Just out of curiosity…

One starter company is as good as other. Put names in hat, shake em up and draw one.
But stay where you decide a year. Job hopping looks bad on you.
Personally I liked Schneider tanker division.
They do have a lot of Mickey Mouse rules, shaving every day is one of them.

 

Not every driver is a good fit for every trucking company. Not every trucking company is a good fit for every driver. Imagine just asking which food should I eat with no more details given. If you walk into a Mexican restaurant but you wanted a steak, you will give the restaurant a low review. All trucking jobs are not the same. All trucking companies are not the same. You need to define what you need to be happy with a job and then carefully screen out companies that don't provide that. The trucking companies will also screen out drivers they don't want.

99% of newbies do zero research and then blame the trucking company for not delivering what the newbie wanted. Most newbie quit trucking pretty fast because of their low motivation, being pampered by past employers and schools, and having outrageous expectations because they listened to some recruiter tell them lies.

 

A lot of great responses that I agree with whole heartedly. However I would argue that the company reviews point to a larger systemic issue.

CDL schools teach to pass the test and tell new drivers that their starter company will teach them how to drive.

Companies think that since the driver has a cdl, they just need to teach company policies and trip planning. Further, companies have built their business model around driver churn to keep wages low.

This results in poorly prepared drivers struggling to climb the very steep learning curve. The poor comprehension of how both the company and the larger industry work leads to miss communication, lost opportunities, mistakes, and frustrations. The frustration results in a driver quiting and trashing their first company. When the driver goes through orientation at their new gig, they have a lot more knowlwdge and perspective and everything makes more sense, so they do better and their poor opinion of the starter company is reaffirmed.

We as an industry need train drivers better and hold carriers accountable.

 

No company is a good fit for all drivers, For instance Heartland Express has treated me very well, while there are other drivers that for one reason or another did not fit well, it happens. Alan Richie is a company that moves USPS, my experience was very negitive, while there are others here that had a very good experience.
No company is perfect, as far as starter companys I reccomend SWIFT while others will not. So its just a mixed bag of nutz you might say.
Keep in mind your first company is going to temporarily put you with a trainer, it's temp just bite the bullet and get threw it, also remember don't over pack take what you need save taking what you want for your own truck.
When the companys goals and your line up , it makes for a good fit.
Once on your own if you and a dispatcher do not get along, just change dispatchers, or boards.
When I went on with Heartland I did not care for m dispatcher or the loads, I requested a change, moved onto a regional ddicated account(a little less per mile, a lor less frustrations) was kept very busy and me and the new dispatcher got along very well.

 

Help me out here , i understand available, reliable , adaptable but im not quite understanding efficent , in your context .

 

Ahhh ok no problem! Basically trip planning and execution of the trip plan. Example, if i can fuel, shower, and eat in one stop, that would be amazing. Other times, I like to utilize the split sleeper for live loads. Its always about 2 or 3 hrs most times so it's all about maintaining my drive time,and it does create a longer day. Many times I plan to start a split during rush hours depending on the city. I will usually use split sleeper nearby Nashville and Atlanta, to keep motion. My version of efficiency is predicated on keeping motion as much as possible, even if it means long days or nights. Every driver probably does some version of this though.

 

The hours I run more depend on when the load is ready or dropped/ Most of the time the complaint I get from dispatch is that the load has been delivered, the next drop n hook is hooked and Im well on my way. Maybe old school stuff, can't help it.

 

This is more true than people realize. We used to tell our students exactly that. I had to tell a student once that he would be lucky to pass the test in 4 weeks much less learn how to really drive. I said, we have to teach you how to pass the test. Driving in the real world is much different. He came back 3 months later and said "you werent lying".

I did the 9 month course at a vo tech and actually stayed the whole 9 months. Got the CDL in 3 weeks and the rest was learning how to really drive. Did actual loads - picked up from farms and ran it to food banks around the upper midwest sometimes, but mostly dragged empty boxes around town. Would be nice if everyone learned that way.

 

I'm all for utilizing the sleeper split when necessary...however I'm not living on a split..I'll do it when necessary.. however if it's all the time then its good bye company for me.. we perform a dangerous job and we need proper rest.. otherwise you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law.. just food for thought..

 

Every body is different. Not everyone needs the same type or amount of rest.