Which Starter Company???

Best of luck to you.

 

Melton Flatbed just announced a new policy that allows you to take home time away from your originally documented domicile. Believe it or not before you weren’t allowed home time elsewhere. They have been hiring more females lately. I rarely saw a female driver at Melton until this year. It’s physically hard work about 10% of the time. They hire out of WA. Starting pay is .41 per mile + extra for tarping. At the end of 1 year you will make .48. You can check them out on the main page of this website you are on now. They have an easy pet policy and you can have a spouse or friend ride along. Good luck.

 

Oh... here we go.

1- Do not ever tell dispatch you have family and friends in Georgia. (And all the other wonderful places you have made plans to visit.... Keep your mouth shut. Why? The moment dispatch finds out about Georgia on your mind, they will send you to Walla Walla WA and you will be out there a while. The theory goes that families and friends stop trucks like kryptonite stops the man of steel.

I had a brother and his family in Indy and before that Ellsworth/rapid city SD. No one knew anything until my spouse called dispatcher and asked for my brothers phone number in indy to reach me.

Instantly indy goes bye bye. Never see that city ever again with FFE. Gee thanks. So it became Rapid CIty SD or Lackland near San Antone a while... (Nephew was machine gunner in Airforce...)

2- I started writing my first paragraph based on walla walla wa.. funny how that works. You will be shipped off to where they aint family and friends for you to vist, do you understand?

3- Some friend. I hope that this friend has some serious trucking experience. I-90 is not that kind to people who don't know what they are getting into with the coming of winter up there on that big pass. Nor will the Dalles be kind, icing over the first chance it gets.

4- You intend to be old school long haul trucking. Make money while the sun shines from say end of Feb all the way to at least middle October if not november. Then sit home a few months while everyone battles old man winter and you can enjoy your fireplace and friends a while with no appointments anywhere for weeks and months.

5- Your post can be longer. There are some of us who thrive on long material. I generally try to keep my answers short. But it's difficult.

6- No matter what, build savings. ANY way you can. It could be 50 dollars, 100 dollars whatever. Don't spend that. Set it aside and tight fist that money. Add another 50. Even 20'\s (It's a good chance to build your old 20 dollar bills collection before Uncle Sam replaces that with the new Female 20's coming out pending. You might even double your money based on value to collectors on the bay in a few years sitting on those old 20's

It will be tens of thousands before beginning of winter next year.

Some of the very best times I had was when I told my dispatcher to dedicate me to I-10 only between San Antone and Jacksonville Florida for 6 months one winter. Started October, stopped the new year towards March-May time period. Shorts and teeshirts with the occaisonal tropical hurricane or tornados in the constant rain. Pipe oil rig one way, chains and cable the other. Piles of money, too much to spend at once and too tired to care about spending it. Shovels of cash splashing all over the sleeper too that year. Casino took some of it thought and won some too.

I was absolutely fixing to to do the Gump thing and buy a boat and get out of trucking. But... eh. I stayed in it.

 

There is no mixed feelings about the starter companies: Their are just mixed up steering wheel holders; drivers that don't yet or will ever understand the industry and just parrot the BS told to them by the mega recruiter.

That said most of the starter companies are run the same way. Choose the one you feel you fit in most and serve your time as you feel comfortable. Most starter/mega companies are run on the same concept. If one nationwide company does not allow you to take your home time wherever you want in the nation that is unusual. It is only because they don't have freight there.

Be aware if OTR is not exactly what you want, a local company may be interested in you, and your much likely to be more satisfied there. Two years can be a long time at the wrong job or company.

As far as reefer, van, flatbed, or tanker question. Tanker is the best CPM deal but not always available to the newbie. Flatbed is good if you want to work and they pay for the work. Note, those two things don't always happen together. Reefer is nothing but long unpaid waits at distribution warehouses when driving for a training company.

 

Check out Magnum out of Fargo, ND. Thread in the good companies section. We run everywhere you want except above NY.

Reefer, mostly frozen, good equipment and miles, .50 cpm performance pay, no touch freight, detention pay after 2 hrs.

And you can take your hometime anywhere you please and as much as you want.

 

I would go with Schneider, they are the most female friendly company...unless you can find a company owned by a woman...and also, don't go out on the road with a man trainer. There's a good chance you will be sexually harrassed and it's hard to escape, and it is his word against yours and I have never heard of a company taking the word of the student. Hate to have to say that, but it is a dangerous profession for a woman to get into.

Once you are on your own in your own assigned truck you will do just fine.

 

Glassdoor and Indeed ratings do help with the bigger companies that have tons of ratings. Compare their ratings against each other. Then pick from the highest rated ones that meet all your conditions.

 

Now fellas; don't go scaring the Lady.
I have a feeling she can take care of herself.
Use that intuition to sort thru the BS. You will find a good fit.
Welcome; Bon fortune, and don't be a stranger here on TR.