Better earning potential, Dry-Bulk or Regional Van?

Epes is out of Greensboro and will have you home every weekend unless you just want to stay out longer. Class act, family oriented, great trainers and equipment can't say enough about them. Been very happy here. Run east of the Mississippi and nice bonus to run north of DC. I made 44k first year and was home 50 out of 52 weekends. If you have specific questions pm me I'll be glad to answer. Been here 17 months now can't see going anywhere else unless some dream job falls out of the sky into my lap lol

 

no slip seating......inverters up to 1800W......we're running mostly cascadias with a few volvos.....i got a 2012 volvo with 24 miles on it straight off my trainer's truck and in 17 months i've put 200k on it......they run you hard and the money reflects that.

.25 for 6 weeks on your trainer's truck......solo starts at .31 with quick stepped increases to .35 at one year.....yearly increases to .41 after that. my first year was 43,890.....we also get a .07 / mile bonus for all loaded miles anywhere north of DC and all of Pa and that adds up quick as much as we run up there. i can only speak for my own pay but i was averaging 450-600/wk during training and a big jump going solo to 500-700 a week and now turning 700-1100 a week depending on how hard i run and will go up from there slowly for the next couple of years. guys with some time in are doing 50-65k pretty easily there are always short weeks every now and then but we have a solid customer base and the frieght and miles are there. quarterly safety bonus.

the true 'regional' spots are pretty much taken you have to work your way into them but the miles are also lower.....you'll come in doing OTR which is anything east of the mississippi.....but being home every weekend it's a good gig.....there also is a 'part time' OTR which is more of a 'regional' thing running fri-sun i think it pays .55 / mile.....but no benefits

there is an epes thread on here you can get to it from my profile page i usually post there once a week when i get in.....i tell the bad as well as the good and don't sugar coat anything.....we have our issues....there is no perfect company.....but compared to what alot of other guys/gals are dealing with out of their companies our issues are minor and manageable. the fact that we have sooooo many drivers with 10+ years in speaks alot for the kind of company it is.....especially since it's a smaller company. 800 tractors give or take a few.....that's part of the key to the success i think....i can walk into dispatch and even the dm's that i don't work for know me by name and my truck number without asking.....that says alot as well.....

check with a recruiter if you're interested and make sure your school is on their list.....they only hire from a few......and they're kinda picky.....make sure your background and driving record are pretty clean or they'll pass on you.....anything else you can think of just let me know i'll try to answer....there's at least one trainer on the epes thread posting too he can answer anything i can't

 

yeah the company policy is 'home weekly'.....and yes you will get home.....the 2 weekends that i stayed out my first year one was by choice the other wasn't.....and i think it was just the planner that dropped the ball on the one but they will get you in......but understand too that it is a customer service industry and if you're the unlucky one that ends up in the wrong place at the right time you get the run that keeps you out......it will happen at some point but the policy is to get you in for the weekend......generally you will pick up a load on friday going through the house that delivers monday or pick up something friday and drop on the yard for someone else to run home with and then pickup something else off teh yard that delivers monday.......quite a few customers in charlotte and the surrounding area so you'll have no problems at all getting in for the weekend........you can even work your schedule to be in during the week for your 'weekend' and run the weekend if you want as we have several customers that get weekend deliveries.....i turn my schedule around and do that sometimes if i have something i need to take care of during the week....and it's usually easy money......the runs are usually long and the traffic is lighter.....

this year i've stayed out 3 weekends, all by choice......could have been home every weekend but either i had a long one i wanted to stay on or they asked if i wanted to keep the one i was on or drop in greensboro and get something else out for monday.

no forced nyc or canada.....nyc pays $125 extra to go in, but just not worth it....we have guys that live there and know their way around that usually take those loads. you'll do enough around the fringes of the city in jersey to get your taste of it lol.....many customers in jersey and pa you'll spend alot of time there.....around the nyc area it's a matter of knowing when to be there and when not to lol.....most loads you have a window to deliver and can minimize the headaches by being there off peak traffic times but then you'll get that one load that delivers or picks up around edison or north bergen, nj or a similar area at 7 or 8am and then it's loads of fun hahaha......

i've run from maine to miami to mississppi to northern illinois.....it's a wide range and you'll get all of it.....but it's usually pretty well planned that you end up back where you're supposed to be by friday night or early saturday morning.....

this week was typical....started in greensboro, went to chambersburg, pa to mechanicsburg, pa, then down to sutherland, va. over to richmond, up to pawtucket, ri.....over to holliston, ma out to plainfield, in......pickup there in plainfield 2 miles from where i dropped and then to columbia, md......from there to martinsburg, wv to get one going to lake park, ga and ran that one to greensboro and dropped it on the yard 8pm last night and went home.......that was someone esle's run home for the weekend i'm guessing........my load out for monday goes to grand rapids and i start all over again.....was preplanned on that one before i ever got to the yard friday night

60% of the time preplanned on your next load before you finish the one you're on.....longest i've ever waited for a load was 4hrs but that was the exception....average wait time for the next load if not preplanned is about 30 minutes....60% drop and hook frieght.....no loading or unloading....

 

Tidewater has a number of terminals in the Southeast. I'd say dry bulk would pay you more but if your goal is to be an o/o flatbed then why are you not going to start on a flatbed and learn the job?
I called Epes and talked with them. The job which was regional southeast sounded ok. Gone during the week and home almost every weekend and you can take the truck home with you. The home almost every weekend is not a lie. I have an Epes driver that lives across the field from me and his truck is there every Friday. Sometimes he leaves on Sunday afternoon but most times its early monday morning.

 

If you have a felony on your record you will not be able to enter Canada. You can apply for a waiver and as long as its not drug or violent probably get it but it will cost you money. DO NOT TRY AND ENTER CANADA WITH A FELONY WITHOUT THE WAIVER UNLESS YOU LIKE TO HANGOUT IN FOREIGN JAILS. They are not kidding with this.

 

does Epes still have a drop yard near Charlotte?? he may need a place to park it.

they are correct about the pay scale from tanker down to dry van. BUT, you also work more that a dry van driver. climbing on top of the tanks or slinging chains and 75 lb tarps on a flatbed.

I've been "rode hard and put up wet", too many yrs and do dry van.lol

oh, and Epes used to be a real good company,when I drove for them. GREAT maint program on equip,(Tommy still run the shop?). I just didn't like the Northeast anymore.
when I was there the trucks ran 70 mph.lol