Returning to OTR- N Central US

@Chinatown

I've read several threads here and applied to many carriers. So far, haven't had much luck. I'm in SD & can relocate.

Applied to the following:
Freymiller (not hiring in my area)
Trimac (not hiring in my area)
KLLM (left message with recruiter, no contact yet)
MCT (40 hour refresher needed)
Abeline (expecting reply from Safety today or tomorrow)
Earl Henderson- offering 8 week team "training", $500/wk min first 2 weeks, 15 CPM for all truck miles. 4,000 miles/wk ($600).
SNI- only team positions in my area. Individual recruiters only work with a specific position.
Dartco, Schuster, May, R&L- applied yesterday, will call tomorrow.
Knight Refridgerated- no reply, left message
Holland Enterprises- no reply in 1 wk +. No recruiter available currently, will call back.

My first choice- based on TTR thread- is Magnum Ltd. Applied a couple weeks ago & talked to Tony several times. Sounded very promising, until Safety said a refresher course would be required. It's been a couple days since Tony called with refresher information. He didn't know what a refresher course involved and plans to follow up. Haven't been able to reach him this week (voicemail and email).

Any tips on joining Magnum @ncmickey @Winnyf1 @Oor @Jubal3 ?

I've found a couple tech schools that offer a refresher course- it's basically one-on-one customized training at $100-175/hr. Seems expensive, especially when it's unclear if a given course is sufficient for multiple carriers.

Background:
Pulled hopper bottom double trailers regionally and reefer OTR for 18 months in 2010-11. All "old school" solo and small carriers- paper logs, assigned trailers, ungoverned, 10-13 speed, long 379/W900L. Equipment reliability/maintenance was biggest issue. Current Class A, all endorsements, DOT medical, passport and FAST. Only MVR issue- minor no-injury/no-ticket accident a year ago in POV. No criminal background, Canada admissible.

Familiar with reefer. Willing to try flatbed or tanker, tho a bit out of shape... Willing to be on the road for a month.

I appreciate any suggestions!

 

Update:

Holland requires 1 year current experience.
Knight Refrigerated has KC openings, 2 wk training @ $500/wk. Then 40-49 CPM depending on length. $10/hr detention after 2 hours, $75/day layover/breakdown. The KC manager should be calling to discuss hometime details (since I'm 500 miles from KC).

Also considering TBI (Sioux Falls SD). ~50 reefers, old-school.

 

Magnum update-
Excited that we've found at least 1 refresher course that meets safety/insurance requirements. Next week, they'll talk to a closer school that might work better for me.

Other carrier updates-
KLLM/FFE- Not hiring from my area (nothing in Dakotas). Also require 6 weeks team "training" due to no OTR in 3 years.
Dartco- Recruiter out till Tuesday
Schuster- Very nice chat today. They're interested in HM and passport/Canada opportunity. Had to re-submit app due to technical issue earlier this week.
May- Not hiring in my area. Very little opportunity in NE, SD, ND, MT, WY. The closest would be if I lived in Omaha NE.
R&L- Nothing in my area, need to be within an hour of a terminal.
Abilene- Still processing app.
Knight Refrigerated- still haven't heard from KC DM re: hometime, otherwise sounds interesting.
Holland Enterprises- Requires 1 year current experience.

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement!