Need Advice on 3 Companies

The "Best" is up for interpretation. Seems like the "best" companies are always hiring.

 

I'll never understand WHY you would consider working for a carrier 100's or 1,000's of miles away from home and not research working for a local employer.

 

Freight.

Was sitting at the counter at the TA in Baytown. Got into a conversation with a Swift skateboarder. This Keen driver started popping off at the mouth at the Swift driver. Swift ignored him. He tried me, and I showed him his place on the food chain. There was a small fleet owner that was sitting at the counter, told me that he likes the way I talk about how to make money. He offered me a job. He lived 25 miles away from me. He had really nice trailers and all the stuff I needed to do my 4 axle conversion.
I thought about it and thought about it, procrastinated and was waiting for my company to piss me off enough so that I'd want to quit. They never did (I make good money, and there's always freight...it's hard for me to stay mad when someone is throwing money at me)so I stayed.

Saw that guy's truck rolling through Kentucky, called out to him on the CB. No answer. Called him on the phone and he told me that his business folded when the freight got lean and sold his truck and trailer.Wow, glad I stayed here.

The bigger companies have the bigger freight lanes. Can't knock someone for going to a bigger company. If you live in their freight lane, you can get home often.

my first flatbed and heavyhaul gig was at Osborn Transportation in Gadsden,Alabama. We ran mainly between Gary, Indiana and Birmingham,Alabama. We would run up into the northeast, into the City, and as far west as SiouxCity,Iowa( used to run aluminum up to Wilson Trailer).

There was this aluminum plant in Scottsboro that we would pull out of and run all over and get a back haul back south. We were home every weekend. Trucks would run 71 mph 10 speeds, with 9 and 10 swapped over. Man was I glad when they started to go away from the old header board trailers...makes it so much easier to get up on the trailer. Our main competitors in our area was Boyd and Builders Transport ( they had those big green Freightliner condos). When I got back on the road, that aluminum plant in Scottsboro was history, so was Osborn's flatbed division and Builders. I called Jack Osborn's grandson who had been my dispatcher about a job and he told me that they are just a doorslammer company now, but if I ever wanted a job, I had one. Ummm, no.

Before I retired, the company that did the glass that Maverick does was AJ Mettler. Heard that Schneider bought them out. In my hometown, there was a heavyhaul company called Watkins and Sons. They're gone too. Anyone remember Schneider HeavyHaul?

 

Remember Schneider HH? I still have nightmares from they bought us out. I was at IT for a long time. Also remember Metler and their glassrack trailers.

 

I work for Fraley and schilling. 4 years now out of the Alcoa, TN terminal. They have terminals in Rushville, IN and Dale, IN. Primarily flatbed in that area but also some van. They have been great to me so far. At least I get home almost every weekend.

 

This sloppiness has been an ongoing problem.

 

I worked for a local company, made $850 a week at very best (averaged $650), drove junk equipment (new but ZERO maintenance), was home every night (if you want to call it that, usually had to start around 1:00am to 2:00am) had to tarp, untarp, tarp, untarp, tarp, untarp......... all friggen day long then get home around 5:00 or 6:00, bed by 8:00 up at midnight, back at the truck at 1:00, on the forklift till 3:00 or 4:00 re-loading my load because the loaders have no clue what a legal/safe load looks like. Yes I was home every day, home on the weekends, so tired that all I did was sleep on the weekends making up for no sleep all week and broke to boot. But, my commute from my house to work was under a mile. And to think there's a line of drivers just waiting for that job.

I now work for a company that's 2000 miles from my house, work my 10 hours a day, sleep all night every night, drive a brand new well maintained truck, make 3 to 4 times the money and when I get home I'm rested, have money in the bank to go enjoy with the family and I don't have to tarp/untarp/tarp 10 times a day.

So that my friend is why I personally don't work for a local company. Did I mention they are one of the most desirable driving jobs in the area??

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but in this modern day global economy does it really matter where the company is located. I have friends that drive for local companies that never get home and I drive for a company 1000's of miles away and can be home every week if I choose.

 

IT, yup remember it well, was one of my very first driving jobs for an owner operator there based out of the yard in Watkins, CO