Former SNI Drivers Chat Room

No. After they threw the ICs off their dedicated accounts, I went on Choice for a year, but the freight where I live per the Choice board is laughable, and the good stuff coming in eventually disappeared to go on company trucks. I took my truck and did local intermodal for a year while I figured out what I wanted to do. At the end of that year, I bit the bullet, got a reefer trailer, and didn't look back. I hated doing intermodal, but I wanted to be out of OTR for a year while I saved up a little cash and decided if this was something I really wanted to do. Being able to stay home every other week has made it a resounding YES, GOOD IDEA for me.

 

Interesting. How and when did you go from company to your own authority? No idea how any of that works..especially buying a trailer.

 

I quit Schneider March of 2017. Ran intermodal for Wind Walker for 1 year, then got my own authority this February. Just went to Utility and bought a trailer using the same finance company that I used for my truck. I did not purchase either of my trucks from Schneider so I didn't have to go through any of that.

 

Any advice then for a rookie who's interested in doing this for a living? I guess SNI would be better than any other rookie company. Dedicated first or OTR? Thanks

 

Yeah. Go apply at an LTL or UPS. Eat crap for a bit, then live a good life.

The earlier you get in the union, the better.

 

Dedicated is nice if you want a predictable schedule. OTR will likely give you better practical experience.

 

Rates have been so good doing flatbed..that now I'm on my summer vacation.. back to work come August...that's right...I'm taking a month off...

 

Took 2 months off(one by choice, the other waiting for a company to get of their labels) and moved from Salt Lake city to Phoenix. I was on my way to Texas or Louisiana and was going to haul chemicals there. Got talked into 'trying' phoenix for a year. It was a mistake. the trucking market here is atrocious. Tons of 1099 or megas. hardly any tanker work except for fuel, aspahlt or Milk. I was warned and decided to try Milk anyway...........they had a pretty good hook to reel me in. We'll see if they were full of it come august when the new equipment comes in.

I had saved 20k for the move and had planned to take a trip on my motorcucle, but it didnt happen. I'm really thinking that I should have spent that money and gotten a truck. I want more control over my finances and time off and of my future. But the chemical O/O is so different than the van side. I want to stay tankers, but I havent been able to find very many successful O/O on my side of the fence

 

Good luck, brother. It will all come together just fine