Driver Lifestyles

Meet Greg Geronsin

For Minneapolis, MN-based expediter Greg Geronsin, the fast freight industry has been another chapter of a driving career that began in college.

"In my second year of college I got a job driving school bus," says Geronsin (now 51).  "After the school year, I needed work so I got a class B license with bus endorsement and found a job driving a dump truck(!)  The first day I was with that trucking and moving company, I spent twelve hours unloading furniture and quickly decided that was too much work." 

He continues, "Unfortunately, I needed the money, so I went back the second day. It wasn't too bad, so I stayed with the company until school resumed.  Between the bus driving job and college classes, I stayed fairly busy.  In the meantime, the trucking company owner talked me into sticking around and getting my Class A license.  I took a year and a half off from school and worked full time."

"I started out driving around 1977 in a 1957 B model Mack two stick, 13-speed - quite a piece of equipment.  I eventually went back to classes, driving bus along with the occasional trucking company work.  I graduated in 1981 with a degree in Industrial Education with a minor in Driver Traffic Safety."   

"I didn't figure on finding a teaching job when I graduated in March, so I found a job with a refrigerated carrier.  I ran team in a single-bunk cab over Freightliner with an old guy who knew everything, so I learned a lot from him.  We hit grocery warehouses and meat processors."

During his early days as a professional driver, Geronsin says that he would also haul timber on a log trailer down from near the Canadian border in northern Minnesota.

"At one point," he says, "my wife got a job offer in Minneapolis, so we headed back there (the couple had been living in the St. Cloud, MN-area).  I stayed home and did the house husband thing for six months and took care of our baby daughter." 

"After awhile," he continues, "I started looking through the want ads and got on with Conway Central Express (CCX). I was with them for a total of 13 years.  Back then, a driver could bid for various routes - city or OTR - so I would switch back and forth every year." 

"Over the road I would pull doubles, in the city I would pull 32' shag trailers or 28' pups. We would cover maybe a 100 mile radius around Minneapolis."

It was around September of 1996 when two Con-Way NOW representatives appeared at his CCX terminal. 

"I'd never heard of Con-Way NOW and I didn't really know anything about expedite except for seeing the Roberts Express straight trucks with the sleepers.  These guys were looking for contact names and numbers of anyone that the CCX drivers thought might be interested in company driver positions with this new startup expedited carrier." 

He says, "I told them that I was interested but they weren't interested in me because I was already a Conway employee and they weren't allowed to recruit me.  By this time, I was tired of CCX and wanted to make a change so I told the recruiters that I would be leaving CCX the coming January." 

"When January came around, I left CCX and signed on with Con-Way NOW as a company driver in a short wheelbase Ford van."

Geronsin says that his background in driving larger trucks served him well:  "If there was a bigger load than the van could haul, the company would rent a straight truck and I would jump in that.   Con-Way NOW would pay for motels, they paid per diem and their rate was 25 cents a mile for the van, 30 cents per mile in the straight truck.  The freight was up and down - sometimes I would be real busy for a week, and then other times I would sit." 

He says that a change in his company's operation was on the way: "I could see the writing on the wall and before long they told us that they had plans to take the company to an all owner-operator fleet.  One of their recruiters told me I should buy a straight truck and get on with the fleet, but I figured if I bought a cargo van and it didn't work out, it would be easier to sell."

Geronsin purchased a new Chevy van and in 1997, he set out on his career as an expedited owner-operator.  His gives the Ann Arbor, MI-based carrier high marks:  "Con-Way NOW was great to deal with, possibly because they were a smaller company.  I liked their Qualcomm system, and their directions to the pickup and delivery were great."

Fast forward to the summer of 2006:  "I was out walking the dog and when I got back in the house, my wife told me that Don Fegtly, Con-Way's VP of Marketing had called and that I was to call him back on his cell phone."

"I don't remember his exact words, but Fegtly explained that the company had been sold to Panther Expedited Services."

Geronsin says that moving to a new carrier has required some adjustment.  "Panther has a different way of doing things, but it has smoothed out in the last few months."

He adds, "I'm home every weekend and I've done it that way since I got in the business.  If I get a load on a Friday that delivers on a Monday and it has good miles attached to it, I'll take it, but I won't sit out over a weekend.  I still have a hard time sitting and waiting and I won't wait over 24 hours for the next load."

"I don't know how those people can sit for days in a van down in Laredo waiting for freight.  It's still cheap enough in a van to pull up stakes and deadhead somewhere else."

Geronsin tells us of the differences in expedite vs. general trucking:  "In expedite, the freight is different.  First, it always has to be on time and so the business is faster-paced -  I like that.  Another nice difference is, the customers are happy to see you - they want what you have on your truck.  It's not like the grocery warehouses when I was driving big truck." 

"If I had my wife to run team with, I would be in a straight truck,  but she has a career of her own (middle-level manager) and she has no interest in driving a truck.  She doesn't even want to drive my pickup.  She rode with me a few times in the big truck, but she would never, ever drive for a living."

Geronsin shares some of his tips for newbies to expedite:

- "Have your debts paid down before you hit the road.  Don't go out on the road with heavy credit card debt.  If you have trouble making payments when you're still at home with a steady job and income, it will be worse in expedite."

- "Put money aside for the slow times because those slow time will come."

- "I wish ExpeditersOnline had been around when I started because it's a great source of information for someone starting out in this business.  If you need answers, it's the place to go."

After accumulating 350,000 miles on his first expedited van, in 2004 Geronsin bought his second Chevy van which now has 180,000 miles on the odometer.

- I do my own oil changes and lubes and I keep the intervals between 5,000 and 7,000 miles," he states.  "To me, oil changes are fairly cheap and I lube the truck every other oil change.  I've got a local mechanic whom I trust and his rates are reasonable.  I try to stay away from dealers unless it's necessary." 

When asked what part of the U.S. he enjoys driving in, he responds:  "I like driving out west, except for the winter months.  There's less traffic, longer stretches of straight road and great scenery."

"For making money, I like hitting Chicago.  I could do that all week, from Minneapolis to Chicago and back.  I always find freight coming out of there."

"I don't like Detroit, I can never find much freight from there.  Its'got bad roads and too much traffic."

Geronsin's favorite stopping place is the same as many other expediters':  "I like to stop at Flying J's because its car parking lots are bigger.  I try to find a quiet corner there and other than the J's shower announcements, it's peaceful.  For a meal, I like to hit mom and pop restaurants."

"I don't carry a TV with me, so I read and carry my laptop with me.  I like having Internet access on the road and I'm going to put more of my business data on there."

So, when does he plan to retire from this industry?

"I'll stay in expedite as long as it's fun."