I am trying to decide between Swift and Stevens

the best thing to do is calculate how many miles you need minimum a week to pay your bills and survive, if you can get your minimum then your good, anything over is extra. That is what I did, I calculated I needed to get at least 2k miles a week for my family but I try my best to do much more when they dont screw up my loads or make me wait on loads.

 

I'm currently out with my Trainer with Stevens. For the most part they treat you well, the key to this is always being professional, using the right methods and talking to the right people when a problem comes up. Take the initiative everyday and do whats asked and never tell them you can do something you can't. This is how my trainer runs, he gets no flack from fleet manager, dispatch, safety. no one. He has built up his reputation as a go to guy over 3 years.

My point is this, Stevens is a good company, yes they train a lot, yes they have turnover, yes people get ticked off at them, but if you are willing to work hard, act professional, and do what is asked, you will be fine here.

I am sure someone will be along shortly to tell me I am retarded for saying what I have said, and heck my opinion might change once I go solo, but so far from a rookies point of view I am glad I am here.

 

I'm a solo driver with Stevens, they do keep me rolling but not to the tune of 3000 a week. There are weeks that I do don't get me wrong, but I average in the neighborhood of 2800. My highest week was 3400 and my lowest week was 1800. That was the only time I have been below 2000 excepting of course hometime.

You are not going to start out running that much when you go solo, but after you prove you are able and willing to run, they will send the loads your way. My first solo run out of the gate for example was 1450 miles, but had 5 Stops in Michigan and was a 4 day run, so essentially I ran from Dallas to Michigan in two days and spend the next two delivering the 5 stops.

I can not speak for swift never having driven for them though, But they are essentially a dry van company, while Stevens is predominately reefer. I say predominantly because there are some dry loads and we have a Kraft dedicated route in the Midwest that actually runs dry vans.

I chose Stevens for my return to trucking because they mainly haul food, and with the uncertainty in the economy at that time, my reasoning is people still have to eat so I didn't think freight would be a problem, and it has not been.

Good Luck which ever way you decide to go and if I can answer any specific questions for you, just send a PM.

 

I would look into Roehl and Prime if I were you. Roehl's training is said to be top notch. Prime pays you a pretty high CPM to drive 55ish, you will be the slowest one on the road, but I believe they pay 39CPM, as well as a fuel bonus. I don't think that includes what they pay you for using a light weight truck either (which pays more, smaller truck though).

As for minimum miles with Stevens, they require their drivers to drive at least 7K miles a month. I asked the recruiter that told me that if that meant you were guaranteed at least that many a month and he looked at me like I might be crazy, lol. They seem to have some decent bonuses, but their base CPM rate is pretty low. Again, look into Roehl or Prime imo. Avoid Swift if at all possible at least, not many happy people there.

 

Actually, I've met a few Swifties out here at different places, all of them have been pretty happy for the most part. Something I have learned in my limited time out here, everyone complains about miles, everyone, that and no one, i mean no one pays good enough.....if you listen to everyone long enough, you will eventually get past those two topics and find out for the most part most people are fine........just an observation.

 

I actually researched and finally called a Roehl recruiter today. Yeah, Roehl be excellent if it wasn't for that stiff $400 dollar lodging expense that you have to pay out of pocket plus your meals for 3-4 weeks. Other than that they start out .30+ cents a mile. Didn't stick around on the phone much longer to find out about average miles a week. I heard that out of pocket price and cut the conversation short. I cut my list down to Central Refrigerated and Stevens Trans, but I researched Millis Transfer Inc and applied to them tonight. If I get the heads up from them, I'm going to be very confused. I have the heads up from Central Ref and Stevens Trans, but Millis Trans will get the number one spot. There company looks like a great fit and plus I have not heard any bad talk about them. Heard it was a very happy company that. It looks to over shadow all other 19 companies I have researched. They have their on school as well for rookies like me. I have until the 19th of August until I graduate college. So, it looks like a run. Went from 20 down to a top 3. 1. Millis Trans Inc, 2. Central Ref, 3. Stevens Trans. I have Maverick on the outside looking in at number 4 because I'm not sure if they have their own school. Knight as well at number 5 because I'm not sure if they have their own school. I will find out about Millis, Maverick, and Knight tomorrow. I will keep you posted, but look into Millis and Central if you get a chance. They might just change your list like mine.

 

Your out of pocket for Stevens will be about the same, just broken down different...i was also considering central, same thing . Roehl want the lodging up front but covers other things, Stevens doesn't ask for lodging up front but charges for things Roehl doesn't, After meals, licensing fees, phy/drug test fees, food, various small purchases.....i spent around 450 to 500 bucks during my three week training at Stevens, I'd imagine it would have been the same or similar at central or anywhere you go for that matter.