Truck driving companies

[Vanimal]

:kissyou:

hey! at least buy me dinner first.

 

[Darky]

In his area it's the old folks running to Laugnlin...

You forget all the young dumb Marines. They outnumber old people by quite a bit out here...

 

[Boss Cherokee]

Now this I can comment on. I hauled concrete for 4 years while I went to school at night. Awesome job. Interesting as hell, but not a long term career due to pay. Always something new each day and it is a perishable load so usually the longest you will be from the plant is 3 hours total. Find out why the company needs drivers. The company in FL I worked for never had a problem keeping drivers, but in WV between the three dollar an hour pay cut, loss of benefits and lack of maintenance on their old trucks I could only stand it for a year.

They can be long term depending on the Company and where you are on the seniority list. Senior drivers will get out sooner and more. Other negatives will be seasonal in areas and weather effects the work. They probably need drivers because some of the stagnant construction is showing some growth mainly to dump off properties that may be affected by higher taxes if Obama is elected. If not which is my hope, companies will be trying to get a jump start finishing projects that are on the books and create cash flow or credit for new projects. Either way it's only good till the next clown elected screws it up. If your going dbls trpls Haz Mat and tanker then go for the water truck of the cement company or aggregate company, so you can get experience for a fuel tanker. I drove for Arco for 5 years and wish I had never left! I'd have 4 more years till retirement with 30 years in! Fuel is always needed good or bad economy, groceries are the same. Get into something that is extremely high human consumable and you'll have work for your life. Stay away from your own truck drive for someone else or THEY'll find a way to get more out of you if you are affording the cost of fuel!

 

[Darky]

Cement company wants 1 yr experience. Doesn't look like they're gonna happen.

Put in apps with Earl Henderson and Schneider. Of the big companies, Schneider is about the only one I can find with almost all good things being said and they allow new drivers to apply directly to regional runs. Earl Henderson is small and just opened up to new drivers. They have a run that they need people on that would be perfect for me. CA-->Kingman AZ. I'm going to call Watkins and Shepard and see if I am considered within a reasonable distance from LA since that's the closest terminal they have to me.

Anyone know anything about May? My placement assistant says they have the highest starting pay at 30 cpm. But I've heard mixed reviews of them.

 

[DrMoab]

May limits their trucks to 62 mph which if you were only working in Ca wouldn't be an issue but anywhere else is just plain dangerous.

 

[johnnyc]

I drive commercially for Lowe's, which I'm not necessarily recommending. But Lowe's has a huge regional distribution center out in Perris. And J B Hunt is the trucking company that drops off the trailers at all the Lowe's stores in SoCal. I always thought that would be an alright gig. So check out J B Hunt.

 

[in4aride]

Another opt for PBG or Coke. Good stay at home joba nd decent pay. PBG is usually better than coke for pay and benefits and a cool company to work for. Loved it there.

 

[OverlandZJ]

From what I hear, stay away from Swift.

Tore more doors off in my empty lot than thought possible..

I'v had to have drivers drop their trailer in the middle of the lot and back it in with Jockey truck.. half the drivers cant back a trailer.

Most Werner drivers seemed happy.

 

[Ghost]

Had a friend that use to drive for Schneider, don't know the whole story but they did not do him right. JB Hunt is not one I would trust. Any company you consider talk to current employees and past employees if you can. Our company is mainly a brokerage firm but we also own about 6 - 8 trucks and lease a few too. I have dealt with everything from Refer to flatbed. Refer will move with the products being grown unless you work with a food storage warehouse. If you go OTR you need to remember one thing. The most lucrative trip may not be straight out and straight back. We have the hardest time trying to get our leased drivers to understand that. As for flatbed, IMHO that part carries the highest payed freight I have seen. However on the east coast it is seasonal with the winter slow down up north. Just my .02

 

[DrMoab]

Flatbed pays better if you own your own truck. As a company driver it's not much different. You also work twice as hard and run a much greater risk of getting hurt. Falling off a 14 ft tall load of lumber really hurts.

 

[Darky]

So, I fly out to St Louis for orientation with Earl Henderson tomorrow. The biggest thing I dislike about them is the 9-12 week training time. Basically, I'll just be running teams with an experienced driver. Nobody else has such a long training time. but they are a small company with about 400 trucks, have APUs on every truck and run mostly reefers. Plus, I'll at least be getting paid during training. After training, once I get my own truck, I'll be able to bring it home too.

 

[DrMoab]

Sweet. Good luck.

 

[drifto77]

Good Luck!
Dont think I could drag a reefer.
I dont see how the driver can sleep with as loud as some of them are.
Hate getting stuck between 2 of them on a 10 hr break.
Some of the APU's are pretty loud too.
Guess thats one thing about useless express, they have never said anything to me about my idle time.
My truck is quieter than any APU I have heard.

Miss this one, even though it was an automatic.
Sleeper was the BOMB!!