I need some help with this decision. I am suppose to go to US Xpress for orientation Monday in Colton, Ca. But I am suppose to hear back from the recruiter who does Panther and FedEx Custom Critical. I am suppose to be getting teamed up with a guy who drives for a fleet owner with Panther II. But I don't know much difference in expediting and OTR. Which company should I go with? I know US Xpress is not the best OTR and like I said don't know much about with expediting. Any advice would be helpful.

I really don't know what to say except to do the best thing for you and your family. Good luck on what ever decision you make.

Expediting you sit and wait and wait and wait and then drive like hell to make the pickup and delivery. And then wait and wait and............



This is why they want teams for it so that when a load is dispatched it can be driven straight thru.


All of this is what I was told by other expediters.

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So their really is no difference between the two. I mean OTR you may have a little time to get their but you still have to sit and so does expediting. Well I still don't know what company to go with. Thanks for your advice. Please if anybody else has some more advice love to hear.

Thanks

I could be wrong but most expediters trucks are straight trucks not tractor trailer. I personally think, you have more options when you drive tractor trailer then you do straight truck. You can always step down and drive a straight truck. But if expediting is what you want to do, go for it. You can always call the usexpress recruiter and put him off for a couple of weeks. Hope that help ya .........

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rookietrucker: No, they have tractor trailers for expediting to. Thats what I would be driving. I honestly didn't know that either until I did some researching, and I found a site that is about expediting and I asked the same question on their forum and they said just like what everybody else says. You wait and wait. You get more miles with US Xpress but less money than you get with expediting or something. Decisions, decisions. I know US Xpress is not the best company but I need a job.

You are exactly right Brickman....I worked for a company and drove expediting and you work your butt off and off and off...and they just want you to run fast....pickup and delivery fast....if you ever want hometime I would say....think about your decision before making a choice.....I got tired of never getting home....sometimes I was out for 2 mos before they allowed me to go hometime...good luck either way!

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" I know for fact that the man with the long hair lives...He guides me thru each day and keeps me safe!

Teaming as an expeditor will take its toll on you physically and mentally. The waiting will be frustrating and then you have to be able to drive the truck when its your turn. Running team is tough enough without being under the gun on high priority frieght.

I suggest going to US Xpress. Especially if your a new driver. Get some training under your belt, take your time and be safe. Solo drivers will actually get more quality rest than a team and if that solo is run correctly can actually make more money than half a team.

A solo gets all the miles the truck drives. A team driver gets half pay for all the miles the truck drives. Bottom line is a solo that gets 3000 paid miles in a week at .40 cpm will earn 1200.00 and be able to stop and eat, take bathroom breaks, and shutdown for 10 hour per day for a legit break.

A team that splits .40 cpm will have to run 6000 miles in the week for each driver to make the same amount as the solo but will not be able to shut the truck down for more than an hour or so per day.

Teaming is great if your a couple but if your not then splitting the pay really stinks.

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Adapting to an ever changing world.

I ran for Panther and had no troubles. I teamed with my wife and we made alot of money.

However, if you do have a family and need insurance and whatnot, go with US Xpress. Most fleet owners do not offer health insurance. Also, watch the split they try to give you. I always liked the 40/60 split where they pay for everything and all you do is drive.

Also, watch the 1099! I would rather have done that as an employee, but most don't do it like that.

In OTR, you run your butt off. With expediting, you run, but, yes, you do sit more, however, you make really good money when you're running. Panther always made it worth our while for us. If we did a short run to help them out, they'd reward us with a nice long run. Panther rarely kept us waiting.

As for hometime, good luck. We were never able to get close to home when we needed to be. It seems like wherever you live, you never get there. Yet, every time we were home, we'd see Panther trucks all over the place. OTR will likely get you home, whereas expediting you will likely have to deadhead home from a decent distance away.

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