Cheeseman Trucking, Fort Recovery, Ohio

They are nothing like any OTR company.

 

No longer with Cheeseman but I can still answer questions you might have. I left after 7 years because taking an OTR job in the first place was a mistake. I made it 2 years at TMC and 7 at Cheeseman and wouldn't have stayed that long if I didn't like it there. I took my dream job as a city driver at a highly respected LTL in western PA and haven't looked back. I am paid for everything I do now. Honestly Cheeseman tried to find every reason not to pay you. They really started micromanaging extra pay requests for freight handling. I did a lot of unpaid work there, but that's the nature of OTR. It wasn't always that way and I made a killing there some weeks. The company is very well managed and they also count every dollar.

I miss my truck, they have some great equipment, and I miss some of the people, they have some great people working in dispatch who I will always respect.

If you want a nontraditional blend of OTR and regional, want to be home more than traditional OTR, they are worth checking out.

 

Just checked out the pay schedule on their site. It reads like a game of Twister.

Left foot red... $20
Right hand blue... $10/finger
Left hand green... +.04/mi above base rate
Right foot yellow... $11/hour IF you first call UNO while Professor Plum was in Marvin's Gardens with the Old Maid.

 

At Carter while some call it OTR...I just call it what it is...dedicated...there and back. The pay is awesome and they just had another pay increase. I totally get what you are saying about LTL...was considering a big one myself near Dayton sometime ago when I was offered but driving everyday from where I live to the terminal...even at 30 bucks an hour would kill me. Also I get along great with my co-driver and he does not have the experience yet to go union LTL. Glad you finally got with a company that pays you as a veteran drivers deserve instead of cheap crap freight companies like Cheeseman. Those good paying jobs are out there and all it takes is drivers just looking around...taking advice here and not being afraid to jump.

 

Loaded next to a Carter truck at some metals place up in Emporium PA last week.

I wouldn't call Cheeseman's freight crap, their drivers are treated very well at Crown facilities, it's nothing like what most truckload drivers have to deal with.

Pay scale is confusing, you can figure on $55-$65K a year depending on how hard you run. I always did around $59K.

Holiday pay at the new job is double what it was at Cheeseman and they pay 8 holidays instead of 6.

 

I know that stop....actually once ran it and I can bet that Carter driver is making more there than what the same driver would at Cheeseman.
Maybe it's just me but since becoming a civilian....I have lived by the motto... Work less...make more

 

Been away from Cheeseman and at Pitt Ohio for almost 3 years now, still see their freight when making pickups in NW PA. Any current employees tell Keith or Josh that Ryan from PA says hey.

Pitt is much more fast paced but I am much more successful here. Cheeseman was a great place to work until the end though.