Heartland Express can’t be serious?

6 months Class A 4 years ago, just accept you’re going to have to start over.

 

Do they actually run you in all 6 states because that’s what they are advertising now on southeast regional

 

What region did you run I have a question

 

Truth. I had been driving class A trucks for 30 years and when I finally got sick of it, got my passenger endorsement, and drove 45' motorcoaches for two years from 2018 until Covid shut down that industry. After a few months off (layoff and rehabbing a shoulder injury) I started applying for trucking jobs again. Every OTR company that didn't refuse me outright wanted me to go through school or training again. Their reason was that I was out of a semi truck for more than one year. Nevermind the fact that I wheeled those big ### busses through the downtown streets of Manhattan, Philly, Baltimore, DC, etc.

Thirty years of safe, accident free trucking meant absolutely nothing to these companies and/or their insurance carriers. I went to one of our local mom&pop's here at home that I previously worked for and three days later, after my drug test and MVR cleared, I was in a truck again.

 

As the only driver, well former now, on this forum who actually had a decent time at Heartland I will give you my experience. I worked out of their Dallas Texas Terminal on their Sam's Club Account. I was paid a salary, $950 a week, every week no matter how many miles I drove. There was a overage point but I only reached it a few times. I was home every Friday afternoon and went back out every Monday morning. Fueled where ever I wanted and usually spent the night on any Walmart property. Was it perfect, no, but it worked out well for me at that time. Texas Regional Sams Club Fleet around 2015.

 

$950 in 2015 is equivalent to $1,256 in 2024. Therefore, around $60K a year isn't bad if you're working a 40-hour week job. However, I'm guessing you're working at least 50 hours, so that equates to about $22 an hour to drive a Class A truck. If that worked for you, that's great, but that's inadequate pay for the sacrifice of dedicating yourself to a company for 24 hours, 5 days a week IMO.I encourage drivers to do the math and understand what the company believes your time is worth not just per week, month or year, but each hr your on the job.

 

Nothing you have indicates that you are for a fact, an experienced truckdriver. You simply have a license without experience, class b is not class a experience.

 

No one here is trying to knock you down, but you will tend to get the truth straight away, no much candy coating, Training is funny, because you do not know what you do not know and your not going to be put in every driving situation all the time, so the only thing they can do is put you with a trainer to try and get you ready.
There's lots of things to learn from trip planning, backing into docks, truck stops, rest areas, even after a good number of years I have trouble with some of the angled rest stop parking, seems to tight, So I don't force it, just back up and move on.
Shippers and receivers and hard-set appointments, Weather, routing, etc... Just so many things. Accept the help and training, down the road you will be glad you did.