how do you choose a company??

My Husband is driving OTR for a year now, he works for SWIFT, he is a company solo driver (please , i know you will feel obligated to, but dont send him sympathy cards)

on a lighter side he picks on me when i'm driving my car an he is in it and i go under the speed limit. I explained to him it's ok ,that i ordered a Bumper Sticker that reads "Swift Driver on Board"

but in all seriousness:

He has been having many troubles with getting long hauls, getting paid for short runs, sitting days waiting for loads, and just all around getting the run around

only thing good i can say about Swift is that they get him home every 3 weeks , with 3 days off not counting the day he gets home.

He has been looking into other companies but everyone we research has something bad, whether it be not getting the miles, not getting the home time, poor equipment, bad DM's , i mean you name it, its bad

looked into Heartland, they dont have long hauls only short to mid

Stevens , well that sounded like a nightmare and was referred to by someone on here as the best of the worst, some dont give you idle time and in the summer in this hot sun you cant sleep without air. I mean come on companies, take care of the drivers that are taking care of you

can someone please help us sort through all the BS and give us the straight up on a decent company ( decent pay,decent miles,good home time) we are hoping to find one based near Atlanta GA

We would really appreciate any input any of ya'll may have

thanks a bunch
LilYanky

 

Go to the dollar store and buy him a package of white board markers.

Give him the markers.

Have him take note of the trucks he sees (not at the expense of safe driving, mind) on the window of the truck. Name of company, where they're out of, maybe a DOT # for good measure.

If he pays attention, he'll see a bunch of smaller companies that don't recruit openly, aren't bigger than a few hundred trucks (if that) and have nice-to-great equipment...and he just might see a few that are near the house.

Then take the list and run it through. Go to their websites, make phone calls, check CSA.

Everywhere you go there's going to be a little BS. It's trucking. Shippers and receivers will always guarantee a certain amount of BS. The key is finding a company that hands out waders tall enough you don't get the smelly stuff on your pants...if you get my meaning.

They're out there, they're just hiding behind all of the Swift, Werner, England, USX, Schneider, Stevens, Prime, etc, etc, etc trucks.


[no disrespect meant to anybody that likes working for any of the named companies, they're just big and obvious and can make it hard to see the smaller guys]

 

go out to the back yard, make up some names of companies on cardboard, throw a bunch of lawn darts high into the air (take cover as well) and the closest lawn dart to a company, he goes to.....(this is how i got my last g/f by the way, but she didn't make it to the hospital)

frankly, you (and he) will always hear stories, horror stories in fact about every single company out there, its a given right of passage for drivers to talk badly.

what does not work for one, may very well work out for 101.....

look at benefits (which seemingly change if not once a year, sometimes twice per year as benefits cost a company a whole lotta money.

he should maybe STAY at Swift, they "may offer" him more money, maybe a new(er) truck, maybe the chance to get a dedicated account where he is home MORE frequently....

but whatever he chooses, he should not do what others here have done over the years, and that is "job hop" for something better, because the way i see it now (and had i followed my own advice on this) the grass is only "greener" on the other side of the street, because more people have pee'd on it....(which should actually give it a yellow hue)...!!!

 

Your husband has done the important part, namely, get his CDL, find a company and get a year of experience under his belt. You don't mention his driving record but if it's clean, there is no reason why he can't get a job at any company he wants.

But finding the right job can be tough. You have to do some serious research, are they hiring in your area? pay? benefits? home time? reputation? equipment? running area? etc...

Personally, I would recommend Crete. They have a terminal in Marietta, the pay is at or near the best you'll find, the miles when I was there were good for the most part and getting home to Atlanta should never be a problem. I haven't been there since mid 08 so there has been some changes and not all good ones from what I've read here but every driver I've talked to has been reasonably enthusiastic.

Basically, in any trucking job it comes down to how much BS you can take. Judging by what you've written here, it seems like Crete would be a good fit.

Good luck!

 

I drive for JBS and I would say to give them a look. Living in Atlanta wouldn't be bad. I drive through there a lot. We have a plant in Gainesville which could be easy for him to get a load out of after hometime. Seldom do I get a run under 500 miles. Pay has always been there. Hometime, no problem. I'll sit a day sometimes but usually no more. Great equipment. No problem idling in the heat. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

I know what you are saying about finding a company to work for. I have not drove OTR since 03 and most have said I have to go back to school. Some that offer school wont take me because I have my CDL already. I have to also look if they really do have the miles because I need $1400 a month just for bills ( $700 just child support ) not including food. That's why I am looking for the companies that have the least time with a trainer.

 

If a company doesn't advertise for drivers,


it IS a good company (usually).



So, that great job will be a little bit harder to locate !!!!

 

Thank you to everyone that took the time to reply to my post.

i especially loved the lawn dart idea, lol

i'm gonna recommend he look into a few that were mentioned here

but you are all right, it's all about how much BS you want to put up with

I'll keep ya posted as to what he decides, as of right now he is almost thinking of staying with Swift after all, just cause of all the horror stories I read to him from here.

sometimes you can go from bad to worse and from what ive been reading, what he has now seems about the Norm, No job is perfect

Indeed It's the ol sayin that the grass isnt always Greener

and yes, he has a clean driving record so switching would be easy but may not be the smartest move

Again all yer input is much appreciated

thanks bunches,
LilYanky

 

dunno if this will help at all but its sites about taking refresher CDL courses

http://www.bigtrucksbigbucks.com/CDLRefresherCourse.htm

http://www.1stseatdriver.com/Refresher_Course.html

 

Assuming he has a clean record and clear driver's license he can go in many directions. Next time he's home for a few days he may want to head down I-75 to exit 201 (Jackson). There are several truck stops at that exit and he can see many companies (big and small) that run through the area.

Does he want to stay with driving dry-van or would he be intersted in flatbedding or tankers? Tankers require extra endorsements on his license but flatbedding doesn't. There's also local driving to consider. Local LTL jobs are almost always available in the Atlanta area. Here's a list (not complete by any means)

Con-Way Freight
Southeastern Freight
Estes
Old Dominion
UPS
FedEX
R&L

With a year's experience and a clean record the options are many.