Ohio Driver Seeks Advice

First question: Are you happy where you are at?

Running local will send your hours all over the place. It depends on what you do, and how efficient you are at it. As far as the slip seating goes, is this going to be a constant thing, or is the company having some temporary trouble with the trucks, causing different trucks to be in the shop?

Running a dedicated account is paradise for some, and H E double hockey sticks for others. If you get bored, see if you can switch routes with another driver every now and again. Raises would be between you and the company.

I will say that while local work is incredibly taxing on the driver and requires a bit of skill (I drive local myself), it does not count as OTR experience. Which will in turn make it harder for you to move into another company if they require OTR.

But it all goes back to the first question. Are you happy? If so, stay where you are at. If not, move now while you still have that OTR recent experience.

 

Don't know about Werner paying that much

 

Sounds like you work for Hogan. They sent me an email because Monster apparently shares your email address. Their email claim $20/hour for local work, assigned truck, etc.... I called them out of curiosity.... Oh, well the $20/hr local jobs are out of Columbus, I live near Toledo. They had great opportunities near me for .36 cpm home every other day for this area... I laughed & hung up on them.

Have you talked to Cheeseman Trucking? They & Zumstein of Lewisburg combined and are offering $18/hr for local stuff in the Toledo area. When I came back to trucking in 1997, I worked for Zumstein and they were really pretty fair.

I'd be careful about the fine print that comes with that "guaranteed" pay as well. Just like everything else in trucking. Believe none of what you hear & only half of what you see

 

You can probably ask for a raise very soon. You can, in fact should, speak to the dispatch director and ask that they assign you a truck that will be "yours", so that you could keep it clean and take better care of it. If the director is a co-owner or otherwise cares about the company, he/she would probably appreciate your request and see that you are a different type of a driver, the type that they better try to keep and make happy in exchange for a far better/smoother experience.

But also keep in mind that you were paid fairly well despite having zero experience and being fresh out of school. They took a big risk by taking you in - their insurance premiums are higher, and the probability of your screwing up the truck or getting into an accident is just much higher (sorry, but experience matters a lot in truck driving).

Also, FedEx et al are very tough in terms of all kinds of compliance, tests, etc. Getting in and staying on them is tough, and driving accident-free is very demanding.

 

I hate to sound cold but get use to it.There's always a catch that unfortunately you don't learn till you start driving for that company and unfortunately sometimes you learn the hard way.Don't believe that $1000.00 a week jazz.Recruiters know what they're doing and they will not tell u the strings attached.Thats how the trucking biz is like it or not.With Werner that 1000.00 a week is with a dedicated account you unload your own freight and back into some very difficult places.Watch out for companies that really are trying to sell you a driving job,you can bet there's things the ad is leaving out.Just stick where you're at.You're doing real good staying with your first company this long.Hang in there till you get more exp so you know the games companies play and you don't fall for their lies.

 

I agree with slow poke recruiters will offer people in hell a glass of cold water just to get bodies in chairs. Like u said all companies have pro's and con's. U just have 2 be happy and don't worry yourself about small things out your control. Companies don't like drivers making demands they will peg u as a problem driver and find a reason to get RID of u if the company is as shady as u say if u quit and try to come back u may be still subject to the lower pay. I had difficulty finding a company that I was satisfied with. It takes time to work your way up from bottom. I am otr some days I run a good clock and other days I get hung up at a shipper/ receiver and my clock completely runs out. We have crazy hours also. If u like it stay if not u got cdl u can find another job.

 

see if that offer from Fed Ex is still available. I am assuming this is FOR FedEx and not one of the contractors.

 

Personally, slip seating would be a big turn off for me. As you've found out, it's a krap shoot with which truck you get. Bonuses are nice, but they usually have strings attached. I'd rather have a better guaranteed wage, and the company keep their bonus, thank you very much.