I am a wife of a new driver. First a little info on him. He has just graduated United Truck Driving School and he will be starting orientation for Covenant tommorow. He is going to drive teams with his best friend who also will be starting OR tommorow. They are both in their early 40s and have worked in the same factory for the last 20 years. This is something they have wanted to do for a long time but a good job at a good company was hard to leave before.(No longer a good company to work for shipping all there work to china.) So they decided to go ahead and make the big step. They graduated top in their classes both with 95s
Were offered every job they applied for, Werner,CRST, Averritt, SRT, Old Dominion, and Covenant. They had issues with every company something different all the time. Averitt wanted to split them up or they would have went with them.OD had a no rider policy. Covenant was the closest to our home and we have read all the bad stuff about them but we also know it is how your attidude is going to work. You make it what you can. My question is really for TT I have read all your posts and know your close to Chattanooga and was just wondering you opinion on this.
He knows that for the first year he will have to suck **** and we are ready for that financially. This has been a well thought out desicion. What I would like to know is peoples good or bad about Covenant.
Thanks in advance.

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God does always answers prayers, you just may not like the answer!

I don't have any specific experience with Covenant, but here are some general thoughts concerning the big van companies that take on new drivers. These are my opinions, and others on here may not agree, but that's okay.

When you first start out in this business you immediately run into the big issue that greets all incoming drivers. You start out at the bottom of the pile. No one really knows you or your potential, just the fact that you have completed the minimum training required to be licensed to drive. So the companies that hire these new drivers tend to be companies that are big enough to take the risk of new drivers, and usually that means it's the bigger, low cost, dry van hauling companies. These outfits do a lot of hauling and have a lot of seats to fill. They also haul cheaply and try to make it up in volume. They tend to dispatch kind of erratically, not as well planned out as they should be to make best use of the drivers time, and the vehicle.

But, with all their flaws, they are one of the primary ways to get into the business. You can make 35-40k the first year, which may or not be a good wage, depending on what you made before. They will run you far and wide, and not get you home as much as you want to be home. But if you can stick it out with them for a year or two, then you have a record to fall back on. The better companies to work for almost always require 2 years of experience.

The key to doing this is to be professional, accept the fact that as a new driver things aren't going to be all roses and poseys, and learn to grit your teeth and accept it as part of the cost of getting to something better. It does get better with time.

I'm a military retiree, and come from a culture that learned over the years that you need to pay attention to the family at home if you want to sailor out on the ship to be happy. Trucking companies that recruit and send people out on long hauls could learn from the military in this regard. A healthy percentage of the problems new truckers face comes from the family issues back in the driveway. Wives at home need to be able to handle things at home while hubby is out on the road, and need to know how to gracefully allow hubby to assume his rols when he gets home. It's a bit of a balancing act, but it's needed to ensure peace through the stressful times. And make no doubt about it, the first year or so is stressful.

Again, these thoughts are my opinion, and I hope they help some. It' a good life once you get into it, but it doesn't happen overnight, nor without some growing pains.

Old Dominion and Averitt are great companies, but then they are still not for everyone. Clear something up for me...the rider policy...they are going to team...who was going to need to ride from time to time?

I wish I could be encouraging, but the deck is stacked against them. This is not to say that they may not make the best of it, or that it will not work out. Teams are valued by most any company out there, because they offer the best use out of a truck that can be made.

Among the problems I have heard, and this is from personal experience in hiring former drivers of Covenant, is that they do not ALWAYS have the miles to keep them happy. Covenant is well known for laying over drivers for days at a time when freight is slow, and it will drive a team insane to be waiting and waiting like that. This is the number one reason why teams quit them.

Now, you offer that your hubby and his friend are going into this expecting it to not be under optimum conditions, and are not expecting the best, and THAT may be the key thing that may get them through it. You are right...attitude is everything. It honestly took YEARS for me to adopt this attitude myself. I still have to talk myself through the bad days, when they happen, because I don't work for a perfect company either. I do make the best out of a bad situation, and it's hard to do that. They have an advantage that most solo drivers do not. They have each other to bounce off the walls, so to speak. Solitary conditions lead to too much time to think the worst, and make the worst out of practically everything, when you get into that frame of mind.

Hopefully, they will draw a good driver manager, who will be easy to work with, because that is another big key in making things work out. You've read my thoughts on what the problems are between drivers and trucking companies, and in fact, I am going to post an exchange I had privately with a marketing representative over the past couple of weeks, who was wanting my input on why large companies cannot keep drivers.

You're in a better position than most people who come into this industry, and this will certainly alleviate alot of the pressure that will certainly come to pass. Too many people are financially desperate when they start the process, and then find out too late that it will be long after they do start, before they begin to reap the benefits of a career change.

I wish them both the best, and I want you to PLEASE keep this forum updated on how it goes. People learn more and more by viewing personal testimony, be it good or bad.

If it is bad, and God knows I don't like to see this happen, please tell them to try and tough it out for at least a year, for at that point, they can go just about anywhere, and doors will open up like an airplane hangar. A good team, who works well together is like gold to companies, and since they overhauled the Hours-Of Service rules, they are platinum gold.

I would like to take a trip with them out west sometime maybe.
We would just like for it to be an option.

