Swift

I work for Swift. My husband and I team.

First off: you need to go to the recruiter with these questions as there have been recent changes and the changes are fleet to fleet in some instances.

I'll tell you what I know:

1. If they hire you and recognize your schooling then you'll go to orientation which is 3 days but in some fleets actually lasts 2 days.
It is not paid.
2. I've never seen anything from Swift saying no phones with a headset. There is a policy about handheld.
3. It's impossible to answer this because if you get a mentor on a dedicated fleet you might get home every 2-3 days. Or you get an OTR and might not come home for 6 weeks. You're told to prepare for 6 weeks out.
4. The insurance is excellent and the family coverage is extremely reasonable.
5. Now Monkey Man is going to fuss at me too because I'm not sure about this question. I think you're asking if you have to go on a broker board for your loads. No. You're assigned a load by a trip planner and you just get it there. There are sometimes backhauls but frankly freight is freight and you WANT a backhaul because then you don't get left sitting waiting for a load.

Ask your recruiter about your 8 months out of trucking. You might be required to attend school again. Not saying you will.....but you'd be wise to ask.

 

Rick, they aren't "hurting" for drivers. They've cut back their schools tremendously and currently school about `1/8 of what they use to. They've raised the age requirement, some academies have closed to other state residents (PHX will only take AZ residents now). There just isn't the big demand at Swift for drivers as there was. Drivers aren't leaving like they use to.

 

Thanks so much. The best info always comes from Nana! I was told I was ok to go straight to orientation and my MVR and DAC was ok, so I sent back some forms and now I am waiting to hear when I am supposed to go. Thanks again for the good info.

 

If your weekly home budget calls for more than that, you may not want to consider trucking. You can probably make more than that most weeks after you are solo, but all you'd have to have is a week where you don't get but 1500 miles (home time, truck maintenance, unusual lack of freight etc..) and your budget is shot.

 

I would say the insurance isnt the best with swift....i don't know about other people that work here, but i had the highest option and the family coverage and it sucks, i have worked for other companies and they were ALOT better. Orientation is 2.5 days, being on the 3rd day you basically wait around for your driver code and that is when your officially hired by swift and then you go with your mentor. If you go for flatbed we do more broker loads then van drivers do..especially when we get up into the north east. We use CH Robinson mainly for broker loads who are great!

 

Great information in this forum.
does Swift have regional in the northeast, also what is the home time once a week or every two weeks, with flatbed.
I have not drove a big truck for 13 years now, I used to haul steel with a flatbed, regional, the way we were paid was a percentage of the load, think at that time I was getting like between 27 and 28 percent of what the load paid by weight, when I left.
Is this how swift flatbed drivers get paid or is it by the mile.

 

Does anybody know how often do flatbed drivers get through Lexington, KY? Does flatbed only run out of certain terminals? How does Swift decide which terminal to send you to training at or can you pick which one you want?

 

Flatbed is per mile with swift. We don't run regional in flatbed, but you will mostly stay east of the mississippi. We go thru Lexington, KY A LOT. We run a lot of chassis out of Gaffney, SC goin up to indiana.Flatbed terminals with swift are; Greer, SC...Gary,IN and Phoenix, AZ. You would have to do orientation at one of those terminals, complete phase 1 fltbd training and then go with a mentor and then you would take phase 2 either in gary or phoenix.

Most of us do what we call the triangle, We go from Gaffney, SC to N. Indiana or Chicago then from there to Laredo, TX then back to North carolina or south carolina. Then do it all over again. You could also go to AZ or back to South Carolina or Georgia also out of the steel millls up there in the chicago area.

I like going coast to coast. Like right now I'm on my way to Ladson, SC (right outside charleston) to pick up some sprinter vans and I'm taking them to Anahiem, California. Nice light load and it will get me some decent fuel mileage. And it will give me 2800 miles by tuesday. (Pay weeks are from Thurs-Wed night # midnight)


If you try and PM me I can't reply because I don't have enough post to reply to it yet. Sorry I'm not tryin to ignore anyone.


Sorry if there are spelling errors or words missing. I am doin this all from my blackberry right now.

 

Flatbed is per mile with swift. We don't run regional in flatbed, but you will mostly stay east of the mississippi. We go thru Lexington, KY A LOT. We run a lot of chassis out of Gaffney, SC goin up to indiana.Flatbed terminals with swift are; Greer, SC...Gary,IN and Phoenix, AZ. You would have to do orientation at one of those terminals, complete phase 1 fltbd training and then go with a mentor and then you would take phase 2 either in gary or phoenix.

Most of us do what we call the triangle, We go from Gaffney, SC to N. Indiana or Chicago then from there to Laredo, TX then back to North carolina or south carolina. Then do it all over again. You could also go to AZ or back to South Carolina or Georgia also out of the steel millls up there in the chicago area.

I like going coast to coast. Like right now I'm on my way to Ladson, SC (right outside charleston) to pick up some sprinter vans and I'm taking them to Anahiem, California. Nice light load and it will get me some decent fuel mileage. And it will give me 2800 miles by tuesday. (Pay weeks are from Thurs-Wed night # midnight)


If you try and PM me I can't reply because I don't have enough post to reply to it yet. Sorry I'm not tryin to ignore anyone.


Sorry if there are spelling errors or words missing. I am doin this all from my blackberry right now.

 

If someone starts the pm's then you can respond to them you just can't start any on your own. I'll pm you so we can chat without the world seeing.