Let Me Introduce Myself!!!

I just wanted to say Hello to EVERYONE and introduce myself. I have been reading posts here for a couple of days trying to get information about any good trucking companies to work for. Finally I just decided to register and ask my own questions.

I am from and live in NorthWest Arkansas...Go Hogs!!! I am 38, married with 3 kids ages 13,10, and 2 (uh-OH). I am currently enrolled in a CDL training course and will finish it before Christmas, so I will be trying to start with a company after the first of the year. We have already had recruiters from Werner and TMC come by and talk with us, and we will probably have more recruiters from Maverick and Covenant come by as well. I don't really need to hear these guys pitch about their companies, I know a used car salesman when I hear one. I just want to get with a company that will treat me fair and with good benefits/respectable pay. I have a pretty good idea to the "Trucker Livestyle" I have been around truckers my whole life. So living on the road is not going to be a suprise to me at all. I also worked in the Oil Field offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, so being away from home for long periods of time (6-8 weeks) is something I have been used to.

This forum has already been so much help to me, from the things that I have read about the companies that interested me. I was pretty interested in both Werner and TMC, but I was leaning more towards TMC. But after reading threads on these boards I have decided to go another way. I think that I am going to try to get on with Tysons...I called their recruiter for our area of Arkansas today and asked her about coming to our school and talking to us about Tysons. Just based on the things that I have read here and what I knew from the real world I have kind of set my mind that I want to start out driving for Tysons and stick with them until I can find an opening with Wal-Mart. I find it very funny that it seems 2 of the best companies to drive for are in Arkansas. I was not even looking to drive for Tysons or Wal-Mart at all, but after talking with Tysons drivers and my uncle (who has driven for Wal-Mart for 30 years), they seem to have the lowest turnovers of any companies out there that are doing OTR driving. Call me crazy if you want but if people are sticking with them, then they must be treating their drivers good. My uncle said that a Driver either has to Retire or Die before there is an open slot to drive for Wal-Mart. Also the drivers I talked to with Tysons said that they always get their hometime and it is never shorted (if they stay out 14 days then they get 2 days home) and that is all I am asking for.

Anyways to cut this thing short...If anyone knows of any other decent companies that hire in NorthWest Arkansas, please let me know. Or if you know anything about Tysons I would be very interested in that as well. I know that there are some that will read this and think that I am whining about being home and haven't even started driving...Well that is not the case at all... I will stay out as long as needed and pay my dues like any rookie should and earn my pay like everyone else. I just want to know that when I come home it is at least 2 days and not for 12 or 24 hours, I don't care if I haven't been home in 3 months. Hell you can't get anything done around the house if you are just swinging in, to kiss the wife and kids and sleep for a while.

But that is enough about me...I look forward to meeting and talking to everyone here and making friends. I also would appreciate any advice that anyone has or knowledge of any good companies out there. So please stop by and say Hello to me.


Good luck to all and be safe,
AsphaltAssassin

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone

 

Well let me keep everyone informed on what has been going on with me. The CDL course that I was taking at my local college was schedulked to graduate 0n the 31st of Dec., but I took my CDL test 3 weeks early and only had to go to school the last 3 weeks on days they were in the classroom so that I could meet the classroom requirements to get the college credits and recieve a certificate. I graduated at the top of my class, which really means nothing in the big scheme of things, but it was just personal satisfication.
During those last 3 weeks I was putting out applications with a couple of companies and talking with them on the phone. I was really interested in Tysons, and a local company named DSI. Well Tysons let me know the Friday before I was scheduled to go to orientation that they were not going to hire me. So that just left DSI as the only other company that I really wanted to go to. Well they let me know that they were going to hire me but that they were waiting on their trainers to get certified due to new regulations. But that is fine with me because I had a house fire the week before Christmas and I have stuff to deal with.