Last week of CDL school. Time to choose a company

Hello all.. 1st post so i will introduce myself. My name is Steve. I am 38 years old, single, no kids, and have been an IBEW journeyman electrician for 15 years. Work has become pretty slow unless i want to only make $500 a week take home. So i decided it is a good time to try a new career.

I am just finishing my 3rd of a 4 week CDL training school. I am pretty good at backing, shifting, picking lines, etc. I kinda screw up at times with bad habits but none that make me unsafe while driving. Just habits that may make my road test tough.

I want to run OTR 48 state and stay out for 4 weeks or more at a time. I am actually considering doing the "living in truck full time" once i get a few months under my belt and still like what i am doing.

I have contacted and applied to several companies such as Schneider, Werner, Knight, Roehl, US Express and a few others. I have gotten prehires from all..However several have their downfalls. Some are decent pay but only allow a 150W inverter, no fridge(just a cooler), no pets, etc. Others offer crap pay but allow some of the previous mentioned.

Does anyone have a good suggestion for a 1st company. I will have all endorsements except passenger. Since i plan on running for so long i want to be able to live in the truck. That means having cooking tools like a microwave, electric skillet, coffee maker, fridge, and other things. I realize all these items are made in the 12v variety but usually cost much more and are harder to replace over 120v appliances purchased at walmart.

My ideal setup would be a diesel APU powering a bunk air conditioner/heater and a 3000w Xantrex inverter/charger. Then i could power whatever i choose to, provide power to engine heater, charge truck batteries, and still run whatever i want in the truck with the option of hooking up to shore power if its available. I am sure no one is gonna give me that option though unless i do O/O.

Sorry its such a long post. Just dont wanna sign up with a company that does not care about the driver.

 

Chinatown.... Do you know off hand if any of these carriers hire new CDL drivers. Also if they are 48 state OTR carriers.

 

Flatbed is an option i considered. I like the idea of doing more than just driving and being able to haul unique loads possibly. I would however like to get some time just hauling dry van 1st though. This will allow me the time to get situated as a driver without worrying about specialized load securement at the same time.