. And two good guys that I’ve met this week and seem to be doing great. First, I guess. Let’s meet you guys. Let’s let our listeners know who they’re talking to here. First, John’s gonna start with you.
John Gray 04:36
John Gray out of Christiansburg, Virginia, 44 years old this year. Two kids, one little boy, it’s five, nine crew. Addison is 13 really blessed, been married 15 years this year, actually, this month has been together 20 years. So a real stable relationship. They’re a really supportive wife I may add and in this Business, it takes that. And I enjoy a lot of different things. I enjoy fishing and enjoy hunting, and just being at the lake with some buddies. And I enjoy trucking. So that’s pretty much my story. Trucking has been in my life, ever since I was born. And I guess I’m still here at it. Good. So Josh, how about you?
Josh Cochran 05:21
Yes. So I’m Josh. I’m from the Greensboro, North Carolina area. Found Oakley and I’m blessed to be here. One thing about me is prior military service. So I got that background, that rigid background. My dad was prior service. So saying Yes, sir. And no man before I could walk, you know,
Jeremy Kellett 05:41
How long were you in the military?
Josh Cochran 05:42
I was in for six years. Okay. Yeah, no army. Once I got out the army was like, What am I gonna do? So I started working with Old Dominion. I was a company driver, you know, for a while. And now this is my first step into owner operating. So it’s a lot to take on. Been married since October. So the newlywed got two dogs, two German shorthaired pointers, who dragged me up the wall? They are, but they’re my family. And having a good wife like John here is very important and she’s been with me every step of the way. Being a truck driver, and pretty much just working out and staying active. Anything outdoors is something I love to do outside of trucking. So, you know, I see a lot of guys coming up to me asking me, you know, how do you stay in shape and everything and it’s just something that if you want to do it, you can do it? Yeah.
Jeremy Kellett 06:34
Yeah. Yeah. It takes some dedication, I’m sure. Absolutely. So how in the world did you guys hear about Oakley?
John Gray 06:42
Well, I’ve always seen Oakley obviously, I’ve been trucking pretty much all of my life since I was 18. Until I could go out of state when I turned 21. My deal is to have run through here hundreds of times. I’d always seen Oakley trucks. Never didn’t know much about Oakley. I just knew the bulk bulk material. pneumatics dump trailers and Hopper bottoms. And
Jeremy Kellett 07:06
what was your background he had worked out I’ve
John Gray 07:09
pulled flatbed van, you name it. So I’ve never been in the, you know, into the hole in the bulk. Or when I started when I was 18 years old. I had a dump truck and a daycare Peterbilt with a dump trailer. So you know, basically that was just a lot of sand and stone. No fertilizers, no. Scrap, no, you know, none of the other commodities you guys haul and you just
Jeremy Kellett 07:34
came through, you would see us on the road 100% ever talked to any
John Gray 07:38
not never did talk to anybody just you know, passing through you see the trucks a lot. He always got nice trucks at Oakley and always had top notch, always nice trailers. And when you see that type of company, that’s, you know, and I knew Oakley had been around a while. I wasn’t sure the years, but I knew they’d been around a long time. And you know, when you see that kind of equipment at a company on the good days and the bad days, they’re doing a little salt. Yeah.
Jeremy Kellett 08:04
But you, Joe.
Josh Cochran 08:05
So I actually heard about Oakley from a friend who had a friend working here. So being in the LTL industry, it’s always been a goal of mine to own my own rig. In my own company, you know, there’s more out there for us drivers, you know, if we’re willing to put the work in and have our own truck?
Jeremy Kellett 08:30
And is that a lot of bodies dream and a lot of company drivers. It’s
Josh Cochran 08:33
no, it’s not. But I’m of the mindset that if somebody is gonna make it, lucky now make it Yeah. And so some of those guys will just get comfortable, not having to worry about all the ins and outs of owning your own rig. And that’s okay, you know, but they also need drivers. But I’m of the mindset that, you know, I want to set my family up, maybe set up a company, maybe get some more trucks in the fleet, just whatever I can do. For my family, for my legacy or generation, something like that. But I heard about it through, like I said, a friend who knew a friend, and then there was a guy that I had kind of not known, and then got to talk with him. And he really loved it and really enjoyed it. And he expressed the family atmosphere around Oakley, the equipment, the standards. And then once you know that bug got planted, it was doing the research like John talked about doing, you know, your due diligence as far as watching YouTube videos and podcasts like this one, and just talking to more drivers. Since then, I’ve talked to two other drivers that have a similar background that I’ve had coming from the same company, and you know, they just can’t express how good it is just to get out and give the owner operator a chance and how well Oakley helps you adjust to that.
