All Carriers are generally the same?

The handholding will vary among the megas. The less handholding, the better the company. Some companies don’t want drivers to think for themselves at all. They prefer to invest in cattle prods and put two dummies in a truck and have a desk jockey to monitor the truck instead of hiring a rookie with a brain. So, don’t just look at the pay and home time and all that. Look at the handholding and company policies. Company policies are like extra restrictions and this too will affect your income and home time.

Luck in battle.

 

To answer your question, YES.

 

I can tell you Millis has a great home time policy as far megas, or small mega. 1.5 days off for every week out. If you put your request in 7 days ahead of time, they will get you home or pay you .05 cpm more until they do.
They also pay .42 cpm for training.

 

That is a truly fantastic summary chipset35. Im very impressed. And no I am being sincere.

To be a trucker, you will understand home time is a financial liability. It is so expensive and costly to go home. In my time we rolled from roughly late Feb into Oct Chain season and then sit the winter if at all possible. Did the same thing for years in blacktop sit on winter unemployment which was pretty good back then. I missed those wonderful years. Although my parents bite me and bite me about that. But it is what it is. They could not stand to see me take in 400 a week for 4 some months doing nothing other than staying fit and strong waiting for the call back in spring.

I point to FFE as a good large carrier. But at that time in the years around 9-11 prior, its the people there at FFE systemwide that were really really good. Even Chicago Dispatch at Highland. Until I said no to one who asked me to unhook a 2500 mile load to sunny Phoenix past Erie and take a solo rescue late load around Detriot back into Ontario which was experiencing a raging winter ice storm that day. (I was smart to do that, but that burned bridges with the Highland dispatcher.) He lost a very good team and Denver, Phoenix and San Fran gained a wonderful asset. They ran the hell out of us then.

Our last year out OTR with them was 306 service days. That means we were more than 120 miles from house. Our truck was home. And wherever we went with the prejudiced exception of Nogales specifically it was also home. Nogales required combat pay, being shot at a couple times. I understand it's pretty much subdued and somewhat less dangerous now that Customs have beefed up there.

The very best trucking ever is with the smaller outfits. Maybe 20 trucks. Maybe 200. We would be with a third party trucking company leased to say McKesson of Memphis. They run cancer drugs, narcotics and other medicines that WILL be wherever they are assigned at sunrise each morning because the drugs are going into the sick people that require them probably by lunchtime that day. VERY high value loads.

With that kind of trucking, most the common BS trouble, pain, lost time, dock fights, lumpers, parasites etc etc etc etc all go bye bye. Not applicable to our life. Which is why we look back on that time with enjoyment. The payroll takes care of itself. More than we can care to spend anyhow. That's a joyful time.

BE VERY careful not to allow a recruiter vampire suck the good out of you with lies, promises that wont be kept and overall smile, yuk yuk and stories of deliveries to St peter in Heaven's gate. That is a fantasy designed to lure in sick, broke, malnurished masses who show up in orientation thinking they found something of a El Camino Real with mountains of gold for doing nothing but hold a steering wheel.

HA.....

 

Starting a truck driving career is much like starting a long term military commitment. Everybody goes through the same boot camp, but once you get past that, then everybody goes on to pursue their own preferred MOS [that they can qualify for].

 

Yea most starter companies are about the same.

Here' the great part about some megas.... they have so many different divisions, dedicated runs, trailers, etc that you can try different things and see where you want to go. Put in your year and you move on to a carrier who specializes in what type of trucking you've found to like. It's easier to switch divisions in a company than to switch jobs completely because you find you don't like it.

I deliver for Dollar Tree. It's not everyone's cup of tea. But it's the kind of trucking that suits ME best. Home on the weekends and I only put in maybe 1500 miles tops per week. But I have to do physical labor and really crappy backing.

Some people only want OTR, no touch, and hitting docks. Hey thats great. Or flatbed, tanker, etc. If it comes open they will more than likely let you try.

 

Most of the top 25 carriers are more simular then not. However there are also important differences. Traffic lanes, hometime and pay policies can be very different.

 

Agreed. For many it may ultimately come down to who has a terminal closest to home. That can (should) be a big consideration typically.

 

I think there is a lot of difference in pay. Personally I would not work for much less than 1k a week even in my rookie year. Many guys seem to accept a lot less than that.
I would not work for less than about 40 cents a mile and I would expect to average at least 2500 miles a week.
That gets rid of some of the megas right there.