Must start another GOOD SWIFT thread...

Always nice to see a positive post I also drove for Swift 11 years ago very short time family matters. But I'm glad to see the shoe fits and the best of luck to you.

 

Best of luck to you...I am going to start training for my CDL in July im excited about getting started. I want the OTR maybe dedicated down the line.

 

Good luck quickdodge, I also worked for them back in 06 and was happy in a way but disappointed in others. My biggest beef was not getting enough miles, even after following their rules when it can to the daily macros. On the positive side, the did give me real decent trucks, never had one that gave me much trouble, other that a broken leaf spring. When I went back home (MA) to attend a funeral, they let me keep my truck with trailer attached at my home while I was gone 2 weeks.. They did however have the best of medical insurance compared to most I've checked into. If it wasn't for the lack of decent miles, I might have stayed, but I'm happy with my local job, working 12-14 hrs sometimes less and home every night..

 

I'd like to know how a new (with 10 years old experience - haven't been driving for 8 years) OTR driver would do with them. If I were to hire on out of the Phoenix AZ terminal wanting to run OTR would I be getting a bunch of little 400 mile runs to crappy customers who delay me all day for load/unload, or would I be likely to get more 700+ mile runs. Also, does Swift still pull doubles all the time?

I already know the pay would be ridiculously low but I might be able to live with that for a while if I wasn't stuck doing things like AZ>CA>AZ>CA>NV>CA back and forth with 6 hours driving and 8 hours unloading, 8 more hours reloading for another 6 hour drive, rinse repeat. IE: 6 hours at ridiculously low pay and 12-16 hours at no or very little pay every day...which is exactly how it was when I worked at Swift 17 years ago. For good measure, they would occasionally completely fail to pay me for one of the 6 hour trips as well.

 

I know from others that were in my orientation class, that if you haven't been in a TTR in over a yr, you will have to go 6 weeks with a mentor.. Ya pay will be terrible, but if you have a good savings account or even a IRA that you can borrow from, you won't do to bad until you get things going..

 

I am debt free other than the Truck School bill that I will have to repeat again given my time away from the job. My concern is not so much the awful 24-27 cpm, but if I will be able to keep moving to maximize that. Last time I was with Swift, all they wanted me to do was run these little short runs back and forth from Phoenix, LA, Sacramento, Las Vegas. That would not be so bad if it was mostly drop and hook, but it was not. It was usually a run all night to get there for an ALL DAY offload/reload affair and then run all night (everything was a "hot load") to make on time delivery 400 miles away and repeat. Notice there was no mention of sleep in there? Swift tried to straight up kill me out there last time, and for peanuts.

If I told them I needed to sleep, they went nuts, threatening me with everything from "service failure" (drivers fault late load) to refusing a load, and asking why I didn't sleep during one of the 8 hour load/offloads. Duh! Because it was driver unload or one of those deals where you have to stay awake and wait for a dock assignment over the CB? Because he (dispatcher) had me calling him back every half hour while he looked for my next load? Because I was in a line of other trucks waiting to get unloaded and a 1 sec delay pulling forward in line means you get cut in front of by 3 trucks behind you? Because I was in LA traffic for 4 of it trying to get to the next drop/load/whatever?

 

If you want to keep moving then do all 48 states. One think is for sure I never ran illegal for Swift or anyone else.

 

My experience (2 years ago) with Swift was out of the Albuquerque terminal. I hated CA because we were usually 3:1 Inbound:Outbound. Tha always meant a wait in CA. I knew guys from the PHX terminal that were running all 48. I think a lot of it has to do with your relationship with your DM. I know mine pretty much did everything he could to run me where I wanted to go. In that he kept me out of CA is much as possible.

As for forcing you to drive illegal, there are those who say they do that. I never had them push me beyond my hours except on a couple of deliveries want to me to back in after hours. Each time the issue was resolved without me violating HOS.

I do know you will have to go with a mentor for 42 dispatched days. If you are available for dispatch the day counts. If you are at home the day does not count.

As for doubles, Swift does very little doubles hauling.

 

Congrats Dodge! :smt023