I appreciate all the comments and will take them to heart.
His goal is to stay with the covenant for a year and move on to hauling Haz-Mat. And be home every week. He has had his CDL permit for almost a year but only drove on weekends with a friend of ours who has his own truck hauling mountain stone to GA/FL line. He did not put that down as a job ref because he did it for exp. only and was not a actual employee. As I may have said he has worked at Laz-Boy for 20 years and wants so much for this to work out. As do I and I would love to talk to some trucker wives on how they do it.

TT I was wondering if you are allowed to say who you work for?


Any info on food to take with him so he doesn't have to eat out all the time. And any tips on money he should carry. ( he has a credit card for emergencys) But you hear horror story's about truckers getting hit over the head and robbed I don't think that will be a problem because they have each other to watch the other ones back, But still would like a estimate of cash he should carry.


Thanks Pam

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God does always answers prayers, you just may not like the answer!

I work for USF Glen Moore, out of the Knoxville, Tennessee terminal.

Unless something has changed, I wouldn't count on him seeing the house each week. You may be privy to something I am not. Are they going to be running a dedicated trip each week or something?

What I did is visit my local Wal-Mart and purchased one of those electric coolers, and stuffed it full of food, and I eat out once a day some days, and some days I live out of the cooler. You can usually save about $30 over the truckstop prices for them.

You'd be surprised at what you can stuff in one of those babies. I keep snacks handy in case I am stuck someplace, like granola bars, cereal bars, crackers, chips, etc. My truck has ample storage for the dry stuff. I keep sandwich stuff in the cooler, along with cold drinks, and anything else I like thatr needs to be kept cold. Fruit and some veggies are not out of the question either.

The truckers that get knocked over the head and robbed are usually where they ought not be. This is not to say that it can't be dangerous out there, but I've been out here a long time, and haven't had a minute's trouble (knocking on wood as I type this). You just have to be sensible in where you park or stop. I never go into a major city at night, without knowing what the neighborhood is like. If I know the customer location, and I can gain entry prior to delivery and it is secure, then fine...I'll do it. If I know that it is a rough area, and security is a problem, then I'll wait out where it's safe, and go in when it's time to deliver.

Since the inception of fuel cards, most of the bad guys know that we don't keep alot of cash on us these days, so we're not lucrative targets anymore. We don't keep hundreds of dollars on us like we used to do.

Well my husband is finnally on the road with covenant. His OR lasted 3 1/2 days. Had to wait on a truck for 3 more days. Now we live within 30-40 minutes of the yard, and he could not even come home or go visit his mother who was put in intensive care this week in chattanooga. The reason, "well you can if you want but you never know when your truck will get called out and how much time you have to get back.
He does seem to have a good trainer, he told him that he would pick him up at the hospital when they got dispatched.
Well anyway he is finnally on the road driving and that makes him happy.
Needless to say our first week was not pleasant with them. He said they rushed them thru OR so fast his head was swimming in circles. His partner that signed up with him is still sitting and waiting on his truck and trainer who have been on his way since Wed coming from KY. I don't think it takes 3 days to get from KY but I MAY BE WRONG.
Just wanted to update you on our experience so far. Not complaining just stating the facts.

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God does always answers prayers, you just may not like the answer!

Glad to hear the update, and terribly sorry about his mother. Sounds like his trainer is a decent sort.

We are much happier this week my husband has a great trainer and they get along well. He has had plenty of miles. I am not saying they havent had to sit also. The wildfires in California had them sitting for 6 hours. But so far this week he has been to Michigan, Ohio, Utah and California and is on his way back from LA to Ohio so he has had the miles. Still waiting on his first check but he is seeing the country and loving it. His partner that he is going to team up with is getting miles too. I miss him badly but we talk on the cell a couple times a day. And I am learning new things every day. Had to air up my own tire on the lawnmower today. LOL took awhile but got it done. One good thind is covenant has a web page that all I have to do is type in his truck number and I can pinpoint where he is.
Can someone tell me what High Security loads are because when he is hauling one of those his truck won't show up on the web site. I am sure for security reasons. But what makes a high security load. He said one load went to The Gap Store. What is high security about underwear?
Have a good week and I'll keep updating.

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God does always answers prayers, you just may not like the answer!

A high securety load is usualy a high value load such as electronics or computors. But it also could be anything of high value.

If your husband is loaded with one and with a trainer he is doing extreamly well because they don't dispach loads like that to any truck, only to very reliable drivers...

You'd be very surprised to learn what a load of clothing is worth these days, and how coveted they are by thieves. Freight theft is on the rise, and so is theft of tractors and trailers. The southeast is a hotbed at the moment. We've had two trucks and trailers stolen in the past month in the deep southeast.

Both of these instances were in rural areas, far away from the big cities. I have been asked to NOT disclose the exact locations that these happened. Why I do not know.

One of the best articles on security can be found here:

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

One of the cheapest ways to secure your truck and trailer is to stay hooked to it, and use an Air Cuff device, described here:

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

It's a simple device that a thief will avoid, because it takes too much time to remove. It's tough as nails, and unless someone has the forethought to carry a couple of extra valve knobs, and the time to install them, they are going to try another truck, because that's what it will take to get it off without a key. There are cheaper versions of the device out there, but this one is the best.