Advise for newbies or experienced

Some pretty good advice. However no matter how good a trucking co. is there are some of their drivers who will say they are no good.I have kicked around truckin for about 15 years and am now retired. I used to talk to drivers of other companies at different warehouses,etc. I would talk to one young Schnieder driver who said that Schnieder was AOK,then talk with another one who said they were lousy.So who do you believe? I have seen the same thing right here on this sight,after havig driven for Roehl.My opinion of then is very high,and I was treated like a human being while I drove for them. Then I have read posts on this sight saying Roehl is terrible.To all of you newbees just getting started in truckin,remember a couple of things. You will turn your whole life around cause trucking aint like no other job. You will do well not to jump ship the first time yopu get a bad dispatch,cause somebodys gotta take that load.And if you are the closest one to it,its gonna be you.I can honestly compare two trucking companies,Swift,and Roehl.As an experienced driver I think Swift is bottom of the barrel, and Roehl is right up there at the top. This is my opinion and many here will disagree with me.By the way I drove for both of them.My youngest son drove for Schneider and also the son of a good freind. They have both moved onto other jobs,but both of them have said the if they ever had to go back over the road it would be with Schneider.

 

Good comments. I work for Schneider and can say both good and bad about the company. I've had other drivers ask me if Schneider is a good company to work for and always have a hard time answering. I really don't know the answer to the question because the answer is relative and SNI is the only company I have driven for. I can say that my DBL (dispatcher) has been fair and respectful. I believe the company is sincere about logging legally. I don't trust SNI to be looking out for my interests personally and financially. I once read on this site that SNI is the "best of the bottom feeders" and I suspect that's true.

 

This is something that has been pointed out before - but needs to be pointed out at every opportunity.

Drivers and companies are like hands and gloves. Some fit, most don't.

It's one reason that when I discuss May, I always try to make it clear that it's my opinion. Even now that I don't work for them, I have nothing bad to say about them. I don't. I had a wonderful time while driving for then. I'd go back to their trucks in an instant, given the opportunity.

But what I like about them might be what bowhunter hates and finds that after 3 weeks he can't stand.

Or who knows, Bowhunter might up and marry his DM

When relating events, I try to be as factual as I possibly can (it wasn't my DM who parked my truck in the bog, after all), but my narrative is still going to be biased one way or the other

 

Seems like there'd be a way to rate the various trucking companies in an impartial manner without having to actually work for them all, which would be impossible anyway. I'm guessing that if you have a good dispatcher you'd like working for a bad company and that if you have a bad dispatcher you'll hate working for a good company. Too many variables to consider.

 

exactly - you can only go so far with hard statistics (kinds and ages of equipment, ratio of drivers to dispatchers, etc) before you have to start getting into intangibles. your comment about dispatchers is a prime example.

I got along fabulously with both my dispatchers at May (Moved over to my second dispatcher just to spread the boards. ) Yet there were times when I stopped in to say "hi" when I could overhear one or the other DM having a rough time with the driver on the other end of the phone.

That's why it's all about "fit". I loved working for May and would go back in a heartbeat. Someplace like Werner or Swift? Odds are not so good that I'd work well there. (In fact, from what I know of the way Swift treats its drivers, I'm not even going to apply there.

 

Good point Lurch, old boy. And we thought that the only good point that you had was covered by your hat.....whodathunkit? But that would be my advice for anyone looking to get into this barrel of laughs....set down and make a list of things taht are important to you (hometime, pay, benefits, etc.) and then match that up to different companies. But make your decision on what YOU want, after all it's going to be you living in the truck and dealing with whatever choice you make.
I do find it amusing how you get such a wide variety of opinions on different companies from different drivers. One driver will think that their company is the next great thing, and the next one you see will think that the company is Satan come to life.... It all boils down to what you want out of a company, and your attitude going into it. Kind of like mind over matter....if you don't mind, it don't matter.

 

Oh, I'm not biased at all.

I had two DMs at May, both out of Denver Terminal. One was experienced, the other new. Both worked hard for me, gave me no grief, etc.

Was it all cookies and ice cream? no. I'm sure I made them mad at times, and I know I got bent out of shape a couple times... In every instance, it was a case of unclear communications and quickly cleared up.

As for Hazmat - I personally suggest that any driver carry the endorsement, especially at job-hunting time.

 

May they have hazmat loads out to kodak in Windsor Co. I forgot were they pick up from.