Heartland Express??????

I got a call from heartland today and had a decent conversation with the recruiter until I was told by her that I had to cut my hair now that pizzed me off

 

Fallinangel, find another gig to work for. I am telling you it isn't what its all cracked up too be. And the recruiter would tell you anything you want to hear. I fell for their lies as well and it isn't cool. Read the list of crap I posted..

ChromeDome, I asked for a pass and they told me NO!!! It didn't matter if I run all over the place outta my region. Only way I would ever get a pass is if I go as a service drive; which would never happen.

I asked way I got a crappy week? They told me that you got close to the average miles per drive will get as a regional driver; which is 2100 miles and I got 1700 this week.

 

I had done a good bit of research on them before I came. So my recruiter did not lie to me, or I would have caught him.
They told me I would average around 2200 miles per week and be home 3-4 weekends a month. That is what they have gotten me.
Actually my dispatcher has the highest average miles for any in my terminal. So that helps some.
Oh, and 2 weeks ago they brought pay back up to where it use to be for my region, all drivers hired after 2008 when they lowered it are now getting .02 cpm more.
So that helps a little.
The biggest place they screwed me up was when filling out my W-4. For tax withholding.
They had us put down 55k. And they draw taxes off in that bracket.
Well, I made 42k this year. So yes, I will get an ok tax return. But it has hurt me all year with less take home.
Plus the insurance that is costing me 94 bucks a week. Really make it look like I am making allot less than I am.
Tax return should be freaking HUGE this year. That is all I can say lol.

 

I feel more comfortable running that much. I'm not so hungry for pennies I feel the need to max out my logbook or feel burned out all the time.

 

Your on elogs and it depends if you get those miles. Not every driver gets them. And that's for sure. If they keep me [and a friend] running that much per week I wouldn't of left them at all. But having me run 800-900 for 3 weeks isn't what they stated over the phone or even what they advertise. Also theirs a lot more that they really don't tell you; which you will find out once you make your move.

Every Company has their faults but I think Heartland is pretty bad in that department.

 

My biggest issue of late has been getting home most weekends.
And even if I get here I do not know in advance, so cannot really make plans or anything.
Miles are still consistent for me in OH region. No issues there. Just too many loads for the trucks/ drivers. So they are having a hard time getting everyone home that is supposed too.
I will be swapping to dedicated. They want to run me from Columbus to Buffalo. It is working 5 1/2 days a week. 775 per week salary, or mileage. Whichever is higher.
Will not be hard on that route to get more than 1800 miles per week though. So will probably be getting the mileage pay anyway.
But I will be home every weekend. And probably thru the house a few times per week.
I think it is rather low for salary. Heck even Central and Swift pay more. But I do not want to swap company's at this time. So I will try it out and see how it goes. It is more money than I can make running local around here.

 

I am looking at getting on with Heartland's Atlanta regional mainly for the advertised home time. The pay is a few cents more than I currently make but will probably average out about the same. I am averaging about 2,000 miles a week at my current company but some weeks I get 1,800 and others I get 3,200 so the paychecks fluctuate a little but it all works out. My other main reason that I want to run regional is because I don't want to run the Northeast. There's no way around it at my current company. Heartland says they can't take me without 1 year OTR so I'll be waiting until January to apply. I'll have 13 months OTR then but I'm not about to quit during Christmas.

 

You may end up in the northeast at times, but not too often from that region. At least I would not think so. Should never be in NYC area.

 

We have been looking at Heartland for my husband, he has 10+yrs in trucking. The company he works for now is very small and the Feds may be shutting them down because the boss has taken one to many shortcuts, so we need to start looking at options. The biggest problem is my husband has no interest in getting his hazmat's back again and most companies require them these days. With his current job he gets anywhere from 1700-3000 miles a week, but usually on the lower side these days. His CPM is pretty low for today's standards also, but again this is a small company close to home. We applied last year for Heartland but he got turned down because of a wreck that was nearly 5yrs old. Was told he could re-apply once the wreck was off him, which it is now. I have been reading all the forum posts and see pro and con post about Heartland, at this point I still don't know if they are a good company. We live in Alabama and he is use to running the East coast and out towards Texas, they were offering him a regional the last time he applied. The job he has now offers no benefits whatsoever so I guess anything above that has to be a step up?? Anyone have recent experience with Heartland running from the South? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

If anyone else knows of a good company in our area that does not require hazmat's I would gladly accept a recommendation. He has experience in flat bedding and reefer units also. Thanks!

 

I work salary out of the Columbus terminal. I'm on a dedicated route for Fedex. So I'm home every night and off 2 days a week. It's a pretty good gig. HE does run elogs on the people net system. It makes life easier. We got better insuance a few years ago, when i started they had major medical only ( no preventive care covered). The trucks do not idle between 44 and 77 to save fuel. They do not go lower then 60 mph though and as of the new year they will not go under 62. 64 is the high speed. They do not allow inverters and are reviewing the 12 volt cooking items. I have a good dispatcher and do not plan to change companys any time soon. I've been here 4 1/2 yrs