How many Swiftys here?

None,, they all forgot to S.wing W.ide I.t's (a) F.reakin T.railer,,lol

But seriously ,, I'm an EX Swfity. (keyword being EX,,lol)

 

im a swifty. im pretty happy with the decision to come here

 

I worked for Swift for 2 years, and then went to a little company that I really liked. The whole thing I found out about Swift, is #1,you have to have a good DM. If you have one who cares, they will keep you running. 3 things that you should get when you have the cash, is a laptop &printer, some kind of logging program, (I used DDL, but there are several out there), and a GPS with the location sensor for your laptop. With these, youwill be able to A) reprint your "missing" logs. Swift scans thousands of logs a day, and yours are always getting lost. If you send your missing ones in real quick, you will not be sitting in a log class on your nickel. Send yourlogs in a separate envelope then your BOL's you will have far fewer missing logs for some reason. Write "LOGS ONLY" on the envelope. The log program will tell you exactly when you need to stop, and it will figure your split sleeper without any problems. A lot of people will tell you that you should not worry about splitting the sleeper, but a lot of times it will make huge difference in missing a load, and being able to grab it. With your computer and printer, print a log every day, sign it, and keep it in a note book. The neater your logs are, the shorter your inspections will be. If you get in an accident,a lawyer will have the company send all your logs to him. They will pay a person to go through them, and if they can establish a pattern of log abuse,they will nail you to the wall. I know one driver that spent 8 years in prison for false logs, worse he went to sleep and killed a family. Do not write any false logs, it isn't worth it.
The printer (Mine cost $29.00 on sale) will scan your BOL's and you can file them under the load number. If you are missing one, you can print it out and send it so you can get paid for the load.
With the GPS, you can tell your DM, "I'm 60 miles out, and will be at the customer at (whatever) time, then I should be ready for a load at (whatever) time and I'll have (whatever) time left to drive. This is impressive to DM's and lets them do their job so much easier. The easier you make your DM's job, the easier your life will be.
When I was driving for Swift, the only shop I found that could fix the tractor properly was Salt Lake. Their shop was the best in my experience, but that might have changed by now. Find out where it's easy to get a load out of too. Salt Lake is very easy since you have Costco, Wal-Mart, and several others shipping out of the area. Avoid Southern CA. (LA) like the plague. It's almost impossible to get a load out, and if you get stuck down there, tell the planner you will make a local delivery to get an empty. If you have an empty, you will get out of there in a day or so, if not, I have had friends set there about a week. A trick they like to do is to give you a load, and then take it away. This lets them not pay you for sitting.
Swift is very political, so try and make friends in the office. On days you are home, if your truck is in the shop, offer to drive a day cab for them. You may only make a few bucks, but this will let you meet the people, and they can put a face with the name. My second DM could get me a load out of anywhere, simply he introduced himself to several planners, and could call them to get me a load.
Take every load unless you simply can't. Be honest, tell them you don't have the hours or whatever. Most planners and DM's have been drivers, and understand. If you get the reputation as a "runner", and a good manager of your time, you will be able to get on a dedicated fleet real easy, and the bucks will be more equal every week. I ran K-Mart, and loved it.
In all things, CYA. Make copied, (scan) everything. Make sure your DM has the latest info on your hours, and position. Be sure to check your time that you are out, and your home time set. I have had planners reset my time out because they wanted me to take a load, when I should have been heading for home. If you have a PM on your truck, try to get them to do it when you are home. When your truck is in the shop, it doesn't count as home time. If you have a good DM, you will have no problem on home time. They were always good about getting me home for any holiday. I drove out of Denver, and when I'd head out, I'd set my time at 14 days, then keep track of days out. Be sure to check it all the time.
Do the QC arrive the minute you arrive at a customer, and a loaded call the minute you are ready to go. If they take over 2 hours to load/unload you, they have to pay Swift for you sitting there. If you have a damaged load, take pictures, and write an explaination. It may help, but most of the time you will be blamed for a damaged load, unless it was sealed when you got there to pick it up. I found if you communicate by E-mail, you will always have acess to a record of your side of the story. When I left Swift, I turned a written resignation, 2 years later when I had to file for unemployment because of the slump after Christmas, I found my DM had told my FM that I had quit to take care of my sick wife, not because I was not getting any miles. The written letter saved me and made her look real bad, (she would lie about anything). If you write with QC, you are at the company's mercy about getting any letters. E-Mail puts it in your corner.
That's another thing, after Christmas, you will be in a slump, few miles. Plan for low miles until the end of March.
Always ask permission to park on someone's lot. In CA, Wal-Mart is a big no-no. I can't blame them as they have had drivers dump crap, (literally)on their lot. I used to try and leave every place I went just a small bit better than when I arrived. It will not go unnoticed, and I could park in a lot of places that other Swift trucks could not.
You will have to choose your area to drive. If you live out West like I do, if you choose the East coast, you will get a lot of miles, but you will never see home until your time is up. If you ever go into New York, have a LEAST $100.00 cash for tolls parking and lumpers. If you tip the lumpers, you will get good service too. It's just a game and you have to learn to play it. I had one place that you had to pay the spotter $40.00 cash, no other payment would be accepted.
You can write me with any questions you may have, and I'll try to answer them, (kutz_bill@hotmail.com).
The main thing is get to know all the planners. Make sure they have your cell # and know you want miles. I have had many times I have gota call from planners all over asking me if I can take a load off someone that has run out of hours. If you do a few favors for them, when you can't get a load, call them. You will have a good run in a few minutes most the time. It may be a high value load, but they keep the wheel spinning.
The last thing I'd ask you to remember is that you can driveout of any terminal you want. It makes no difference where you live. Terminals get money for the drivers that are driving out of their building, so it can be a little competitive. If you aren't getting the miles, ask about switching terminals. Sometimes a new one will make all the difference.
Good Luck!
Bill

 

Great information, kbill. Thanks.

 

yeah, except everybody (w/Swift) should be on ELogs now.
Also they quit 'sending in ' Paperwork quite a while ago.Its Transflo now.

 

Thanks, I quit driving for Swift in Sept. 2008, so some of my info is behind the times. I will say however that the logging program is worth the $98.00 I paid for it, since it will print about any form out there,and I could easily see and be alerted to any violation before it happened. I am not familiar with ELogs, and it may do the same thing. When I went to the little company, where you do not have a driver number, they call you by your name, in orientation the FM asked if anyone had the computer logs. When I said I did, she asked could I print them out in the truck, and again I said I could. She said "Great, I LOVE those things, they are so easy to read."
It's funny to me how much more money I made running for the little company between LA and Denver (the issue with no frieght out of the LA area seemed to be a Swift issue, and these guys always had a load for you. It may have been a live load, but they always seemed to be able to get you out of there. I was gunshy at first, but I learned soon). They could always have you a drop and hook at their yard if you gave them the time you would arrive. I could hit it from Prim NV with 15 minutes with the GPS program, once I got all the settings right. In 4 years with them, I spent less than 10 nights in CA. and I was home every 3rd day on the average.
Thanks for the corrections, all I want to do is help the newbies.
Bill

 

We also have our own forum here----> http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/swift/