Hick's Guide: Questions For Recruiters

This gets asked a lot - What should I ask a recruiter at companies I'm interested in?

The following is personal and changes a bit with each person and what their goals are. These are what I will ask of my next company and the reasons behind the questions. First I want to address what I will not bother asking and why. The first part deals with newbies and the second with 1-2 year under the belt.

Local: A local-home-every-night-gig is hard to come by with 0 experience. And then even if you have experience, you start out at the bottom with a local-home-every-night-gig and work your way into a favorable position for the most part. Sure, there are some guys who have done it straight out of CDL school. But the Force is not with you.

Accessorial pay: As a newbie, just forget about that term. You'll understand why later. Thank me then.

And as a group: Drop&Hook and any bonus/performance pay: (Just as an example) If a company has 3 drivers and 2 have been there a year longer than you, who is getting the D&H and the 1500-mile 2k loads? Or if all loads are 1500-mile 2k loads, who is getting the runs with no traffic and flat ground? It's a game of 'people' even if you are a loner. Understand this. Bonus pay when it's averaged is a game you can't win unless you're in the game knee-deep. This is exactly why lease games are a bad gamble. If they say a fuel bonus if you are above average, but the top 3-4 drivers run only roadrunner states while you are forced to run Traffic Central... you ain't winning anything. Does that make sense?

The real deal is the trucks. They are what you should spend most of your time questioning and considering. They are what you use to get #### done at the end of the day. Here are my thoughts on them:

Speed Governor: Prime is at like 65 now. So is Swift/JB Hunt/Schneider/MANYMANYOTHERS. With a 67 MPH governor I can, of course, pass all of them. It takes a while, but I can pass them. Here's the thing though... on flat ground or a slight incline I can pass them. On any kind of hill they ALL walk off and leave me unless I'm under 5k in the box. (That seems to be the magic number at my company - any more and you're in low range on small hills and and any less doesn't really make a difference). This could lead to endless debate, but one thing I can tell you for absolute certain is that in the North East-Mid West region I can run circles around a truck governed at 68mph but with only 400hp/980lbs torque vs a truck governed at 62mph with 490hp/1290lbs torque. If anyone wants to challenge me with that statement, I'd be glad to compare numbers from a year ago. If you can't put up, don't bother. So when you talk to a recruiter, get the HP/Torque ratings of the truck you will most likely be stuck with. Don't dwell so much on the speed. Unless you're looking at the flat land companies, of course. Generally you will want more HP/Torque anywhere in the US, but a low speed governor really, really sucks. But if you pass everything on the flats but get passed by them every little hill, how fast are you really averaging?

Assisted Driving: Ummmm... this should be a no-brainer. These usually come in a few different forms but they all suck. You have the ones that brake for you if you have cruise on. These also beep an annoying sound when you get 'too close' to a vehicle in front of you. $afety. The problem is that, at Interstate speeds, by the time they beep and you're on Facebook, someone is dead already. These also make cruise control useless... they think that if you set it at 64 you really mean 59 when Granma merges in front of you and it kills any momentum you have to pass her. Dumb ####. Ask that Walmart driver that purchased that limo from the comedian. It's not worth the annoyance. And the next step - lane departure... well, if you're a 60mph middle-lane bandit, just die anyhow. It gets no better with anything 'driver-assisted' higher. Stay away!

Fuel Stop: Doesn't really matter. All you want is free crap/showers. As long as you can purchase a reserved space with points in an emergency, who cares.

Trucks Prt2: The new Kenworths just seem to suck. Everything about them. (And some companies will even tell you that 'driver assistance' trucks are the WAVE OF TEH FUTURE. Ask them if the can be ordered without that crap. If they say no, they are liars. ) The newer T680 also have a horrendous turning radius. You might as well find a 'hood' company.

% of Air Ride/Slide trailers: Doesn't really matter, but it can make life easier if the trailers will actually slide without hitting a curb or chaining them down when moving the tandems.

North East: This really isn't meant for mileage pay anymore. There is too much traffic, the time docking is very bad and your sanity is worth more than they will pay for it.

I will add more later, but you can see where it is going. You should enjoy your job if you're out here weeks at a time, not be annoyed by the day-to-day everyday.