Jeremy Kellett 10:03
Do the research part of it, you know, you got tools now that we didn’t used to have when you research companies and stuff. Absolutely. Now you have tools to do that. I guess that helped you guys, like you mentioned the podcast and anything else. So I mean, when you’re, I mean, when you’re, we can even slow down and go to how you decided to call Oakley at some point, he looked them up. Did you do a lot of research before you called it
John Gray 10:30
It took me three months to call three months of research because I wanted to make sure it was the right move. Right? Obviously, you guys require a newer truck. You know, I’m used to older trucks. I’ve just come from the old school. So I called and talked to Ken after multiple, you know, podcasts, had interacted with some of the drivers on the Facebook page. I’d had some of them message me, you know, I’d ask questions. You know, shoot me straight, you know, just let me know, we’re what to expect where I’m at. A lot of them showed me their pay sheets. Yep. Without asking. So and a lot of them out of the three months worth of research can count on one hand, how many negative comments I found. And those negative comments came from somebody that’s not in the trucking industry. They don’t know anything about Oakley, or they’re just there to just not work. They don’t work here. They don’t make them never have worked here, you know. So I can honestly say that through all of my research, I haven’t found any negative research Nene negative comments period. It was an orientation this week. And it was basically it was almost too good to be true. Story. And that’s the vibe. I got my father in law actually. He’s like, you know, I was telling him about it, you know, cuz, you know, they were kind of I mean, it’s trucking. I mean, you got good days, and you got bad days. Yeah. And, you know, he’s like, you know, I mean, I just hope things go good, you know, and I’m like, Listen, I’m like, I started telling. He said, What, it sounds too good to be true. And I’m like, You’re right. It does. I said, but I’m going with it because I feel good about it. Yeah. So, yeah. And then I called Kent.
Jeremy Kellett 12:20
Alright, who’s your recruiter? Just
Josh Cochran 12:22
Is Dustin equal? Okay.
Jeremy Kellett 12:23
So you guys, you make the call. You do some research? How did that conversation go? Man, I know you had multiple. Right? Right phone calls with them. But how did that go?
Josh Cochran 12:35
First conversation. Because I was waiting on Dustin to call because I had already told my buddy that had, you know, kind of put the bug in my ears. Like, I want to call, I want to call and he’s like, Well, there’s a process here, you know, because, you know, they get a printing business. Yeah, right. Right, a recruiting bonus. So he wanted me to wait for that call. And I was just so eager that I was like, I’m gonna call, I’m gonna call in as soon as I called as well just about to cut you know, so. And then talking to you guys. All of you guys, not just my recruiter, but it’s, you know, the same with all you is, you’re so easy to talk to. I think you kind of mentioned this earlier if it’s about lets, you know, under shoot and over deliver. So I mean, you guys shoot it straight. And then like John said, people aren’t afraid to show you like, look, this is what you can do. If you want to get out here and work and you learn. You do everything the right way. Be safe about it. And this is what you guys can have. And so having those conversations with other people and then talking to the recruiter, it’s like these guys aren’t like salesmen. They’re not trying to say, hey, come buy this new flashy thing. You know, this is trucking, but you know, we guys, we take care of you, as long as you know, you guys are those people that, you know, we like here at Oakley, which is, you know, clean cut, you’re willing to do the things like you said, for customers, making sure you’re presentable. And those things and so those that also, you know, like he said, it gives you that like too good to be true, oriented place and it helps you know that these guys are doing things by the book the right way. And you know, if you got companies that are taking care of the little things and the big things that you actually kind of do worried about you don’t
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Jeremy Kellett 15:13
You guys stepped off here and this is your first truck right?
John Gray 15:16
This is not my for not your first trip. Right.
Jeremy Kellett 15:18
But you bought a truck. This is your first trip. This is my first right. Yes, sir. Is this your first time becoming an owner operator? So yes, sir. That’s no, it’s nervous. It is nerve wracking? Yes, sir, buying a truck. So a lot of people worry about the buying the truck process. And that you’re gonna have to have some patience to get that done, sir. You know, to do that. How did that process go? And were we involved in any of that? Any way? And how’d that go?
