Q. pet policy

Swift doesn't allow company drivers to have pets, its a no pet policy now. Years ago they did allow company drivers to have a pet, but they changed it for some reason. If you own or lease a truck, then you can do whatever you want and have a pet of course. I know how hard it can be to find a company that allows you to have a pet. The few, very few that will allow a pet, restrict it to a small dog. I guess cat allergies are so common, that its difficult to find a company that will allow you to have one. One company I checked that did allow you to have a pet charged a $500. non refundable pet deposit. Plus a penny or two for each mile that you drove, which added up to thousands of dollars in a yr just to have a pet. So becareful, make lots of phone calls, usually when I job hunt, its the Very First question I ask before anything else, "do you allow pets?" It makes it a shorter and not so much of a waste of time conversation if you do it that way.

I have had a cat with me now for going on over 14 or 15 yrs, having a pet makes the truck a home. Its great to have something else alive with you while in a truck. I hope you do well in your school and find that perfect company that will allow you to have a pet.

Good luck to you,

don b

 

As stated Swift's policy for company drivers is no pets ... that said, saw a company truck the other day with a dog.

 

If a driver had a dog when the ban was enacted he/she was grandfathered and allowed to keep the pet. Some pets have lived extraordinary long lives!

 

Either that or you just keep getting another pet, same breed, same coloring ...

 

Actually yeah, you could go for yrs with a pet and not get caught. Just keep the truck sparkling clean, I used to take mine to a local car wash and vacuum it out before putting it in the shop for a service. The dark day will come when you do get caught with one, its on your computer screen if your allowed to have one or not. And lets say your truck breaks down, your towed to the nearest term shop, maybe ok, maybe not. If the mechanics make a big fuss about it and say something to the term people, they could say to you. Either the pet goes or you go! Meaning, you could be thousands of miles away from your home term, and be kicked out of the truck. Yeah you can sneek pets on board, alot of people do, I did for years. Since mine is a cat, the mechanics never minded me leaving it in the truck when any repairs were done to it. However most would make people take their dogs out of the truck while the mechanics worked on the truck.

To be honest, its not worth the risk of getting caught with one. They can be very nasty with you if they wanted to be. Mostly nobody cared or even said a word to me when I was a company driver. But I did get caught, since my hire date was when pets were allowed, and I told them I did have a pet authorization, I was allowed to leave the term, I was at and get back to my home term. But then came the DM conversation, either you go or the pet goes, the third option was lease purchase or get a buy-out truck, which is what I did. Because I had quit when pets where allowed, but came back after the policy had changed, so I was screwed. I had had my cat now for over a million miles, and I really needed a job, so I just had him with me anyway, in spite of what the new rules were. But I did eventually get caught, and it could have been very nasty.

But I am serious, get a credit card, even a secured one, with enough money on it for you in case you needed to, rent a car from where you are to where your home is. There have been a few times when I just wanted to quit right then and there, and lets face it, after a while, we pile up alot of stuff in these trucks, way too much for a greyhound bus ride home.

For the most part, Swift actually is a pretty mellow and laid back company to work for. But dark days do come, and if they do, you gotta be ready for them.

 

Yeah I work for Swift, I am sitting in the Denver term right now actually. I just gotta get busy and go pick up a Coors empty can load, with this my 3rd trl, it passed, omg, never again for coors,.

A buy-out truck is one of the older lease trucks that have been turned in, and Swift is reselling them to its' drivers. I think because of the glut of used trucks already on the market. I drove by my cities Freightliner dealership and it was packed full of used trucks.

I can't speak for all of the used trucks Swift is trying to resell, my recruiter was Michele Contrell out of the Greer, SC Term. I got a 09' Freightliner Columbia, they had two of them sitting at the term in Edwardsville, KS. Swift actually flew me from SLC, UT to the Kansas term to pick up the truck and I signed all the paperwork there and rolled out of there an O/O. oh yeah! With my happy little cat on board also, btw.

According to her, Phoenix had a couple of Volvos sitting there for sale, and I guess it was hit and miss with other trucks at different terms.

For me it was a sweet deal, I had talked to the Freightliner dealership where I live, they said an first time applicant needed a $10,000 line of credit a good credit score and history of at least 700 - 750, and a 20 % down pymt. Swift didn't require anything, just sign and drive. Plus they give 30 days no pymts, which really helped me to rebuild my bank acct.

Basically the situation is, I am buying/owning my truck and building equity with each pymt I make, and the pymt amt. is almost the same as anyone making lease purchase pymts. My pymts are for 3 yrs, and at the end of that, I own the truck outright and completely. Instead of a lease, when after 4 yrs, the person has to either come up with a huge balloon pymt or just turn in that truck, then decide what to do next, either lease again or whatever.

My advice is, omg yes, this is so much a better situation to be in, than leasing. But be fussy and really check out a truck your considering buying, you might luck out like I feel I did, or you may get screwed on one.

Swift or IEL, who owns the trucks, gives a 30 day warranty or shake down period. So take advantage of it and really get yours if you buy one, checked out really good, because all the repair bills go to Swift. But after 30 days, all the bills and expenses become yours, and yours alone.

So be patient, and make sure its what you want and one you like. My plans are to keep this until after it gets over a million miles on it, its only got 367,000 now, so I got a long ways to go.

But they do have higher mileage trucks, I met another guy who also got an 09' columbia and his had over 500 K, so chose wisely.

all the best to you.

don b