Any word on heartland Express?

I worked 4 heartland 8 months and told them to stick it, u get caught with a little inverter they slap u and take it away, 2nd time ur done. Great pay per mile, but no miles. I went reginal and otr, crap pay,
Go 2 raven.. U will b happy..

 

I've heard good things overall about Heartland, but you've got to consider they are just another big OTR company. I think you can do a lot better for yourself if you specialize. Like in LTL, oversize/heavy, cars, etc. The economy is still lagging, I know, so this may be a time to just sit tight where you are for now.

 

Also remember that Heartland is not a true OTR company. They do not even claim to be.
They are a short to medium haul company. I average around 2300 miles a week or so, and have been home most weekends lately, but 2-3 weekends a month at first.
Normal take home should be 600-700 a week and home most weekends.
No, this is not allot of money a week for OTR, and from what I have heard from drivers that are system they are not getting any more miles than the regional drivers.
I am in Ohio, where our biggest freight area is. Running regional.

 

Man, LTL drivers make that in 2 or 3 days, depending on their route, and get home everyday. Why do some drivers accept companies paying them the same average pay for 30 years? It's crazy.

 

There are not many LTL company's that run my area, so the jobs at them are very limited.
I would not feel right asking my wife to move, so I have to deal with what is here.
I totally understand that the pay has not changed. I started driving in 1991.
Starting pay in 1991 was about .20 cpm. Now it is .28 cpm. Not much change with allot of change in the cost of living.
I am just here giving the facts on this company as of now and how it is now.
If you are working for an LTL company and getting good money then that is great for you. But there are millions of drivers out there and a very limited number of higher rate jobs.
Also, they will not make take home of 6-7 hundred in a few days. Gross maybe. This is a gross of around 1000 a week before taxes and insurance. I make 50k+ a year gross. An LTL driver makes 70-80k.
I would like to make that, but as I said I cannot in my area.
Only LTL carrier around here that I may eventually get on with is New England Motor Freight, and they have really crappy equipment.

 

Chromedome, just curious if you have used the medical ins yet? and your opinion on much they charge you and what an average co pay office visit or rx refill is?? Any other vision,dental,life ins.401k? benefits.

I see your from NY, I drove through the snow this Feb up along 90 twice and saw lots of ppl in the ditch..lol from Albany to PA,OH and KY then back.

 

I have not used the insurance yet but my wife has.
I will give it a month to get the bills for all of the tests and such and see what the final damage is.
My wife had to go to the ER, so I am guessing that her 1000 dollar part we have to pay will be paid from this one visit.
Unless you are hospitalized I do not think that most insurance these days is worth it.
I am 82 dollars a week for it, that is over 4 grand a year. Plus I have to pay co-pays, plus I have to pay a 1000 dollar deductable. So really if anything bad happens to me or my wife, we are paying out over 5 grand before the coverage does crap.
Considering how low my income is, 5 grand is a massive ammt of money.

If you hit allot of snow on the 90, then you came thru my area.
I live in the lower left corner of NY. Northeast of Erie PA and South of Buffalo.
We are the lake erie snow belt.

 

I took 90 wb thru ny into pa,and down 71 stopping in OH for the night. After 3 bottles of fuel911, got into Ky the next afternoon.The truck was covered in ice after running through snow,freezing rain and snow again.

As you well know, a catastrophic illness can easily bankrupt you. I have an EMS background and a cardiac event/heart cath can easily cost you in excess of 25k.
Hospitals have no problem getting a judgement against your home that will be paid when the home is sold and title transfers. At my govt job my family of 4 costs me 550 a month and that does not even cover vision or dental. I also pay 25 dollar co pays for office visits and anywhere from 10 - 50 on an rx refill depending on the brand. I am a casual so my driving job pays me hourly with no benefits.

 

Still waiting on the bills to start coming, or my wife is just not telling me.
I pay 84 a week for insurance. 15 or 20 for copays at Dr. cannot remember which, but I have a 1000 dollar deductible per person that has to be covered before they really cover much.
My guess is that I will be paying my wifes for the year on this. I paid about 300 of mine last year in one visit to the Dr. for tests.
It is a freaking scam. But without my wife and I make too much to get anything else to cover us. Too poor to really afford health care and too rich to get help.
On a positive note, it looks like I will make it home for part of the weekend, unless my load cancels. This will make like 6 weekends in a row.
Though I was stuck in the Northeast this week. I guess the regional drivers in this region cannot handle the volume.
Lots of short mileage and traffic. Will still get 2000 miles for the week, but barely.

 

I was told by my recruiter that she was waiting on my driving history to come back and that everything else looked good especially my employer references. She said as soon as she gets the MVR if its ok she will send my paperwork over to safety. Does this mean I have passed all the checks and have the job, or does safety do other checks as well. She said something about orientation and having a yes or no answer from safety in a day or two? I am on pins and needles, I really need this job. Any info will be great. Thanks.