Driving OTR with US Xpress

Me either & wishing I didn't have to use it now.

 

And with the low miles I was betting, it REALLY isn't going to be much!

 

thats 2/3 of your GROSS and the money is NONE TAXABLE

 

Hey wedge how are you? i have alot of questions since usx just called me and got my date for orientation. first off is whats the process for orientation how long is it and the standard your with your trainer? you said about 2700-3100 miles a week i know it going to change but do they have solo's sitting alot waiting for loads and such? the truck are they nice and maintained well also with there trailers? are we allowed to bring our dog i have a boxer and do they allow inverters to be put in there trucks? dose usx treat there drivers with respect if you work hard for them. i was considering central ref but then usx called me and i always wanted to drive for them but i did so much research on central, anyways can you help me out on what to expect with usx thank man i do appreciate your time and help

STAY SAFE OUT THERE !!!

 

Wedge, I agree that you need to deliver asap. You then have a better chance at the next load showing up quickly. We always deliver early and always seem to be catching the FM's off balance. We usually run out of hours and need to reset. Many miles and no hours is usually a good problem to have. The checks have been great lately. Sitting in SAC waiting to PU at 2000 tonight. My partner will get his reset and we can run hard for the next week. Stay safe.

 

I've been reading this thread for the past 2 days and I'm a little sad I've reached the end. Some great posts and great info! Thanks Wedge! I've been reading NoCOCraig's posts and the blog that he and his wife post every few days. I went to SAGE truck driving school here in Lexington, SC for a seminar this afternoon. Sounds like a great school and they're PTDI certified. I also put in an application with USX today so hopefully I'll get a pre-hire. Since I'm drawing unemployment, it looks like the federal government is going to pick up the tab for my CDL training...thanks fellow taxpayers! My dad started driving OTR back in the 70s and went on permanent disability last year after being diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He's in remission now. I remember going with him a couple times bouncing around in the passenger seat of his cabover. Man did those things ride rough! I've been in the health insurance industry for 8 years and this is the 2nd time I've been laid off due to outsourcing. Time for a change. My wife and I tried expediting in a sprinter van earlier this year. What a joke that was! Our first run was from Milwaukee, WI to Albuquerque, NM (probably spelled that wrong) and then we sat for 6 days unpaid in a van with a small sleeper waiting for a load before we called the van owner and told him we were bringing his van back to him in Chicago. Our plan is for me to start truck driving and my wife will join me after our golden retriever dies. She's old and doesn't have much time left. Since we don't have any kids, she's just like a daughter to us. I plan to start the 4-week course at SAGE in mid November. I have a family reunion at Disney World for Christmas that I can't miss and would love to start my career with USX right after I return from Florida.

I have just a couple questions. What's my best option for having internet access in the truck while it's rolling? Do most drivers use an air card or do you tether your smartphone to your laptops/tablets? Which is the best cellular carrier for broadest coverage and fastest speeds?

Again, I thank all of you for your great posts and look forward to reading this thread as it continues. Have a great night all and keep the rubber on the road!

 

hi dahmer8afew

we have found that verizon has best for over all coverage in BFE you will still dead spots.... 4g is better but alot of the time you don't get 4g when you not in a a town (we still have 3g) in some blackholes you can still get inline but it will almost be as slow a dial up...... it's getting better BUT.......

you can tether, air card or mifi it's up to you, we use a mifi so we can both be online at the same time and still have the phone to use at the same time. we also like not having to have the laptop pluged into anything when using it (mifi stays in the front with the phone). i know some love to tether, (we don't) you also need to think about data plan and what will work best for you..?(2gb, 4gb, more) we have true unlimited data on our mifi.. usx also has a discount on verizon, not sure it they have it for att or sprint.

hope that helps a little

 

Thanks so much Flood! I was just looking at the Verizon Jetpack 890L mifi and at only $20 it seems like a great deal. Do you stream a lot of videos like Netflix? How many GB per month do you have in your data plan?

 

yes i did start doing the netflix thing last month when i got a new tablet with hdmi out.. before i started doing netflix most months data was 3gb or less now i don't know how much it will go up to BUT i do have TRUE unlimited data (grandfathered in) so my bill will stay the same $50 a month for my mifi