Didn't think I'd do it..

If you don't want to do it, don't do it.

 

John if looking for flatbed have you looked at TMC yet? http://www.tmctrans.com/
They gave their speech at my school a few weeks back and it did sound good if you liked FB & OTR.

Also may I ask, being you looked at dedicated how often did you want to get home? I ask because the wife & I are looking to move to your area and any Co. I talk to up here in CT I also ask about down there too. Schneider is 1 Co I would like to look into but I have not talked to them yet.
Thanks
Dave ----

 

If you feel you have good control of your truck and can maneuver around small Dollar General stores with confidence, have very good backing skills, and you are in pretty good physical shape to handle the unloading of boxes onto rollers when making store deliveries, yeah, it is worth considering. You wouldn't want to start your trucking career with a pile of incidents from hitting fixed objects delivering to stores not designed for the size equipment delivering there.

My personal recommendation to new drivers is to focus more on the driving for the first year or so before getting into any type of more specialized transport, such as flatbed or tanker. You want to start your new career with a strong foundation and master your skills driving and getting very familiar with FMCSA regulations. There are plenty of regulations, and if not careful, they can take a huge chunk out of your wallet.

 

When I heard dollar general I was also thinking 53 foot trailer in a 40 foot parking lot , vs ?? foot flat on a job site or industrial lot ? However I do agree w/ tomOftx on this one

 

Look at Howard Transportation in Kenly, NC.

Tyson Foods would be better than unloading trucks every day at stores that don't have docks and dealing with goofy people that say stupid things like, "What's your problem, none of the other drivers have any problems backing in here."

 

Swift offered me a dedicated account with Dollar Tree. I'm kind of skeptical that they'd give a brand new driver that account, it says on their website that those jobs are normally given to drivers with at least 6 months with Swift.

 

Dollar General, Dollar Tree or Kaybee Toy Stores these are not drop n hook dedicated. You will work your butt off, freezing cold, to roasting hot. Me personally, when I was at May Truck I requested Kaybee, 3 to 4 stores per trailer, everything loose, nothing was boxed other than reg manufacture box for retail, no cartons. I liked it, would have stayed if they kept me on it.

Dollar General In think is a caged load don't know about Tree. Anyhow I liked it, but the first week or so your gonna feel the burn.

 

John, good luck in your journey, after much discussion and insight from several on this site, I chose to go with TMC, supposed to start Aug 25!