J.B. Hunt reviews

I will say I make more money than I was told I would, I have not been lied to at all, and they talk to me and treat me A 1 respectfully.

They honestly pay you,and most of the equiptment is newer,xm radio on the truck,and you can idle the truck to stay comfortable.
Slow trucks,unable to get more than 500 miles daily,due to traffic and road construction.
Driving a new truck has many advantages,but getting passed,like your standing still,by every pos on the road,is very frustrating.
Expect to spend your driving career,in the right lane..think you can get by granny?
Dont even think about it.
The daily safety message about following distance,is a joke..my following distance depends on how long the other truck was stuck behind me.

I am signed on to do the Mission Foods dedicated regional account out of New Brighton Mn so i thought i would document this journey for the curious from the start and report as regularly as i can on here. I leave for Cedar Rapids Iowa tomorrow and orientation starts monday and suppose to go till wednesday. Hotel is paid but double occupency unless you want to pay an additional $26 bucks a night for your own room. Think im gonna chance it and cross my fingers on the roomate. He's gonna have to put up with my snoreing so im bringing baggage into this also. Breakfast is covered by hotel and lunch is covered by JBH so i just need to cover dinner each night. Orientation pay is a whopping 7.25 an hour so that kinda sucks but o well. I could have got a free bus ticket but i declined. Its about a 280 mile drive for me so im just gonna swap my pickup for my daughters saturn and drive myself. Since they offered a bus ticket Im working on getting reimbursed for the drive but havent heard back yet and kinda doubtfull that will happen.
Just a little bit about me. Im not a brand new driver but only have had my cdl for 14 months. This is a second carreer for me because up untill the summer of 2013 i was a golf course superintendent for 18 years. My course was turned to houses and i went on to large golf cart distributer and was there for 2.5 years and that is where i stumbled into my CDL. Now i think/hope im ready to go from driving a truck for my job to being a truck driver. From what im being told its not like im gonna be living in the truck so definately not like the hardcore OTR'ers out there anyways.

Made the drive and checked in late. Initially I was really worried about the bait and switch but what helped a lot was when the fleet or account manager (can't remember what title he told me) from Mission contacted me (with a local phone number) saying he saw I'm on the orientation list and asked me if I have any questions. I actually brought up the bait and switch routine that all these companies are known for and he assured me they need drivers and there is a space for me on this account and explained a bit about what the schedule could/should be. He wasn't 100% sure when I'd start training. Either Thursday the 25th or Saturday the 27th. Since I was told I wasn't leaving in a truck I drove thinking that if it all went to pot I could just bolt outa here real quick.

Day 1 orientation went well. Kinda like closing on a house, lots of signatures. Watched a few videos. Those pr guys earn there pay. The history of Johny Bryan and the JBH story is pretty well done and even a bit inspirational. Did urinalicist and folical sample plus a light personal performance physical test. Went over beni's and perks. They have a drivers legal plan that's pretty interesting. Basically a DOT lawyer retainer program. So far so good.

Also I lucked out. My roommate sprung for his own room so I have a single for no charge. When I arrived it was late and the desk girl said she doubted anyone would show up after me. There is only 4 of us here. 9 where scheduled. The food is great also. Nice full breakfast buffet and the lunch was very good too. This is a full banquet facillity. Chef and all.

Finally I'm still very pleased with what I'm being told about the account I'm going too. If there is anyone reading this that lives in Iowa you should check into the regional intermodal out of Cedar Rapids. Being told it's the highest avg pay in all of JBH. Think he said top 10% are doing 80k. Have to have a Iowa license.

Day 2 went good. Did a 93 on the road test. Just went for a quick spin. Think they just want to see you use your mirrors, signal, turn, and change lanes properly. Need to be comfortable with a clutch. You can float shift but they want to make sure you can double clutch, and downshift properly. Had to back into a spot at a truck stop but the place was a ghost town plus it was a giant place. Intermodal guys have to do a jackknife alley dock style backup. If you've driven at all it's a piece of cake. More paperwork, videos, and safety training. Since our class is so small were gonna be done by lunch tomorrow. We did lose a guy today. Have no idea why.

I'm really curious what's on the JBH orientation thread so I'm gonna finally read it. I can tell you my experience has been just fine. Boring in a lot of ways but I would think any company has to show you all the safety vids, and all the procedural stuff. I think the two other guys were lied too bye a recruiter about hometime but how is that a surprise? So far what I was told has been legit. Can't say 100% till I start training at the account though. I did have more interaction with people in JBHs safety department than I did with my recruiter cuz of something I knew I had on my psp. I needed some assurances before I gave notice to my last job.