John Gray 15:43
I mean, on my end, I can’t speak for him because everybody’s situation is different. But I will say this. I mean, I’ve owned quite a few trucks over the years. Since I started at 21. And I’m used to older trucks. I’m not gonna lie spending six figures on a newer truck to come to a company that you just learned about. It’s nerve racking. I mean, like your hands sweat. Yep. But after colony and talking to Kent, and getting all the information I needed, I can honestly say, super thankful for him. Because when I showed up here, there’s not one piece of information that he didn’t tell me I needed that I didn’t have. That makes the recruiting process on his end. And me showing up to a company that I’ve never met before. Super easy. There was never and I thanked him multiple times because I had, I’m just going to everybody’s situation so I didn’t have a hiccup. As I rolled in, I knew what to expect when I got here. I had all my stuff together. There was not a you got to do this. You got to do this, it doesn’t work. You gotta fix this. Everything went smoothly. And as long as you’ve listened to your recruiter, you will never have a problem. And so
Jeremy Kellett 17:00
we wrote into that recruiting process. So what kind of truck did you buy?
John Gray 17:05
I bought a 2022 Freightliner 122 SD nice, which good Josh and
Josh Cochran 17:11
I got a 2020 Peterbilt 567 Nice, sir.
Jeremy Kellett 17:16
Okay, good trucks, any specifics with it to do this job that you needed? I mean,
John Gray 17:24
Personally, I was looking for a heavier bass truck. I know. They like to keep it light at Oakley. But I wanted something with a bigger motor with the DD 16, the 600 horsepower motor. I wanted something to be able to do what I wanted to do. And to do the job efficiently. And believe me, I looked at a lot of trucks. There’s a difference in how long it takes by truck. It took me a month of looking and now listen, anybody in the trucking industry knows right now. The trucks once they’re posted. They don’t last long there guys. And there was a truck just like mine in Kansas City, that I stayed posted that night. And I got up the next day. And I was like, yeah, it’s about lunchtime. By the time I decided I wanted to call. And I called and it was gone. Yeah. So and that just shows people if you’re interested in coming here, and you find something you got to jump on, because they’re not going to last saying well you do
Josh Cochran 18:27
similar situation. I’m talking to some of the guys that have worked here that do work here. And talking to the recruiter about, you know, certain specs that you guys require, you know, five years or newer, you know, making sure that it’s in tip top shape, and there’s, you know, things that you have to have, depending on what division that you do. So you have to make sure your truck is capable of handling all those things. Found a truck. Probably after six weeks of looking down on the right one talking to different salesmen tell them okay, this is the exact specs that I want on a truck on a Friday evening. Salesman got a listing of a truck, no pictures, nothing just to listen. On Saturday, I was driving down and getting to see the service people to let me come look at the truck. And then on Monday, at eight o’clock. I had to truck in my name before 10 o’clock. So I mean, it was the next closest one I think was San Antonio. So I actually found one close to home in Hickory, North Carolina, close to Greensboro. And like he said, The only reason I mean there wasn’t a pitch or anything. So luckily I didn’t nobody else had even come because there was one truck that I wanted to go look at and the guy was test driving it and he said he’ll call me back when he gets done. And he said sorry, the guy wrote a check for it.
John Gray 19:49
Guys a truck. It’s a quick process, you know? I mean, like I told you guys, I always had Peterbilt or Kenworth, and that’s a that’s a that’s a thing. Yeah. And, you know, it’s kind of hurt my pride because all my buddies know, you know, they know what drove them, they know what a ball is so they’re gonna give you a hard time. So I had a hard time because of the Freightliner but you know but to me it’s a piece of equipment and it makes money. So why would I want to spend 50 to 80 $200,000 more on a deal to look good, which I still think I look great. I mean, I know Dr. Jones, but you know you do the same job. Yeah. And I had to find something that made me comfortable. And coming into a new company spending 260 would not have made me comfortable, right? Yes, a couple years from now, things are going the way I anticipate and I might make a change, right? But you know, to get going. And I encourage anybody you know, don’t overdo yourself, you know, coming into any company, but I can promise you this. I really stressed the point. it stressed me out as guests spending that kind of money. But then once I realized what type of operation this is, what type of people I’m dealing with here, and how nice everybody’s been, and the money and the commodities you guys all I personally don’t worry about it. I know. I know. As long as I stay in that truck, I work that truck, it’ll pay for itself.
Jeremy Kellett 21:27
So kind of leaning towards the head a little bit. Let’s talk about that orientation process. So you go through the recruiter, you do your research first and tell the recruiter you get pre approved here to come to Santa. He’s coming to work here. You buy the truck all at the same time probably going over things going on at some stressful Congress. That was
Josh Cochran 21:49
yeah, that was that was. I mean, to me, that was the most stressful part. Coming here. You guys orientation, the way everything runs. Mr. Randolph. Shout out to Mr. Randall Absolutely. Like the way in which the culture has been built around here, especially in this office. I think you guys have done a great job of running a tight ship. And just being down to earth people that we could talk to if we have a problem or hiccup. I mean, not mine wasn’t as smooth as John’s as far as some of the things. But that wasn’t nothing that you know, you guys didn’t tackle in through 15 minutes with Miss windy or, you know, JP, or Dustin or anybody else that you know, helped along the way they just knew what to do. I mean, they’re just on top of it. They’re professionals. Absolutely.
Jeremy Kellett 22:37
So you know, you come in on Sunday night at the hotel, and then you drive over here. It’s not very far from the hotel you get over here and Farsight Monday morning. And Randolph meets you out there and shops for Miss Teresa. Yes, sir. Sir. That’s the first thing you do is pick out your decal color, sir, sir. And we started looking at trucks and making sure everything’s good on the trail. Level
John Gray 23:01
one dog. I got that. And then you can pick his decals out. Yeah.
Jeremy Kellett 23:05
Right. Yes, sir. So you know, you kind of have that. And then you get over here. You make Randolph and then you get brought over to the office. And yes, sir. And you get ready to do a drug test physical that morning, eat and then that afternoon is basically Randolph preaching Nigeria.
John Gray 23:22
Pretty much here are cracking jokes,
Jeremy Kellett 23:24
laying down, laying down, laying down the law for the week, here’s what we’re gonna do.
John Gray 23:29
All that to me, that was great, because I still even know that I’ve done my research, you don’t know what to expect. So, you know, Kent told me, he said, When you come in, there’s gonna be some bass. He said, you pull up to one of those basses, he said, and they’ll get you through the shop. And I’m like, blanking, okay, so I pull up to that Bay, to talk to miss Teresa. You know, she told me everything I needed to do. They got the trucks in, got the trucks out, you picked out your letters. Randolph shows up, you know, he talks, everybody takes you over to the orientation room. And it’s really honestly, I can say he made it a breeze. Everybody hears that? And you’ll speak to a lot of people here. A lot of great people with a lot of great information. All you gotta do is listen.
Jeremy Kellett 24:14
That’s the hard part. Yeah. So so much information
John Gray 24:17
It’s a lot. And he’ll tell you, I mean, it’s a lot of information to go through. And we’ve been here a week now.
Josh Cochran 24:23
Yeah, and we’ll steal from here on out and absorb the same information again. Sure. And we’ll soak it up a little bit more. But it’s nothing that you guys hadn’t prepared us for, and that we’re not prepared for when we leave, we gotta open lines of communication. We got all the notes that you guys gave us that we’re going to keep with us. So I don’t. It’s nothing that we can’t reach back and have a Rolodex of numbers or information. You know, to look back on I would
John Gray 24:47
suggest maybe bringing a two wheeled dolly. Gonna be about 50 pounds overweight out here with all the pipe. But really, in all honesty, like he’s saying, I can leave out of here today. Even though you know, you know, we have somebody that we’re going to kind of follow around and learn the Oakley way. And I can leave out of here today, honestly. And there’s no reason that any owner operator coming here can’t look at a paper, pick up a telephone, or any of the above if it’s been talked about, we have a paper on it. And I don’t know too many people that do that. Oh, yeah. To this extent.
Jeremy Kellett 25:27
That’s what that handbook says. Sure. You know, we got all your papers in it. People handout handbooks. Yeah.
John Gray 25:32
I’ve never seen a handbook like that handbook like this is what helps is what’s going to help you succeed in the long run. But if you’re busy, or it’s after hours or late, and even though you say, you know, call me and I know you answer, it’s in that handbook, and I can revert back to that handbook. And I can see, or I can say, Okay, I need to stop this while I need to do this is the process that goes through and it’s just simple. It’s just a simple process. Yeah.
