Is swift a good company?

Worst trailer I ever had just so happened to be when my wife joined me on the truck for a three week stint. Had to slide the tandems to the back before docking at the customer and it took me 45 minutes to slide those suckers and another 30 minutes to reslide 'em after I got unloaded. Had my foot up against the rail and pulled like a mofo then squeeze those vice grips to get another 1/8" slide out of that bar, get back in and rock the trailer, rinse... repeat.... repeat... repeat...

... then a couple times theres the pins that won't come pull in at all, the weld is broken or something, then you have to wrench out the spring behind the pin to slide the pin in...

 

I had a trailer where 1 pin would not pull in, I had to use a screw driver and push it in and wedge it then pull forward to slide a hole and had to keep repeating until all the way slid....it took forever.

 

It takes a little finess but you can pull the pin in and hold it with a pair of vice grip. When you have to do the rock an 1/8" at time dance, it generally means the carriage is slightly off track and there's one pin that's hanging it, hammer time will usually fix it.

 

say,,, did you ever get the job with swift? if so how you doing Im thinking of joining my self

 

My fiancé has just started with swift, he says he likes it so far. He said his DM is cool. I'm having a hard time with the amount of time he spends away from home. He says this will get better after his 260 hrs or w.e.. We have a new 6month old and 2 kids, any thoughts on this? Will it get better? His DM told him after he completes his hrs he can pretty much make his own schedule, is this true?

 

It is true that after he finishes training and goes solo in his own truck, he can then ask for home time whenever he wants. However, when you take home time you aren't earning any money. My paychecks suffer whenever I take a few days off at home. Practically speaking, as an OTR trucker in Swift you should try to take home time no more often than every 3-4 weeks if at all possible and limit each HT to about 2 days or so.

After he has been solo for at least 3 months then he will begin to be eligible for alternatives within Swift. For example there might be dedicated positions available, which would allow him to take much more frequent home time. I met a driver at a terminal that was running dedicated for one of the dollar store accounts, and he was getting home about once a week with steady and predicable paychecks. Each dedicated account will vary in terms of work requirements, minimum qualifications, etc. so for each job posted your husband will need to check into it.

 

Yeah it doesnt get much better and I feel for you guys, I have 2 little girls and one just turned a year old last month. Normally during OTR im home once a month for 3 days or so, like lepton said there are some dedicated fleets and it sometimes matters where you live too. Some dedicated routes you can be home every single night like Walmart and stuff but you need to live close to the DC your working with. There are a lot of different dedicated accounts, the dollar store accounts are the easiest to get just because it has a high turn over and a lot of drivers get burnt out, you have to hand unload the truck so its not for every driver.
Some dedicated accounts want to see better numbers too, miles, points such as accidents etc, time driving. Also take in account if a position opens there might be 50 other drivers going after it too with more experience than you.

I know so far I have not been able to secure a dedicated and I have been trying for months, only thing that has been offered was the dollar account.

 

I go to Swift Orientation next week and am looking for NO home time and OTR dedicated routes, long distance if possible.
Thanks for the info!!

 

If you are indeed looking for NO home time, then kudos. OTR driving is best for those that don't have a need for a lot of home time AND you will make more money by not interrupting your mileage "stream" with days off. After you have been solo a few months, going OTR 48 states AND have been assigned to your permanent DM (driver manager) then you can ask your DM about dedicated accounts or other opportunities.

My best advise for orientation is keep silent and listen, be a sponge. Ask questions.

When you are assigned to your trainer, make sure you are ready to roll and ready for anything that he/she throws your way. If for any reason you feel the trainer is not in your best interests, then talk with your assigned Driver Development contact about getting assigned to a new trainer.

Good luck!

 

Much thanks! I'll use your info.
My last career I had very few problems with trainers and used their advice when I was a trainer myself, so I see a smooth transition to this one.
And since our work day was 14 hours on and 10 off I'm hoping it's like home to me................