If ur looking for a job just be sure you get a copy of your psp befor you start applying with anybody and if something is iffy on it have the recruiter get you to the safety department right away and talk to them. That should avoid any surprises at orientation. For me everything got checked and signed off by quality control before i get to orientation and I suspect that is most common. I don't know how common it is to talk with the actual fleet account manager you are going too but that help calm my nerves a ton.

All done with orientation and home. Final day went fast and we finished just after lunch. Very good instructer. We trained on their people net system. It's the e-logs and tons of other stuff. Little confusing now but I'm sure after a couple of training days it will make my life easier. Speaking of training I start tomorrow. Now I will find out the Ins an outs. Think I'm doing A Chicago suburb run right out of the chute. If I can't report tomorrow night I'm supposed to be back Friday eve.

Well first training trip went well. You team it with the trainer. I started and drove from Mn to the nw suburbs of Chicago. Had to top off the tanks so that took 7 hours to first destination. Made 2 stops in Chicago suburbs and then took 294 to Indiana for final stop. Was kinda worried cuz it was morning rush hour (drove by Ohare airport at 730am) but traffic flowed great and it was pretty much speed limit driveing on the tollway. Off the freeway is another story cars are constantly moving in and out of your lane but your moving so slow that its not really a problem once you clear intersections. The delivery locations can be tight but managable as long as you think it thru. The unloading is pretty easy with the electric pallet jack and lift gate. Avg time at a stop is 20min to an hour depending how many accounts you are delivering too at each stop. I didnt make it too my final stop because of my 11 so the trainer took over. I was dreading the team thing going in but actually it worked great. It turned what would have been a 32 hour trip to 24 hours. I wouldnt want to do it on a consistant basis, the trucks are just too small for two people. E logs are pretty cool. I was on countdown at the end and went 10 hours and 58min. Went from 1030pm too about 1145am. Overall its pretty good just need to get all the procedural stuff down. Adjusting the body clock was tough but expected that. Think when done training and on my own i should adapt. I beleive after i can get adjusted, get the process down, and they can trust i will be in the right spot at about the right time the money will be there.

Jbhunt lease purchase?

Q: My wife and i are going to try a lease purchase, we are looking at Jbhunt, they SOUND pretty good, better than the other options we've looked at. Any opinions or better yet true knowledge about this?

A: Lots of people like JB, including myself. The only large carrier I'd ever recommend. You can get a good used truck on their L/P without going in debt for $150K.
I would have leased onto them as an O/O but they have a geographical limit.
Get a Freightliner when you get there, don't fool with the Peterbilt with the Cummins engine, get the Freightliner, it's the 350 Chevy of the trucking world, and JB does very good maintenance on their trucks.
You'll be fine, especially if you team.

A: You'll do fine. Like I said your not looking down the gun barrel at a $180K truck. There's a slight difference in a $1100 month truck payment, and a $2400 month truck payment. And you will have it paid off in 24 months, not 48 or 60. They do exceptional maintenance of their fleet equipment, which is what you will be purchasing, one of their used fleet trucks. The crossed T's, dotted I's, have been hashed out countless times on form threads.
You'll pretty much roll around the Midwest too, you get small hills in Kentucky and Pennsylvania but it's mostly flat. And that is where a lot of the best paying freight is. The most money I ever made was with JB Hunt loads.
Good luck.

A: That said I did an L/P for 2 years with JB. I was on the mileage program for about 3 months then got offered to their Load Visability board. I didn't do great with the mileage but ok enough to pay the bills. Once I got on Load Vis I did great....paid truck off in the 2 years ran the truck another 2 till it finally was time to some major work on it and I sold it and took a company job making good money without the headache of ownership.

At the time it was an 07 Century with about 600K on it for $1200/month.

Ok been here 3 months on a dcs family dollar account and here is my take.

JB Hunt treats me great honestly, the fm's are cool and helpful and they pay me what they promised($1,050 base a week if I get 3 trailers empty but I make more honestly but have had things come up and still made $1050 even though I didn't really earn it). The benefits are like everywhere else sense suck ### obamacare started but they company is honestly just a middleman on the cost so I hold no ill will.

The trucks are slow and have no power but are new and reliable thus far. Trailers belong to family dollar but are ok. I am truely ok with JB Hunt, they treat me good.

Now as far as the account goes I can only say one thing about it. It's terrible. I am physically fit, 5'8 and 180 pounds and its running me and my body in to the ground. The way the dc loads the trailers is ridiculous and there is 0 accountability for their actions. Alot of the store employees/managers are lazy and slow at unloading with no regard to your appointments and schedule. 

I am not lazy nor shy of hard work but I detest people making my job harder to do or making it take longer out of laziness. I am the type that feels I have a job and put in 110% and my blood boils when others slack with no accountability so I think that is why I hate it.