Jeremy Kellett 26:02
What about the other guys in orientation? So there’s a total of 80 you guys in there? Yes, sir. It was like this. And y’all didn’t know each other before you got here? No, no, sir. Just met Monday. And here it is. Thursday. I pulled in the
John Gray 26:13
hotel, and he’s sitting there. Oh, yeah. I think we’re about five hours early. Because they won’t let us check in until you know, it’s all him Uber out somewhere. And I’m like, Oh, shoot. I left the house and I had my shovel and broom sitting at the house and I forgot to put it in the truck. So I ran over to pick up men and went to Cracker Barrel. got somebody. And the next morning on here, we’re here, you know, yeah. And like I said, he was there when I got there. And we were definitely early. So I started to
Jeremy Kellett 26:40
Yeah, and you know, I spoke to you guys, actually this morning and talked during the week, but great group gas. Oh, everybody in there. I mean, we had a great time. Great group of guys. That’s to me that helps us make friends while you’re there. Extremely easy. Yep. Because you don’t know, you just want to be able to get along because you’re all doing the same thing all week long. So it really helps to be able to do we made
John Gray 27:09
It is worthwhile. It was definitely entertaining, especially with Randolph, you know, Joe swapping phone numbers. Yet we did. You know, some of us got other phone numbers. And I guess we all did during the whole process sometimes.
Jeremy Kellett 27:22
That’s good to stay in touch with.
Josh Cochran 27:23
Yeah, we have. We had a few different personalities that definitely helped. Mesh real well.
John Gray 27:29
Sure. Yeah. That’s part of that life.
Jeremy Kellett 27:34
Oakley Trucking is a 100% Owner Operator company. We specialize in Hopper bottom in dump and pneumatic drivers. We provide the trailer free of charge and you provide the truck. We have a large customer base that reaches the whole United States as well as parts of Canada. Our owner operators live anywhere from Texas to North Carolina to Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and everywhere in between and we get them home weekends. We take it seriously when you join Oakley trucking because we need you to be successful. Oakley offers great benefits and a competitive knowledge base. So you know that when your wheels are turning, you’re generating money, no matter if you’re loaded or empty. We understand that you want to make a good living and that you make our living. We only take on independent contractors and to be honest with you, we are very particular on who we lease on. You must have a good driving record, good work history, and a clean, dependable truck. So if you’re interested in Oakley trucking or just want some more information, you can go to Oakley trucking.com. Listen to our weekly podcast, the Oakley podcast and subscribe to our YouTube channel. So what do you think about it? I guess today, you know, is one of the most important days because today you’ve been outside all day. And somebody that’s y’all you pulled up for a little while you get rev Dunning drabble KB Josh? No, sir. So, you know, this is where operating the equipment comes in. Big day today, how’d it go?
John Gray 28:58
I personally think it went great. And especially for someone that’s never been in the business. That’s never done. I can promise you one thing you will not leave here, will you? And not know
Josh Cochran 29:10
how? No, not at all. And I mean, we go over it several times. Or we watched videos on the same thing we did today. It’s different when you get out there and you get to put your hands on because I know I do. I think John you as well learn a whole lot better when you actually get to move the leverage yourself. Yeah, because both your opponent right we both do in dancing and ran off make sure that we know everything that we’re supposed to be doing the Oakley way on all this equipment in regardless of you know what other people have with the way they do things. You guys by the book, like I said, there’s information to fall back on, you know, in case somehow you get out there and you’re like, Okay, this is new and I’m by myself what do I do? It’s their phone call away.
Jeremy Kellett 29:56
Gotta get your attention. Right and I tried to absolutely for
John Gray 29:59
40 This looks short to a lot of people on the ground. But I told him I said when it stands up 40 feet looks along the way. That and it does. Yeah.
Jeremy Kellett 30:09
Yeah, that’s the part that gets your attention. Just pay attention.
John Gray 30:12
And if it does if it doesn’t get your attention and something’s wrong, yeah, yeah. Yep. Because it’s definitely
Jeremy Kellett 30:19
a loaded somebody’s D loaded with
John Gray 30:21
loaded. Larry got loaded I think earlier this morning, okay. And we went over the process again, the gauges and I actually zeroed him out and got him tuned in with my little trusty screwdriver. So we got him. He’s the only one but we got him set up and waiting. And got, he got the laptop on site and got him loaded up. And, you know, Larry, he’s a great guy.
