What are the best OTR mega starter companies.

Fair warning: May is NOT dry van.

Nickname: "No-pay May"

-- L

 

Home - Leonard's Express

 

Don't read the reviews and don't talk to too many other drivers, and stay out of truck stops for reasons other than fuel, food, or showers.

It is very important you pay attention to this line in bold. Old cranky truckers have a big time influence on a lot of inexperienced drivers, and quite frankly can be pretty convincing.

It's not going to be a perfect setup right out of school. All of those called you, and you need experience. You've got more options than a lot of rookies that come on here. I did Western Express for a year when I got started. I did the flatbed side and while it wasn't perfect, I made it work for a year. It was far from the worst job I ever had in life. Any of the choices you've been given on here, plus the ones that have contacted you are fine for the purpose of getting experience. Nothing more, nothing less. That's your main focus in your first 1 or 2 years. It's going to be up to you to make the best of it. When I started, many vets at the time told me what you get out of trucking is all about what you put into trucking. If you can not ficus on the reviews and focus on learning and honing your skills, the hiccups in your first year won't discourage you.

 

Bad reviews often come from drivers who are entitled and don't want to earn the respect of the company. You don't go into any company making the big bucks right off. They gotta see how you work. Many companies start off giving you short runs or runs that have too much time so you can get acclimated to their system or to trucking in general. If you show reliability, and learn how to use your time to have max availability, you'll get taken care of. It's going to require patience.

 

I've never had a compelling reason to leave.
I like the people, I like the control I have.

Nearly half the drivers at my terminal are million mile drivers, so they have also been with Swift a very long time.

 

I admire you every time I see you talk about your longevity at Swift. You're the example I wish all newbies could see. Just because Swift has a reputation (in my opinion undeserved), doesn't mean that it don't work for some people. Many people make change for the sake of change and I admire drivers that stick with a company, especially when they see its working for them.

 

I would respectfully disagree with the "they're all pretty much the same" mentality towards the starter mega carriers.

The quality of one's experience there can vary quite widely -- based on (among other things):

• How good (or bad) their "home" terminal is
• What kind of freight they are pulling
• How good (or bad) their in-house trainers are
• How good (or bad) their field trainers are
• How well their equipment is maintained
• Their selection of hometime options (or the lack thereof)
• How good (or bad) their dispatch is
• How good (or bad) their customers/deliveries are (driver treatment, access to facilities, what parking is like, etc)

The above of course includes nothing about pay; their are simply too many variables there to discuss in a brief commentary.

-- L