Best new company to start with

Yea they are so safe that they will randomly lose power while climbing a grade forcing you to pull off of the road and wait for 10 minutes. At which time you can restart and merge back into traffic while still on the grade. (personally I call this a death trap) And here's the kicker the motor is running it just has no power wont accelerate or anything. Pull over and wait ten then its fine personally I think its an over heating sensor of some sort.

 

volvo may be the safest truck in the world, but which model was that? waht options did it have? how was it's ecm set up? too many variables to consider. not all volvo's are "the safest truck in the world." just because one volvo truck passed these standards doesn't mean that the cheap fleet model purchased by many companies also passes these same standards.

 

The COE Volvos that are made for use in Europe are different beasts than the ones we get in the states. In fact, I don't believe that they use the Volvos that we get overseas in Europe.

 

I must agree totally with this post. Research. That's what my husband and I did when he was looking for an OTR company. I spent all day, every day for over a week online reading about the companies that he was interested in. Reading their web pages, looking at message boards for the good and the bad, checking out safestat scores, turnover, and even checking the ripoff report web page on them. And some of them are on there. I made pages of notes on them and then we discussed them at night when he got home form work. We narrowed it down to about ten that he applied with. He also made a point to be on the lookout for drivers from all of the companies that he was interested in and talked with them to get their input and feelings about their company.

So definitely spend some time researching, hang out at the truck stops and watch for trucks with the companies you're interested in. Watch for the driver to come in and go talk to them. Introduce yourself, tell them why you want to talk to them, and ask them if they could spare a few minutes. Or if you have a CB, get on there and talk to them.

Jerryl is quite right. A company that is good for me might not be good for you. What I, or anyone else is looking for, are two different things. No company is "perfect", but there is a company that is "perfect" for you. But you have to remember, there will be bad with the good. There will be things that you don't necessarily like about the company you choose, but those things should be balanced out by the things that you do like. And they should also be things that you can live with, even if you don't like them.

 

I want flat bed as I hear van driving can get boring. With flat bedding you get to live an adventure and its never the same old shi$. Does anyone know if Swift lets newbies do this?

Kinghunter

 

I'm a newbie, but I've been checking this forum often. From what I'm seeing, if you are coming out of the military, Roehl Transport out of Marshfield WI has a good program. That's where I'm going.

 

Kinghunter,
If your profile is correct and you are twenty years old, then yes, flatbedding might be better for you.

With flatbedding, you are throwing tarps, throwing chains, or carrying straps with each load. A young guy might prefer an hour of tarping and chaining rather than sitting for hours waiting for a reefer to be loaded.

You might also think about going with a local company-- a lot of people would not like to chain and tarp MULTIPLE times in one day, but at your age you might like that better than sitting.

Just an idea...

 

I turn 21 in less than 31 days. I enjoy a challenge. I do not want to drive the same load over and over again. I want an adventure. I hope this is what flatbeding is. I would rather be a special bread than a boring van or reefer driver doing drop and hooks. But i can be home every weekend I will do van or reefer.

Kinghunter

 

What do ya meanFlorida is a one way state?I live here and it seems my hubby has a hard time getting home.He drives for stevens.

 

One way state means that there's freight going in but nothing coming out. Florida is very hard to get loads out of, as there's really not much going on there except produce.