Jeremy Kellett 30:47
Can you explain that a little bit to people that are listening that don’t have a clue what would you just say at about zero and he meant so
John Gray 30:53
Basically here at Oakley, when you, if you come in as an endo, whether you have a wetland kit or not, I would suggest using their wetland kit. Basically, they put the wetland kit on the truck for you. They use the right way gauge to come in a nice box. And the trailer also has a gauge. So when Larry, we loaded Larry with the front end loader, and we got him pretty close to what the gauges were. So then we took Larry over to the scales, and scaled his truck. And then we scaled the you know, the tandems and the trailer. And then by the time you put all the numbers together, then we knew exactly where he needed to be. Because those scales obviously the trailer was dead on because somebody had probably pulled it and already zeroed the trailer. But they have little screws on and you can use this little screwdriver they gave you and whenever so you need 34 on your rear tandems on your trailer and you need 34 on your truck. The scale on the truck that they install here is reading your truck pressure and the scale on the trailers reading the trailer. So once we loaded him on the front and back, then we figured out once we weighed him on the scale that he was about 2000 pounds lighter on his drafts. So when you go back, you add another 2000 pounds. Putting back on the scale, make sure it’s right. And you’ll adjust that. And once you adjust that to everything’s within 500 pound increments. So once you adjust it to the 34,000 and the trailer at 34,000, then basically the next time he goes when he goes and loads whenever Larry goes loads, you’ll know exactly where he’s at, you know, they’ll gauge if he’s in the field, if he’s in a place that doesn’t have a scale, which sometimes happens. He will already know. Yeah, he’ll be really close. Yep. And so
Jeremy Kellett 32:35
you guys gonna have to do that. We’ll have to do it whenever we log whenever he gets you. Yeah, that’ll take a little bit to get right. But yeah, like
John Gray 32:44
I said, Good explanation. Most companies just throw you out there, whether you’ve done it or not. And just because somebody’s done, it doesn’t mean you remember everything about it. And you will learn, you will learn every day. In this job, you’ll learn how Oakley likes things, you’ll learn how the customers like things. And to have those handed to you pretty much here is definitely a great option.
Jeremy Kellett 33:09
Any advice, you would give somebody that’s over there, dragnet Old Dominion or he’s a company driver or somebody that’s another company pulling a flatbed, about changing jobs at hesitant to everybody’s hesitant to change? Yeah,
Josh Cochran 33:27
the one thing that I would say is, make sure it’s something that that you know, it’s going to be, it’s going to be a little bit more work, it’s going to be I wouldn’t say it’s more stressful, because in any job you get out there. I mean, you could be doing anything. There could be people out here working for companies doing similar stuff, and you’re going to find some distress or same stresses here. But it’s a great opportunity to set yourself up in your family for a better future. And the company heard that you guys have almost 1000 drivers. I mean, you guys were 800 and there were so many drivers. So there’s a reason that Oakley is still around, and Oakley is still growing. And that you guys take such good care of your trailers or equipment and the people and the culture that you have. So if it’s something that you’re, you know, hesitant or reserved, reserved about doing, call a recruiter. You’re the head of recruiting called Jeremy kellett, yeah, you know, talk to him. He always says you can’t Dustin or Cory and, you know, just talk to him. If you’re hesitant about it. Ask people that are here as people that are around, watch the videos, watch the podcast. You know, just listen to other own operators and then from there, you know, you can make your best judgment but I mean, don’t be afraid to reach out and to ask and you know At worst, you don’t come to Oakley but at best you come to Oakley and you get to meet everybody here and you get to be part of the family.
John Gray 34:59
Yeah, you If anybody listening has a question from somebody that just went through the process. And, you know, Jeremy No, I mean, we literally just went through the process. Yeah, we haven’t even loaded the wagon. You know, we rolled the rag a couple times, we haven’t loaded the wagon. And, you know, I’ll be more than happy to answer questions. And Jeremy is free to give my number out to anybody that does have a question. And I’m gonna shoot you straight, can’t shoot me, he shot me straight when I started, actually, when I came in, and some of the pay is that one thing that’s really impressive, that I found out in orientation, you know, because Randolph, a great guy. But you know, the numbers, you know, Randolph would show us numbers, and different drivers numbers. And these numbers that Randolph actually showed us were less than some of the numbers that the drivers have sent me. So it’s not like, you’re saying, Oh, well, you could do this. Or you could do that. This is where you’re going to do it. And then you get here and you’re like, I didn’t make that much and what’s happening? It’s not. And there’s a lot of companies out there like that. Yeah, they throw it out. Ha, and you end up coming in low. Here. It’s that it’s, I don’t know, that isn’t a lot of my respect, rivals, we weren’t thrown numbers, and we were told one thing, and it was gonna be something else. We were told how it was gonna be. And that’s the way it is. And that’s the way it’s gonna be.
