Advice! What's the best company out of...

If you have questions about Magnum or want to verify anything that Tony says feel free to send me a pm. That being said Tony is a good dude and a pretty honest guy.

I don't know much about the training program other than it's pretty good but I can answer questions about the day to day life of a solo driver.

As for why they were not hiring trainee's we had a problem that many otr companies would love to have. We didn't have any empty trucks! Our fleet utilization was crazy high at 96 percent for a bit.

Also you are pretty well guaranteed to be seated in a 17 or newer truck when you go solo. My 16 is getting swapped for a 2020 ultraloft next week since and the few remaining 16s out there are manuals that their drivers ain't about to give up until they have to.

 

SRT is a dirt bag company owned by covenant that offers a low cpm of 38. Stevens starts off at 35cpm .

 

Before you get any farther, check out Maverick, Melton, and Western Express. All flatbed co's (WE also does van).

I'll tell you right now, flatbed is worlds better than van. You dont get treated like trash at shipper/recievers constantly. There's actually some thought needed when loading and going down the road. You'll make more $, and you wont gain 30+lbs your 1st 6mo of being in a truck.

Its hard to explain to someone who's not been in trucking, but when starting out with those large carriers, they dont want people who can think for themselves. Just do what you're told and go where you're told. My co doesnt hold your hand for anything. No micromanaging, no intrustive safety dept hassling you about "events", etc.

There's always gonna be those bad days, but there are ways to minimize those by not starting out with the wrong co.

 

Then said safety dept are not doing their jobs. I know a lot of safety critters that work for flatbed carriers all across the US. Flatbed drivers are fired just like van drivers are. If we are talking about local drivers, yes they don't deal with logs that much. However, the same can be said for local van drivers as well. You show me a flatbed carrier that has drivers logging I will show you a carrier safety dept that is intrusive and will call a driver in just as quick as a van carrier will.

I will give you the other things, but you are using a bit of hyperbole with that safety comment.

 

Im talking about overbearing "your camera came on and recorded an event", "your speed warning indicator was trigged because you went 65.5mph" type stuff. Drivers dont need to deal with that type of stuff.

 

I knew that. There are some drivers that are flatbeds and they are dealing with this exact thing. I 400% agree with your last sentence. If I was still driving I would clean out my truck and go home if my carrier ever put such junk in my truck. That dang QC reporting on my locations was bad enough. I had one of those dang hard brake systems that reported in. I told safety at one point if I ever got another call from them over that dang system when I got to my home terminal I was gone. I also think one of the reasons this industry has the problems it has today is because of things like this. Good safe drivers, drivers that know how to operate, get to places on time and do so safely are refusing to put up with the overall advancement on tracking tech and quitting OTR. I WOULD NOT EVER DO IT!

 

I like this OP, @picklerick.
Youngster does his homework... is VERY polite and respectful !

The only advice I'll add is realize that your first year carries some steep learning curves and for a lot has them questioning their decision.
Since you're doing your due diligence on pay, lanes, and freight.. you're covering most of what noobs never think of.
There likely still will be times you'll wonder. HOPEFULLY NOT!

My point is, Get through that First year with no accidents and a healthy on time record.
Then, if you wish, you are really marketable as an "experienced" driver.
I've got a feeling you're gonna be just fine.

 

the bubble is backwards but who cares

 

I agree with your comment.

@picklerick I would also add this to it. I would not wait until you have that year to start looking and seeking information. If you see a company truck next to you when fueling ask the driver about their feelings of the company. Do this while inside eating. Also no matter if you get positive or bad comments NEVER trust a single driver's opinion. While I don't always agree with @Chinatown I do agree with something he has said many times. no harm in putting in applications starting TODAY! You will get calls and can find out more about how you stand in relation to being hired. I counsel one thing, however, try to avoid job-hopping if you can.

During that first year try to avoid your fellow company drivers while in a terminal when they spend all their time putting the company down. The largest part of their comments are hyperbole and they are peeved because they are stuck there.