Swift Drivers if you do not work for Swift do not respond

After 6 weeks of training and you get a truck do they try to get you home right away I live about 4 1/2 hours from the terminal. St Louis area

After you upgrade to solo status off your mentor's truck they will assign you a truck and send you home for a few days to get it set up to run.

How often do drivers have to unload I plan on OTR all 48, or is it drop n hook if not do they let you use lumpers?

As far as I know, with the exception of Dollar Tree Dedicated, all Swift freight is No-Touch. Most loads are drop/hook. Swift pays for lumpers 100%

I keep reading about a family plan and it's required for new drivers is this true?

As I understand it, yes. It may depend on your terminal and truck availability at the time.

I have a family but I am here to make money not sit at home for a week waiting for my truck 2 or 3 days off will be good ever few weeks for me.

How is the GPS in the quacomm are they pretty good to get from A to B

The GPS in the qualcomm is basically the same as any car GPS as far as routing. It DOES NOT route you according to the assigned Fuel Route so no advantage there. The major downside I noticed when I tried it was that the new qualcomm is Cell Phone based and when you lose signal the GPS stops tracking and locks up until signal is regained. Also, the display is too bright for me even when set to it's dimmest setting. I just turn off my display on the qualcomm at night and use my Garmin for routing.

Remember, a GPS is no substitute for good map reading skills, common sense, and keeping your eyes down the road to look for potential problems before you drive into them.

 

Wow. That is very different. I spoke with a student at my local CDL school and was told they spend a whole bunch of time in the map right from the start. The instructors really like to bad-mouth GPS, too. My experience with road maps and GPS is that I would like to have both. After all, GPS is a mechanical thing and it is suscepitible to breaking or satellite failure or software malfunctions. Maps are maps.

 

OTR drivers do unload occasionally, but it's not common. Generally, it's a floor load, such as tires or furniture, and all we do is tailgate it- i.e. push it to the end of the trailer. Only twice have I been asked to unload pallets at a warehouse. Both times I was pitiful enough, the lumpers did it for me, or at least helped. You can avoid these if you so choose, because it states in the preplan if it's driver unload or not.

 

Sorry to jump on your thread scarface...i talked to the swift recruiter here in NY. They want me to sart in about 20 days. I was just wondering how swift sets you up for the next load? I live about 3 hours from syracuse which would be my home terminal and I wanted to know how far in advance i would know about a load. I don't want to have to drive 3 hours to the terminal and then have to drive for the full day right after that.
I've wanted to drive since i was a little boy and now i've been able to put it all together and do it. The thing that has me hooked on swift is their home time. I have a three year old and while trucking isn't the best way to go, it is what my daddy did and he started out the same way whn i was young. 30000 is good for me as well. Good luck scarface and be sure to post how it goes!

 

Ok. Here goes: I worked for USA Truck in January and failed (I failed to tell my trainer that I was too exhausted to drive from being on the bus for 2 days). I was with them 1 month. I worked for Pepsi for 8 weeks. I was supposed to be driving, but their trainers were more concerned with getting their deliveries done (which I totally understand).

If I call Swift, will they ask for a 40 hour refresher? I hope not because I don't have the $1000 to take one. I have a $185/month payment on the school I went to and I'm having trouble finding any job at this point.

How's the home time? I live about 4 hours from the Syracuse hub.
Regional available? And bottom line: can I make enough to take care of my family?

Any constructive advise would be appreciated.

 

It depends on what the fail was with USA as to whether Swift will take you. "Failed" could mean any of a myriad of things. Did you just not drive? Did you crush a granny in her Honda? What happened?

You will most likely have to take a refresher. I'm not sure if Swift offers one near you.

You will start out at the bottom of the pay scale. When I started almost 5 years ago, it was 26cpm. I made roughly $600-$700/week checks for the first six months. Not sure what starting rate is now.