ISO i5 Corridor Training Carriers that hire from Northern California

Interesting...
How long do they limit you for, and is it only for other trucking in the same market, so if you went from van to flatbed you would be all right, or do they ban you from any other driving?

I guess I can understand they are trying to reduce the number of people doing what I want to do lol

 

From what I have seen for someone in my situation, WE and Swift will just run you through orientation, then put you with a driver trainer until they sign off on you, so no particular training involved.
I don't know what reality is, but that is what I have read.

And all I am going for is otr experience, since the places I really want to work for, it is the insurance rules that limit me, and they base it on otr experience.

 

So, a quick update, mainly for @Chinatown to add to his database.
The original company I tried hiring onto was Stidham Trucking out of Yreka. They had a medium sized fleet of flatbed and curtains, and they shut down a couple of weeks ago, so glad I didn't go there! Lol

When I talked to Scott at A&M, he asked me when I could come up to interview, so I went up the next morning, talked to him, filled out some paperwork, followed by a test drive, then training videos, then orientation, then a night in their new bunkhouse/drivers lounge, and I was out with a trainer for a few days to get familiar with the company procedures and systems and paperwork and such, then solo to LA! Lol
I have been here nearly a year now, averaging 10,000 miles+ a month @35 cpm, plus fuel and performance bonuses which I get every month (Uhhh.. +4.5 cents p/m for those I think?) plus medical and dental and vision and cell phone allowance etc.
There is extra pay for the normal things, extra stops, tarping, breakdowns, detention (currently for over 2 hours, might get changed to 1 hour), etc.

I ended up going dry van after realizing that the flatbed fleets up here mainly only haul lumber and rebar and an occasional coil, which I find pretty boring, plus lots of tarping for most loads, plus most of the flatbed fleet was low or mid roof sleepers, and I did that long enough, I need to be able to stretch lol
They also have curtain vans, but they haul a lot of the same loads as the dry vans, but with much more tiedown work, and so it isn't really worth it to me, so I am slamming doors, getting more miles, and enjoying it!

We haul similar loads to Thomas and sons, lots of paper rolls down to the Bay Area and LA, lumber (shove loaded 2x, or plywood/masonoite/particle board (my current load, from Albany Or to Las Vegas), empty aluminum cans, Kettle Chips, etc.
Then most of the loads north from LA are Harbor Freight Tools (we supply most of the stores in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho), and from the Bay area North can be places like Gallo wines, Owens Corning insulation, Cost Plus, empty 2.5 gallon plastic containers for cooking oil, etc.

Most loads are drop and hook pick up and live unload, and almost everything goes through the yard just north of Medford, so they can swap you out when you get to the yard to something ready to deliver, so they can keep drivers going while still having extra time on loads for delays.

It is a home nearly every weekend company, with most drivers getting back Friday, so best if you live near Glendale/Roseburg/Grants Pass, but some live further away and get home most weekends.
Sometimes you get a run from LA to say Boise or Yakima and go straight there, and sometimes spend a weekend on the road, but that is rare, and they usually ask if you are willing.

While there can be some issues with truck condition (as in, not in perfect condition, not as in pieces likely to fall off the truck! Lol
I am a diesel mechanic, so I have a higher standard of condition then some, and am more likely to notice problems usually), they are still better than many of the fleets I see running around, and fewer breakdowns (they are buying quite a few new Cascadias each year, and retiring the oldest trucks), and the shop can be a pain sometimes, I think this is generally true to some degree or other with any carrier, but the trailers are generally in better condition than most any other fleet I see.
All Alcoa rims (truck and trailers) , all air ride/auto dump, kept in pretty good shape (some of our customers are very picky, so we keep them happy!).
We just got I think it was 25 new Great Dane 53's, with the "Kidde Slide" air deflector, Yay! no more side wings!

We have a large drive-thru automatic truck wash in the yard, that even scrubs the rear trailer doors, plus hoses and soap buckets and brushes at the 3 pump fuel island. (most fuel we get at the yard, including DEF at the pumps, and use Tcheck for longer runs at designated PFJ/TA locations.)
We also have yard concierge/night watch, who will often help wash windows, guide you while parking the truck (dense lot, no lines, but 90% of the spots are easy to hit, the yard guys are there to help keep the lot neat and packed in for when all 150 drivers make it back on Friday lol)
They will also help direct you, or find your trailer, or call the right person if there is an issue, and it is kind of nice having someone to say hi to when you get back. Most of them are retired drivers.

The shop is open late most nights, until midnight, so if you are in the yard, or have a roadside problem, you call them and they set up the tow truck or road service etc for you. There is also 24 hour on call numbers for both the shop and Dispatch.

We have a fleet size around 150 trucks, but you get to know the dispatchers and it doesn't feel too big. Each dispatcher covers a particular area, and it is nice actually talking to the person who knows the customer and area.

We primarily are an i5 Corridor company, ranging from nearly to Canada to the LA basin and Inland Empire, but we also run into and through Arizona, Nevada and Western Idaho, but not very often for any individual driver.
Like this trip, they need to get me to LA (Moreno Valley), and the best load they had available was to Las Vegas, and then I deadhead to Moreno Valley, drop and hook, and head somewhere back north with Harbor Freight.

All trucks are elogs with Peoplenet, touch screens and pretty easy to deal with, and I actually prefer to paper.
All trucks have Scale Prepass transponders, and we have a good record, so I almost always get green light.
All trucks also have FastTrak toll transponders for Bay Area and Washington bridges,and all trucks have decent CB's. (we use them on a tight bridge coming off the freeway, and to check in when we get to the yard)
Most trucks are 10 or 13 speed stick, with some being the DT12 automatic shift manual. (which isn't too bad).
Most trucks are governed to 64 mph, with a company 65mph speed limit that alarms and sends a message to safety. (I accidentally hit it occasionally, but have yet to hear from them about it, but I don't abuse it either)
Most trucks have refrigerators and large inverters.
Also they have bunk heaters, and a few even have the battery powered night A/C, or APU's.

Oh, and there is a smiling pirate on the door, as the company logo... Lol

So, while there are a couple of things that I don't like, and though I really want to go 48 (or 49!) state, I like it here enough to stay on i5 (which I have pretty much memorized now...), and would recommend it to anyone in the general area. And I am not getting compensated for this, and while I will mention that we have a sign-on bonus for you, and referral bonus for me if you mention my name, I will point out that I am posting this here mainly for Chinatown, not as a review of the company! (I might do that later when I feel like editing and composing instead of just typing as I think)

Thank you Chinatown for pointing me to A&M, it was exactly what I was looking for, and you were the only source I found out about it from!