Just looking for an opinion..

Yes I have pulled one winco reefer and a half dozen or so van loads. It happens but not too frequently.

And yes you'll run into the naysayers like a previous poster praising TMC. Well one of the guys who I met at swift FB training chased that greener grass and makes less money than I do. He's on % with TMC and runs mostly the northeast. #### that. Another guy went to Melton and we make about the same.

 

do swift at least 1 year, learn the system, the industry, and get your own equipment as fast as you can.

 

It looks like you made up your mind already.... Look i'm sure you'll hear 100 different answers here on this forum but all i can tell you is do a lot of research not just on swift but other companies as well. Lots of them give CDL training with 6-12 months contract

Whatever you decide i wish you luck

 

To get on the FB fleet just tell your recruiter. Also if you attend swifts cdl school in phx, the academy coordinator is the person who schedules your orientation, and she will ask if you want to do flatbed. A minor quirk though is that flatbed orientation is in Phoenix as well. So when you graduate the phx school, you'll have to go home and get your license transferred to CA (you earn an AZ license at the academy), then go back to phx again for orientation. I hope you like the greyhound.And just to go back to the company vs company bickering for a second, Lucar nailed it. All companies for the most part are the same, they have their pros and cons, good drivers do well, bad drivers don't. The best thing to do if you want to make a career out of this is to get your own truck after learning the ropes. And no I don't mean leasing a truck from swift or prime.

 

not really being a naysayer. I have a lot of respect for the guys that are running OTR it's god awful lonely work and it definitely not for everyone! I weighed a lot in my decision to go flatbed division. HOME almost every weekend, tarp pay, border pay, borough pay, CPM, %PM. My own truck (I take home on weekends). The drop, hook and run just seems like a real hard life! Out three weeks with someone that I don't really know. Relying on him as we'll as myself to drive safe and smart. In for two or three days and back out for three more weeks. It's really not about the money for me. It's about the lifestyle. So I solute those that choose to run hard and sacrifice their sanity at 17 CPM. Really if you look at the big picture there are lots of companies that pay you to go to their school and then put you in their trucks to drive. I chose private school in order to give me the freedom to make my decision on my own. I am praising TMC because they are willing to give me a chance along with the extra training involved in flat bedding. They are also reimbursing me for my tuition at the school over a one year time span. I am not obligated to stay with them for any length if time so I get my cake and eat it too. The only reason I was mentioning flatbed companies is to let him know that he has more options if he us interested in flatbeds.

 

Amen to that! Why would someone lease is beyond me!

 

Yes he has options but TMC isnt one of them, since they don't hire out of CA as I previously mentioned. And yes that borough pay is why my buddy runs the NE. So on a week where he crosses the GW and Brooklyn bridge he might make slightly more money than I do. But to me its not worth it. The only bridge in NY I've had to cross with swift is the teppan zee and I'm happy to keep it that way!