Old Dominion--A Newbie's Experience

Yeah, one of our big accounts is Cooper tires. There's a big Cooper facility in Franklin, IN, and we keep about 20 empties there at all times, and they're never the same empties because they get sent back to Indy all the time full of tires.

Sorry I've been neglecting the thread! I finished training in mid-September, and have been solo ever since. I've been all over the Midwest. I see Chicago-land at least once a week. Pay is AMAZING! Even as a beginning extra board driver I've never taken home less than $875 a week, after taxes. I work my butt off for it, though. Everyday I work a minimum of 12 hours. Sometimes I won't get home until 5 AM, but at least I make it home, and that is more than most beginning truck drivers can say.

As far as OD being strict, yes they are. But I've also noticed that if you are honest with them about any mistakes you make, they won't make that big a deal over it. I dropped a trailer without putting the landing gear down (bonehead mistake, I know), and because I was honest with them and didn't try to hide it (and also because there wasn't any damage to the trailer or other property), my manager said that he would give me a mulligan on it. As far as dealing with management goes, they have an "open door" policy, and they really mean it. If you have an issue, problem, concern, or anything else that you'd like to bring to the attention of the management, they genuinely want to hear about it. Everything I've experienced so far with this company has been positive. Even the bad days haven't been so bad.

I'll try to be better about updating this thread in the future. I've been busy, but busy is a good thing in this industry, no? Be safe out there!

 

I did a NVL (Nashville) run with my trainer for a month. You make good money on the meet/turn runs, and it's all mileage pay. The caveat is they can run you through a terminal on the way to deliver/pickup. I see Louisville occasionally when I do those NVL runs from Indy. MOR (Morristown, OH) will almost always run you through Columbus.

Yes, they run my logbook out. I only have about 5-10 hours left at the end of the week. They're also very strict about the daily HOS. I once ran out of time in Anderson, IN, about 40 minutes from home, and had to spend the night in a hotel. Wife wasn't too pleased about that!