CONSIDERING going with Swift

I'm still a few weeks shy of being an official trucker but with swift not having apu, they b1tch when you idle and no inverters makes me to never want to go there unless they were paying 100+ a year but they're not.

That being said I can't see why anyone who wants the minimum comfort while out on the road would want to go with them.

 

Go with them....if Conway Truckload doesn't want you. Swift is a great company to learn with. Yes, they're a trucking company. I went with them 2 1/2 years ago, when Conway didn't want me after I came back in. (Agility test fail) Stayed there 13 mos, average month @ 2.900 miles, pay got all the way to $.32. They have a bonus program for good drivers. Surprisingly good. Anyway, first truck was a veteran of 500K miles, a ProStar. After about 8 mos, I got a shiny new Volvo 670....drove like a Cadillac. Funny thing about trucks - if they run, you make the same money for your miles. I'm very glad I left and went to Conway, but Swift will put you in a truck, give you miles, and pay you on time. Could be worse. Drivers badmouth them, but not 1 in a hundred ever drove for them. Swift hires a lot of guys, the whole industry has like 106% annual churn, so there are surely some crappy Swifty drivers. If I had to start over and nobody wanted a 69 year old guy again, I'd go right back to Swift, get my chops back, and move on. My $.02.

 

Consider Watkins as well. The people there are great, and very flexible. They will help you and your wife get teamed if thats the direction you wanna go. I cant see where your from, so of course that plays a big role in what company you go with. We have quite a few husband/wife teams, some that even run regional. WKSH is a great outfit.

 

I have been here 3 years now, all but 2 months as O/O. Are they the best, no. Are they the worst, no. As far as idling, the allow it. They do not want you to be uncomfortable. Now with the new pay raise, you might want to look closer.

 

Forced dispatch... but not really. If you know the system you can pick and choose to a great degree, usually.
No inverters... well, not the larger ones that connect directly to the battery. But you can have plug-in inverters that will supply 150W.
No idling... unless it is too hot or you need to charge the batteries in the winter. I'm idling as I write this, and have been since I stopped several hours ago.
Low pay... but it just got much better this past week.

You'll probably get an older truck when you start. But then, why should they trust you with new equipment when you are first starting?
The good thing is that you won't have it very long. Swift retires trucks when they get 500-525k miles.

 

Been with swift 10 years are they the best na, but you can do far worst. With the new pay rise its not bad like blsqueak said take a closer look. For the most part the trucks are maintained very well, the trailers are getting better. But with about 30k trailers and a lot of drop and hooks some get neglected.in 10 years with swift I had to call payroll 2 times about pay issues. Never get paid late. I make .44cpm every 4 months I get around 1000 for performance bouns and 1600 vacation pay. It boils down to this OTR trucking companies are like being married, you have to find one who's baggage you can put up with.

 

That's funny, I'm idling right now, and the laptop I'm typing this on is plugged into an inverter. And I've never heard a peep about it.

 

swift is the worst,,,42 fatal accidents in the past 2 years,,last winter they had 5 single vehicle accidents in Wyoming with in 2 hours,,, Find a private carrier a company that ships their stuff on their own trucks. JB hunt is better,,,Crete in Lincoln, NE is paying about 47 cn/mile as well as heartland...