So in my eyes JB Hunt gets a big thumbs up. The Family Dollar account sucks though. I will answer any questions I can to my best abilities, completely unbias

Q: Currently I drive otr with prime and am looking to be home more often. After I posted my resume online jb hunt called and offered me a regional position and said that I'd be home every Friday and Saturday. It's an intermodal position and sounds great. No touch freight, 2200 miles per week average, 42cpm which is only 2cpm less than what I make now. But after checking indeed reviews it seems like they do a lot of bait and switch with people to get them in the door and then tell them the regional spot is no longer available. My question is, how much should I believe? I don't want to quit prime and end up still doing otr but making less. I don't want to get every weekend off but only run 1000 miles. So what are the real answers?

A: That was JB back in the day. Otr fleet is so little today you don't have to worry about that. They have their turn over just like everyone else and intermodal is in need of drivers . If they hire you for intermodal that's what you will run. I ran it 2x and 2x I went to orientation. Your good. They really are a pretty good place to work

Well jb hunt has been great to me and many others i know in most northeast accounts..I dont know much about there otr operation but I can tell you dcs and intermodel are excellentjobs. As far as turnover well at my 1 location we have 140 drivers and turnover about 10 drivers a year but I still see the same drivers everyday that are still here with me from day 1 3 years ago when they got account. We do alot of nyc and tough docks so newbies sometimes top a trailer and get fired or just dont like it and quit. When your talking about the largest trucking company only behind ups and fed ex then 10 drivers leaving dcs is hardly an issue. Anyways Ive been with jb 4 years and never had an issue and work between 40-50 hours a week and make between 11-1500. Theres practically unlimited work and great earning potential. Home everyday with 2 days off. Benefits are excellent and very cheap. 401K is great and have good investment options within. Guys that are using up there 70 by choice are making north of 75k a year. Never had big brother corporate bother me. If you do your job nobody bothers you. You go out and do your thing and if u have an issue or question you just call. They have cascadias and prostars and maintain there trucks well. I dont like the prostars cuz they use maxxforce engines and alot of issues with them. I get 2 weeks paid vacation at my average hourly rate for 52 weeks which is calculated by total earnings divided by total hours worked. My 52 week avg. hourly rate is currently $29.56 an hour x 8 hours per vaction day equals $236.48 per vaction day. To be honest the job is sweet! I heard bad things about otr on ttr so maybe not jbs strong suit. But if u get dedicated or intermodel local or regional than your in a good spot. This is all current 4 years of perapective. Not from 1992 or from my cousin who worked there 20 years ago lol.. These accounts I know from first hand are good to work for: toys r us flanders nj c&s chester newburgh ny w locks ct bethlehem pa springfield ma and vermont, intermodel in harrisburg pa. Home depot pittston pa. and the other location in pa near harrisburg area. Sealy mattress idk but heard its tough but pays good. Thats all I got...hope this is some help to ya. Best of luck to ya

I'd go back to doing local with them in a heartbeat. I must be home every night. They have called me all the time over the years asking if I will do a regional dedicated or solo out of Buckeye. They've sent me gift cards for the J just for shooting the breeze with them. They called with two local jobs, but that was right when my Dad needed 24 hour care, so nothing I could do. If that guy calls tomorrow with a local gig, I'd do it in a second.

I did a 11 western regional with them long time ago. I liked them, and recommend them to anyone. Definitely the friendliest large carrier I've run across. They had cars you could take to run errands with when you were at the terminals, so you could leave the truck there. Many times rolled into the terminal right into a full on bar-b-q.

Showers and terminals were always really clean. I ran out of Southgate, only came to Phoenix for hometime. Mostly was triangle from Phoenix to SoCal, up to Washington or Oregon, come back with the GIANT paper rolls ( 4 x 11K lbs.) to SoCal. Sometime go Idaho and take stuff Vegas.

This was winter 2005 to fall 2007. Made between $700 to $800 /wk. consistently. ( take home )

I recommend them to anyone that wants to go company.

JB Hunt Reputation:

A:I have been at jb for about 2 months now and what I have gathered is they are like werner and the others the only thing that sets them apart is their commitment to safety and their pay, and their guaranteed hometime, most of the time I get home the day befor I request. as for pay I average right around 900 a week in my pocket after taxes, insurance, and 401k, but I also get along really well with my dispatcher. if you have worked for a big fleet you already know how jb is because they all work the same so I say pick the color truck you like and go work for them.

I got a buddy from cdl school that has been working at jb hunt intermodal for almost two years now. He really likes it, gets by the house once or twice a week and is home on the weekends. Never once has really complained about pay either. I think he works out of the Iowa terminal. He loves it.

JBH treated me well though. 11 state western regional, was fun too, LOTS of mountains. Good perks. Cars you can take for errands at the terminals, bar-b-q's, very clean terminals, showers.