Hometime?/North Carolina?/Starting OUT

Probably best to go with a company with a terminal near you, if you want reasonable home time. No company will want you bobtailing 300 miles to get home.

Realistic home time? What does that mean, exactly?

I am usually out 4-6 weeks before I request home time. Others might want to be home every 2-3 weeks. Some even more often.
So, what is realistic to you?

 

Check out Watkins Shepard, we have a Terminal in Conover, NC. They are hireing for our East Coast Regional, they run 35 of the 48 states, and drivers out of NC are home most weekends.

$40,000-$45,000 GROSS your first year


if you have any questions feel free to ask.







American Trucker

 

Really all depends on what you are looking for.
Do you want home every two to three weeks? or stay out longer?
Do you want to bring your truck home or park at a terminal and have it worked on when you take hometime?
I get home every 14 to 21 days on the day I request and I drive for a big bottom feeder OTR company. So it's possible.

I would try Schiender they have dedicated runs out of the wal-mart dc and they promise home time weekly. Most any big company runs wal-mart so getting home should not be a problem for you.
If you want to know what trucks come to your area go sit up at the Chex Truck World at exit 220 and then go sit down near the wal-mart dc and see what trucks come and go all day.
Roehl comes to this area i had a delivery near durham and they had two trucks delivering that day.
I wouldn't worry about getting put into the area to get home if you get a good dispatcher they will bobtail or deadhead you home.
Since you are only 115 miles from richmond, 185 from charlottle and just over 100 from fayetteville. So you have a alot of decent size towns near you and still within a reasonable distance to get you home.

Btw not a Schiender or Roehl driver so not advertising for them.

 

I would say to start out as a brand new driver Schneider is the best way to go. The trainer teaches the trainee unlike most places where they use them as an ATM machine. The trainer is not allowed to be in the sleeper while the trainee is driving. I drove for them for 5 years. The biggest problem is the the way they micro manage you all the time.

I'm headed to Tyson after 6 years with Cargo Transporters because they are putting cameras in the trucks to watch the drivers.

When looking for a company the number one thing to do is watch the claims. If they have little layover pay you will be sitting. If they have little unloading pay you will be unloading. If they have a big bonus for fuel, the trucks will be cut way back and everything will impact your bonus.

 

Realistically if you are concerned about home time and this is your first question about driving then you need not go any further. You are not going to be happy with your career choice and you will be short $6000 in your wallet and will have wasted 3 months of your time (average time newbies quit because of home time).

Have you ever gone on vacation for a week with your family? At the end of that week were you dying to be home? Well here's a little truck driver equation for how you are going to feel out on the road.

Take that one week vacation with your family and multiply that by 6. Now subtract the family and you are left with you and 6 weeks. Now subtract the vacation and add work + lots of stress. Now subtract hotel and add 4x6 box plus shower and bathroom in public place. -almost there- Now divide that by the money you make now cause it won't be much more especially if you don't want to stay out a couple months at a time.

=

????????

 

I dont live very far from Charlotte. Does Watkins Shepard have cdl training available?

 

nope




American Trucker

 

The have a terminal in Conover NC across from the Hickory Fairgrounds in the business park.

To get your training I would say Caldwell Community College is the best way to go. When I went in was cheaper than anywhere else plus we were trained better than others when it came to backing. I have seen many people come from more expensive schools that could not back in a cow pasture. We did more backing than anything else.