I'm so confusedI

You have some good options since you are close to Reno. Dont worry about you first company. Just get your training and stay there a year or 2. The longer you stay with a company, usually the more doors that are opened to you either there or elsewhere. When I was with swift, I met ALOT of guys who had been there 10+ years

 

She lives in Fernley, thats right off 80, a major freight corridor..

There is a few companies that hire out of the reno area, give them a look see..

 

I agree with what you are saying, but I am so amused that anybody would complain they "didn't know they would be home only 2 or 3 times a month" in a trucking job. Really? That just strikes me as funny. Until they perfect the teleporter truck technology the fact of life is it takes days to get across the country and dispatch doesn't always have a load coming straight back home. Even if you make a "home call" they only promise to do their best to get you there in 5-7 days, depending on how far you are from home when you request home time.

This is a customer and freight driven business. It isn't like dispatchers can pull loads from their hindquarters when you need one, customers have to book the freight and have customers that need the freight.

Being an OTR trucker usually means being away from home weeks at a time, and most starter companies want to see you on the road from 4-6 weeks at a stretch. I recommend anyone starting in this business use that first year, and especially the first few months, to really show that you can run some miles. Be aware that the companies are scoring your performance, and any issues like, "Gee, I really don't want to run east of the Mississippi" or "I gotta be home every week" are going to put you lower on a priority list when it comes time to get the sweet dispatches.

 

Some people don't know about Log books, Hours of Service. What it's like to be away from family for weeks at a time. It sounds good and its for a good purpose but then you get the wife who is lonely or the husband who get lonely and start sleeping around. Or just the fact that person misses his family and sleeping in a truck and you are only 200 miles from family and friends, and you are not even going to be able to pass by because your load is not going through there. It kinda gets to some people.

 

You are faced with a similar problem as I had. I went to one of the companies that get put down regularly because they were one of the few that hired in my area. When I decided to buy a truck, I went to another one of those companies for the same reason and it had a better plan for getting in to a truck than the first did. Rode out my time and positioned myself and now I am at Landstar which has no limit on where you can live. I do have a bit of a struggle getting loads out of the house but once I am rolling I can make good money. Just suck it up the first year, get some miles under your belt, keep your nose clean, and many more opportunities will come to you.

 

That's great advise, truckerchap. Look at any of the infomercial magazines they have in the stands at any truck stop and you'll see lots of companies advertising decent pay as long as you have one, two, or three year's experience (and a clean record). Basically you have to "pay your dues" to get where you want to be.

By the way, congrats on your move up to Landstar. My own game plan is to get my year or two in and play "work up" to O/O as well.

 

The ones that constantly complain will always complain no matter what it is.I've worked with a few drivers like that.Reasons some don't get another job is,im too old to do anything else,this is all I know and there are no other jobs where I live.Those are the excuses I hear all the time.Then it's the companies, the economy,government that makes them that way.There are different types of trucking that pays better like heavy haul,tankers.But drivers choose general freight so they'll always complain.Then many are just plain bored and are more happier complaining.Krazyhorse you're going to hear whining sometimes daily an you'll get use to it.You just have to ignore it.

 

"IF YOU HAVE NEVER TASTED BITTER HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT IS SWEET?"
If you are just starting out there are not as many options for you. Just get going ,do what you can with the best of what you have."GET YOUR FEET WET" Then you will know what is best for YOU.And only you will be the Best Judge of that. 10/10 hello come in

 

I had the same problem as you. I almost didn't become a driver because every company I researched had a long list of complaining drivers. Then I chose a company with a better complainer:content driver ratio, and found out they don't hire in my area(I live in the land that freight forgot). Again, I almost gave up, but I kept looking and found another company that was short on complainers, and hired from FL. I got on there and found there were many drivers who were dissatisfied, who are apparently just not smart enough to air their grievencies online.

Fast forward to OTR training. The biggest thing I learned (aside from how to not crash) is how to play the game so you don't end up as one of those complainers with a long list of grievencies against the company. Sure, I come on here and vent my frustrations when everything is falling apart, but thanks to the training my trainer gave me about the non driving stuff I can keep the bad days to a minimum, and I've managed to keep busy and well paid.

Bottom line: when you see people complaining pay attention to the content of the complaints. There are companies I wouldn't work for today for reasons like forced teams or bad equipment, but I've come to realize that most of the people who can't get money or miles don't know how to play the game.

Hope this helps.