Looking for advice

I have a friend from school that just started with USXpress in PA. I hope he is doing well.

The rep from Covenant was really nice. I don't see a lot of bad stuff said about them. If I had gone OTR ... I would have seriously considered them and Schneider.

 

So you have been retired for 6 yrs,do you have a retirement pay to back that up?If so then fax them a check stub and they'll be fine with that.

 

What percentage of Central's trucks have APU's?

 

See the reply to your same post, different thread.

 

You should be ok as long as you have a notarized letter stating what you were doing during these times of unemployment. You will need 10 years of employment history. This is more of a federal thing than a company rule. Uncle Sam wants to keep track of you!

I have had gaps in employment and have never had a problem getting hired on. It is better if you have someone else write the letter and then both of you sign and notarize it.

Just a little side note, no matter how honest you are with the recruiters that doesn't necessarily mean that they will do the same. Take everything they say with a grain of salt. Also keep in mind that when you ask them about employment they are only going to mention or recommend the top 5 mega-carriers. They are being paid to do so. Do your own homework and stay away from the mega-carriers! Your chances of success will be substantially higher!

Good luck to you...

 

If you are aware of what you are setting yourself up for then why are doing it? There are too many other good options out there besides just sacrificing yourself to a mega-carrier. If that's what you feel is necessary though then go for it. I'm just here to help as many as I can from making that mistake.

Why not a company like Central Ref? They will pay for your schooling and they are a really good company. As jobs go I would compare Swift to Walmart in the real world. Would you apply to Walmart for career? Not saying that's a bad thing but if you are a go-getter in life you know that Walmart is not your best option to make a living. You are more so just settling on a career choice when you are applying at Walmart. Agree?

 

Have you looked into the WIA program to get funding for schooling? That would allow you to go through a regular school or community college and then you would be able to choose a smaller company.

Also, not sure what your financial position is but you can finance school and most companies out there will reimburse you over the course of a year in monthly payments or per paycheck.

Most of the smaller companies should be more forgiving then the mega-carriers. Its just a matter of finding the right one for your situation. Where do you live? That makes a difference too. Keep in mind that there are many different avenues of trucking out there so you don't have to just haul dry van for a mega-carrier. There's reefer, tanker, heavy haul, flatbed, hauling livestock, hauling exotic animals, car hauler, covered wagons, gigs like NASCAR, CBS SPORTS, any type of events etc... hauling horses, concert tours such as "Upstaging", container hauling from ports and rail yards, there's also specialized like Westerns armored tractor trailer division, government loads and highly sensitive loads,expensive art and museum freight, hot shot, expedite, hauling boats and custom yachts, air freight from airport to airport, household/movers, electronics and tradeshows, carnivals, circus, rodeo circuits and bikeweek circuits etc.......

Another thing to remember is that a lot of the good gigs don't advertise so you really have to do some investigating. Craigslist often has some good gigs posted on there. Here is a website that lists a lot of the smaller less known companies:

http://www.truckdrivercentral.com/truckingcompanies.html

Just click on the state you reside in and it will give you a list of companies in your area.

Its your career though and if you feel one of the mega-carriers would be best then do so. Only you can make that decision. Some drivers are perfectly content with working for them. I just got the feeling from what you posted though that you were kind of reluctant in doing so. If you are then don't do it.

You can "pm" me if you have any questions, I'll be more than glad to help you out.

Good luck man..