Do you know anything about start pay, hometime, regional route, Swift (Phoenix, AZ)?

Thanks gentlemen for the replies, I appreciate it. I hope god and some good researching leads me to a good company to drive for.

Thanks once again.

 

According to what you find on forum message boards, basically, someone has something negative to say about every trucking company out there. Just go to the Flying J or any truck stop and talk to drivers from different companies and you'll get the info you need. I think you'll find that people who have been driving for a while will tell you all trucking companies are basically the same and they all have their good and bad points. Many drivers suffer from the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. I know I have. Then, I started to think like my dog; the grass isn't greener, I just want to pee in it. And, finally, I've realized, it's just another patch of grass. The Swift Academy is a good CDL training school. If you need a CDL A and training and you live in Phoenix, why not go there?

 

Yeah, I talked to five drivers who were parked next to a Chase bank. This was about a month and a half ago. 4 out of those 5 like it there and plan to continue working with Swift. 3 of those 5 truckers went through Swift academy to get their CDL almost 2 years ago. The other two have been working for that company for 4 years and 5 years.

 

Stay away from Swift. i drove for them for 3 months. Was told i was going to be on a dedicated Mopar account and making 36 cpm. I was on a dedicated Mopar with them, But was only making 26 cpm. I was home every week. But after awhile i found i could not live on 26 cpm. So i decided to quit. When i quit i left my truck at thier drop yard and left the keys with thier security guard. They knew i was leaving it there. they TRIED to put a abandonment on my DAC report but i fought it hard. When i got my last paycheck they finally put it at 36 cpm. My advice is look elsewhere.

 

Check out some schools, here in Sacramento at Western Truck School if you get a pre hire from a company it only cost $500 to enroll. Then you have 45 or 60 days before you'll have to start paying ( that's after you graduate ). Maybe there is a school in your area that has a similar type of payment plan. Good Luck

 

Also...look for gov assistance. SIgn up for unemployment if possible and that will help pay for a bit of your bills. Go to the local employment agency and ask someone if you can get gov assistance for tuition. Out here in WY, they have some sort of Act which provides $$ for people to get training. I can get Sage truck driving school paid for (which is good because when I graduate from Sage, I get doubles, triples, Hazmat, Tanker...the ball of wax, compared to other schools which you have to find a truck and get a CDL on your own), PLUS, I can also get lodging paid for and possibly a per diem allowance as well. I will look more into it when I move to a new town on Monday. I tried signing up here, but each county is different, so Ill just wait until Im over there and start the process.

Heres my thinking on the situation...see if you can get unemployment, welfare, food stamps, anything that can help. Call your debtors and tell em yoru situation and just ask if you can skip a months payment. I had to do that with my motorcycle payment and they let me do a one time thing where I just skipped the months payment and then simply extended my loan out one more month. I also rolled another loan onto a zero percent credit card. I had to pay a transfer fee, but going from 30% to zero percent was pretty good. Now, I just need to pay it off before next may and Ill be ok, but with the card, I don't have any payments due...so for example...my loan wanted about 60 a month from me, and now I don't have to pay which is good because this month is really tight on money...but as soon as I get a job...Il be able to start making alrger payments and get that card paid off.

 

cjh how did u get them not to put that on ur dac? i did the up and quit thing but i put the keys on my dm's desk and told him to stick it where the sun dont shine and i still got and abdonment. so i'm courious how u fought it thanks.

 

yeyo661,as has been posted here by a few others,please stay away from Swift.I do not know what they pay a new driver.I signed on with them a couple of years ago,and believe me it was the worst driving experience I have ever had.No matter what the recruiter tells you or what you are told in orientation,they will definitly lie to you.they will paint you a rosy picture,but as soon as you get out there in your assigned truck things will change. I was an over the road driver and I told them I was OK by running 3 weeks out then getting 3 days of home time.Problem was after the 3 weeks were up I had to fight tooth and nail to get home.An example.I pulled a load from Warren,OH to Sparks NV. a nice run which paid pretty good miles,but after I delivered that load they kept me on the west coast for a month. My DM,(dispatcher) just kept telling me there was no freight going east. Also the minute you cross the Mississippi River they take 2 cts. a mile away from you for the entire run.So instead of making 40 cts a mile I was paid 38 cts.for the entire west coast trip.When I finally got home about 11:30 Pm on a Fri night.I was told to be ready to go out again Mon.morning.I was told my days off were Fri.,Sat.,and Sun. Course I sent them a message that I would be ready to roll on Tues. morning and not a minute before.I stuck with them for 4 months and left.I could post a lot more stories but I think that should be enough for now.Believe me there are many more trucking cos. that are a way better than Swift.Beware

 

If you want more hometime put your OTR time in then get a local job. It is going to be extremely difficult to make any money and be home weekly. The usualy is 3 weeks out 3 days home. I would not get your hopes up for true regional. They do have comfort zones that keep you within a couple of states though.