Deciding which company to pick

How much freight they have comming in and going out of my area

 

The cleanest, smoothest riding trucks in the industry and trades every 3-4 yrs. I want all the bells and whistles, Cross country runs, the farther you go the less you sit. No Canada and stay out of the NW, no frt unless you work for Watkins-Shepard or someone based there. No NYC or Detroit. The best runs I ever had were, Balt-Sea w/covered wagon and Harrisburg toTexas w/mail.

 

The reality is that what is important to one may not be for another. YOu need to decide what is best for you. For me it is who will keep me moving between home times. When I leave home to go on the road, I want to keep moving and then I want to get home when I want or need to be there.

 

I have not posted here in quite a while. Being retired,I look over this sight quite often,but post very little any more. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that driving a truck is a job,not a vacation. A lot of the important things have been posted here,availability of freight,getting home on time,etc.However keep one important thing in mind,no matter who you go with,you have to prove yourself,which means picking up the freight on time and delivering it on time,and being ready to take that next dispatch.I have driven for a few companies and owned my own truck and had it leased to the old MS Carriers,and believe me they kept me busy,in fact there were times when I told them,hey lets slow things down a little.As a company driver later on I signed on with Swift,a bad mistake,now I realize there are some drivers who are happy at Swift,but in order to be happy ,you have to have a good dispatcher and even more important,a darn good fleet manager.I did not fall into that category,I had a lousy dispatcher,and a mediocer fleet manager. This made for a vary bad experience.I also drove for Roehl,which I found to be a very good company,however no matter how good the company is you will have some disagreements with them on some issues.My point here is driving is a two way street,you gotta do a good job,and the company in turn has to recognize this and reward you with good paying runs. You are not gonna hire on with any of them and tell them where and how your gonna run.Its usually gonna take about six months before they figure you out,and you figure them out.I have talked to many young and older drivers on the road,and it seems that the ones with a good attitude were getting along just fine. Read some of the posts here and this should help you make up your mind. I would reccomend staying away from Swift,from personal experience,but who knows you just might go there and like it. From an old retired driver to you new ones just starting out,good luck,and I hope you pick a comany that you can work with.

 

The most important thing is if the company utilizes your time on the road wisely.

Some companies seem to just want x amount of trucks hanging around in case there are loads booked to pu and will average out truck utilization. While others want to maximize the the utilization of each rig and not just be satisfied with a fleet average.

Nothing raises my blood pressure more then a trucking company telling me their is no freight when they knew for a couple of days where I was delivering. Or where told weeks in advance when I needed to be home.

 

Try to gather as much information as you can about the companies you are considering. There is a lot of valuable information available to you on this and similar web sites. Then after you decide on a company, go there with the attitude that you are prepared to do more than you're fair share. Much depends on your attitude, and much depends on being assigned to a "good" Fleet manager or Dispatcher. They can make you or break you. Never forget who butters your bread.