Josh Cochran 36:18
We didn’t get the top 2% Sure, we got Yeah,
John Gray 36:21
we got guys that got the straight shot. I mean, we got to flip through multiple different drivers. And I mean, you know, whether they’re still here or not here, regardless, I mean, we got to see basic numbers. And those numbers are impressive. And those numbers were, you know, along the lines of numbers I had seen before coming here, but there were some that were lower, there were some that were higher, there were some different trailers that you can pull here that were a lot higher than what I anticipated. So I mean, it’s a big change, to make go come from one job to another. And like I said, it can be strenuous. But I can promise you one thing. You guys make it as easy and as smooth as possible.
Jeremy Kellett 37:03
And so here’s what we’re gonna do is, this is something I actually gave my wife this idea. Yesterday, we were talking about the podcast and stuff. So I want you guys back here in six months. 100%. Okay. And I want you all to come back in six months. And let’s talk about that. And then maybe come back in a year, maybe two years. And we’ll just make it a regular deal to where you share your experiences out there. What’s going on? And because you’re eating hauled a load yet. All right, Brian, you’re ready to
John Gray 37:37
when we were ready. Couple days. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, and then I
Jeremy Kellett 37:42
I think it’ll be a great storyline to keep up with you guys, I think, six months from now. And let’s see how John and Josh are doing.
John Gray 37:50
I appreciate you having us. Oh, yeah. I mean, you show up to a new place. And like I said, I’ve watched, I know, watched over 100 of these podcasts, a lot of the earlier ones. But I think you’re onto something. I mean, when it comes to the storytelling, basically, you know, it gets, I guess everybody watching, you can see. And you get to see those guys that started. And I’m kind of glad to be a part of that, right? Because you can see where I started, and he started, and things have progressed, and I’m gonna shoot you straight, you know, just like you shot me. I mean, I’m not here to, you know, we weren’t paid to be here.
Josh Cochran 38:29
So, that’s why we made a buck yet. And if
John Gray 38:31
you’re not following, and you know, if you’re not following us on the social media platforms definitely do. Because it’s very informative. From tires to doT officers. I think you are done. There’s a lot of information and a lot of useful information.
Jeremy Kellett 38:47
Yeah, yeah. A lot of that information is old but still useful. Oh, it’s been 100 days since a long time ago. Right. We’ve been doing them for three years now. And there’s still some good stuff. Yeah, things changed.
John Gray 38:56
But it’s still I mean, there’s a lot of information that if you don’t know, you will know. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeremy Kellett 39:03
All right, guys, man, I appreciate y’all doing this. Thanks for having me. It’s really gonna be some good information to put out there. And, you know, I appreciate you being authentic. I mean, that’s what it is. Sir, it is what it is. You can tell that right off the bat.
John Gray 39:17
I didn’t know and shouted out to Ken again. You gotta quit. I can’t
Jeremy Kellett 39:21
even get through the door right now. He paid me. Okay.
John Gray 39:26
No, really, honestly. And I’ve, you know, shot Clinton and talked to him multiple times. If it wasn’t for him. I don’t feel like I would have been as prepared as I was. Yeah. And I know you’ve made comments about him being a senior recruit, and he’s kind of got some age on it. But if we can just get him to work on time. I’d been playing for 30 minutes, 30 minutes late every day, but that’s okay. He just makes his own schedule because he is asleep. Thank you guys. I appreciate you. Anybody interested? Like I said, definitely give them a call. Take a chance.
Jeremy Kellett 40:04
Of course. Yeah. All right. Thanks, everybody for listening to the LP podcast, man, we really appreciate it. We try to bring good stuff every week we possibly can. So be sure and check us out, like John said on all social media platforms. Be sure to like, subscribe, comment, and share it with you, friend. We appreciate you and we’ll talk to you next week. Thanks for listening to this episode with Oakley podcast, trucking, business and family. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate or review the show in the podcast platform of your choice and share it with a friend. We love hearing from our audience. So if you’ve got a question, comment or just want to say hello, head over to our website, the Oakley podcast.com and click the leave a comment but we’ll get you a response soon and may even share some of the best ones here on the show. We’ll be back with a fresh episode very soon. Thanks for listening.