Swift,Us Express, Melton, or TMC which do you recommend for a new driver

if i was brand new today
Abilene and Magnum would head my list
they both have threads on here

 

yeah APUs and inverters included. plus all automatic trucks.

 

I have been running trailers into and laying over at Averitt the past two years so I spoke to a lot of drivers.
Good starter company, most road drivers say they get home weekends. Out Sun in Fri, Out Mon in Sat.

Pay isn't the greatest for someone with experience but for a big carrier you could do worse. The Greensboro terminal was a lot different than the Charlotte terminal which was bigger and less friendly.

They tend to be on the strict side with uniforms and a chart which shows you which kind of facial hair you can grow. I spoke with a driver up in PA last week. They had him up from TX to deliver a load in MD on Monday. The customer decides he wants his load Wednesday, The driver sits for two whole days, no detention pay, no layover pay or per diem. He also said they shorted him with computer miles.

Still, I see their list of drivers that have been there 20 years, P&D drivers seem happier. If you are new it may be a good fit for you, if you have a couple years experience, you may be able to do better, depending on your location.

 

well they definitely have detention and layover programs in place, I would bet they ended up making it right for him.

 

With your location Swift's flatbed division wouldn't have a terminal near you, however they do have steady freight accounts that run through KY.
I wouldn't advise Swift's van division if you have other options. The differences between the two divisions almost makes them different companies.

If you think you're up for flatbed, see if Maverick will count your local/farm experience.
You'll get $1,000 orientation pay, $1,000 load securement training pay, home most weekends, and the option to shoot for their glass division after awhile which has very impressive pay. Maverick has a strict spouse/direct relative rider policy if that matters to you.

Otherwise TMC vs. Melton? It comes down to hometime. They are both reputable in the industry. TMC is home weekends, Melton 3-4 weeks. I'm not sure on the rider policy with these companies.

If you're worried OTR may not be for you after awhile, U.S. Xpress is a great option as they have a huge selection of dedicated accounts that you could switch to and go back to being local without having to switch companies. I do also believe USX has a more liberal rider policy. They're also the only company you listed with a pet policy, if that matters to you.

 

a similar thing happened to me with USX when I was training with them. Me and my trainer ended up starting a few days earlier than what the company was informed by him, he sent it in but I guess the people never went through so I didn't get training pay for the first few days, ended up catching it on my check called them and they made it right. I think all that happened was they had something in there system about the drivers pay that didn't get updated when the loads delivery time changed or something along those lines.

 

yes like the guy above said USX can also be good with there dedicated routes. a lot will have a minimum $1000 a week guarantee. but solo OTR doesn't seem to be very good from the drivers I talked to.

 

You're right Cranky Yankee; I suggested those to him on another thread along with Freymiller.

 

Yeah I don't recommend usx for solo otr but teams and dedicated accounts don't seem to do too bad.

...don't quote me on this but don't melton and tmc have cameras in their trucks?