Going to Boyd Brothers

No news really, we are going to be sure to be off on Christmas. Trainer is taking a vacation so I get one too! (Paid!) I'll get my own truck on or after Jan 13th. I'm in North Carolina right now. Been everywhere from New Orleans (my first week) to New Jersey (My third week) and everywhere in between (My 4th week). A lot of places require hours and hours of waiting to be loaded but that isn't boyd's fault. You are waiting with dozens of other company trucks from other places as well. Good thing is you get paid $18/hr after 2 hours of waiting, so thats always good.

One tidbit of news I do not like is that today 12/20/11 they announced they were doing away with the percentage program. I was intending to go on that pay program.

 

Aww, I was just discussing the percentage pay with my trainer today.

Are you enjoying it though? I'm liking it thus far. Since both me and my trainer live within 20 miles of the terminal, we are just doing local routes at least the next two weeks. Did a short load of steel yesterday, never left Birmingham. Today we did about a 80 mile run with some lumber to a Lowes. I'm ready to start getting out of my neck of the woods and do some real driving. I get to drive through Atlanta tomorrow, my first experience with heavy traffic in a big city. Though hopefully we will get there after morning rush, and be out of there by late lunch time to beat the afternoon rush. They might send us both home after that, not sure. So far though, it's been a very slow week.

 

What is the age limit for Boyd? I am 6 months from turning 23. Currently running for Werner.

 

Can anyone who works for Boyd give me the details on their orientation?

For the most part:

How long is orientation?
What does it consist of?
Are all drivers road tested or just students?
New physical or do they just use your existing D.O.T. medical certificate?
(The physical worries me because I am a pretty good sized boy and I have heard that other companies like the Truckers Marine Corp, and Maverick would not hire people based on their size. I climb in and out my trlr on a daily basis and unload freight, so the physical requirements of flatbedding will not be too much of a stretch for me....hopefully)

I am planning on leaving my current company when my two week notice is up and boyd has offered me a position with them. I know that recruiters have a way of 'exaggerating' the details just a little...lol, but most of the actual drivers for boyd that I have spoken with have very positive things to say about the company. I am a new driver by industry standards (only 18 months total), but I am not so niave to think that any job in any industry is a bed of roses every day. There are going to be good times as well as bad.

If any of the seasoned boyd drivers can fill me in on some of the details I would be appreciative.

 

I just finished it 2 weeks ago, in Birmingham.

It lasted for one week. Plus an additional week for load securement either the following week for experienced drivers, or after the road training for student drivers. It consists of a LOT of paper work, and a lot of boring time going over rules and regulations, a few easy tests, a little bit of hands on training in the yard. All drivers are road tested, but it's not such a difficult test. No one failed it in our class. The guy brings you around the block on about a 3/4 mile drive. Took all of 5 minutes. They do require a new physical and an agility/fitness test. I have only been with Boyd for about 3 weeks now, and so far I have nothing but good things to say. Everyone is very friendly and respectful, and it is truly an open door company. Pay is good, equipment is good, home time I hear is on par or better than most. My trainer has been with the company for 4.5 years and he has little negative things to say, the vast majority of what he has to say is positive.

 

What did the agility test consist of?

 

Thanks for the info s3zyklon. Switching jobs sucks, but hopefully this is worth it.

 

Yeah I'm enjoying it alright. I am very disappointed with the percentage pay being done away with. A lot of people didn't trust it, but my trainer swears by it, and I've seen his pay statements that prove it's definitely the way to go. That might be why they are doing away with it!

The equipment is good... I was disappointed that I had to supply my own power inverter and CB. You have to have a CB out there to communicate with a lot of the customers/shippers you deliver/pickup from. We did one local run in Cincinatti... I hated it.. it was all the work of a regular load of untarping, dropping trailer, etc and I think it only pays like $35... it comes out to about $10 an hour if you're lucky! I'd rather drive at least 300-600 miles between tarping and untarping, me personally.

From what I hear, it's all got to do with your driver manager... my trainer has had some trainees quit just because their driver manager couldn't/wouldn't get them home.... but then others are happy as they can be.

I guess it's hard to find the right person for the right job coz some ppl want to be home every weekend, while some guys are tickled pink taking a 34 hr restart at the terminal. Me? I want to go home every weekend or have a really good run to make up for not going home.

Once again, I'm really disappointed about the percentage pay as that was one of the main reasons I chose flatbedding to begin with! It's a lot more work, responsibility, and danger and I was only willing to do it because it paid more.

We'll see how I end up faring on mileage if they won't allow me on percentage and I'll update accordingly.

Oh yeah, finally my insurance starts on the 1st of January, finally going to have myself and my family insurance for the first time since June!

 

They physical is pretty tough... you do a lot of climbing and walking like a duck, that is the easy part. The hard part is picking up the tarps after you do all of it. You pick up the steel tarp (small one) one time, and set it down, then when you get to the much larger, heavier lumber tarp, you have to pick it up and set it down (which I was fine with) -- THREE TIMES -- which i wasn't expecting... the whole time I was trying not to breathe hard but i soon realized everyone was panting by the time they were done. Definitely stretch before you do it, if you smoke, don't smoke before your physical, we had several guys fail or almost fail due to their pulse rate or blood pressure. Good luck!

Edit: Oh yeah, be sure to check your blood pressure before you go to orientation... we lost the majority of our orientation class due to blood pressure or heart rates so be sure you get that in check BEFORE you go, because they will send you home. Also, some guys were issued by the lady there only a three month card because they mentioned they had heartburn... so mention only the details you feel you should.

 

Oh and for those of you who need to get a CB and/or power inverter, these are the two I purchased online...

1300Watt inverter WITH cables $80
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JT0M5O

Cobra CB Radio $45
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005N5WU