more newbie drama

My advice to you is to go with Crete. They're a pretty good dry box company based in Lincoln, NE. They have a terminal in Phoenix, which may or may not be 'fairly' close to you.

After I got my CDL, I got a job with Swift and worked at their terminal that was based out of my home state of Virginia. I got tired of doing the I-95 north thing real quick, and I got tired of a lot of the BS I saw at Swift. I quit Swift after only three months. I then decided I wanted to drive mainly in the western US., so I moved to Salt Lake City. I got a job with a reefer company that was okay, at least at first.

After arriving in Salt Lake, I didn't rent an apartment. I simply got a post office box, got a job with this reefer company, and then got my CDL changed to Utah from Virginia. I used the Utah trucking company's address as my own when I got the license switched over, as I couldn't use my P.O. Box address to do that. I had no problems doing this and was able to work like 9 months with this company, although I "lived" clear back in Virginia. I didn't care, as I was working to save some cash, so I didn't need to go home. I didn't want to go home, either. Good thing, too. This company couldn't have gotten get me home if its own life would have depended on it.

Perhaps what I did back then is what you could do here as well. Get a job with Crete, "move" to Phoenix, and hit the road in a red truck.

Some "other" advice: don't get a job at a reefer company, at least not at first. Reefer driving is more aggravating than driving dry-box. A green driver will have a harder time making it through those first two years you're trying to do if he's pulling a reefer wagon, so the odds will be against you making it through those two years if you go with a reefer company.

I'm telling ya, man--you'll want to quit every day of the world if you go reefer, especially if you go with some bottom-feeder like C.R. England. Go with a dry-box company (but NOT Swift or J.B. Hunt) for those two years.

Good luck.

 

Hey,

I admire your sense of extreme sacrifice for the sake your objective which isn’t unlike mine.

But where the hell have you slept if you didn’t have your own place (after you moved) -- don’t tell me truck trailer. Perhaps I misunderstood but
since you didn’t use your place in Virgininia then what?

 

I left Virginia on a Wednesday and arrived in Salt Lake three days later.
I got a hotel room and a newspaper, and started calling trucking companies the following Monday morning. By noon, I was at a company signing up for their orientation. They paid for my hotel room that night, as well as the next three nights. I went out on a truck I believe the Thursday of that week. I then lived in the truck (mostly) the next 8 1/2-9 months.

About every ten days I got a hotel room for an entire weekend to help stave off cabin fever. Usually this was when I was back at the home terminal in Salt Lake waiting on my next tour to begin.

Mine was a pretty cool set up. If one plans it right, he can do exactly this today and never go crazy from living in the truck. You have to get out of the truck at least on occasion, but you don't need an apartment to do it. Why rent an apartment if you work at a job that gets you home maybe once every two weeks anyway? Rent a hotel room for a weekend twice each month instead.

 

Nav, before I tell you about my experiences with reefer driving, why don't you tell me what you already 'know' about it. Also, how did you get this information? Did you get it from a seasoned veteran driver? A recruiter? A company dispatcher? The T.V. show 'Movin' On'? A fortune cookie?

My point is what you think you know about reefer driving may not be accurate, depending on your source. Also, your source may have (conveniently) left out a few details you will need to know before going to work for a reefer company, especially if that company subscribes to DAC.

Yeah, good ol' DAC. Man, you have to make wise choices when it comes to choosing a company to work for in an era of DAC. I learned this the hard way with my first company.

When you go to work for a DAC trucking company as a driver, the company will report your driving time on your DAC report. Seems pretty straight-forward. If only. Some companies take this opportunity to burn you so you can't go to work for a competitor anytime soon, meaning you'll be "stuck" at this company if you do something like bend a trailer door or curb a rim. They WILL put a black mark on your DAC, you can count on it. And you may really, really want to leave this company later (or even sooner).

Sure, you'll be able to find a new company to work for later if you really want. After all, it's a driver's market, at least when it comes to finding jobs. But you won't be doing 'better' by making the change. This is because the GOOD companies you will really want to work for after the bad apple may turn their noses up at you if you have a black mark on your DAC.

Nip the bad company and its dirty trickery in the bud. Never work for them in the first place. This will help give you a more stable work history, as you will more likely stay on your first job like you should for a little while. This will reap rewards for you later, assuming you will even want to quit your first job.

Work history stability is the key in this day and age, at least when it comes to finding a great job with a great trucking company. You can't
go to work for a trucking company today, quit 'em three weeks from now just because you don't like 'em, and then expect to get a job at a good company. A good company will shy away from you, as you'll appear to be one of those 'unsatisfiable' types.

But many of the bottom feeders WILL hire you. Those companies you wouldn't wish on an enemy. The trucking industry is FULL of these companies. They have atrocious turnover for good reasons and you don't wanna be caught dead driving for them. You can usually find them in your local newspaper help-wanted ads if you live in a big metro area such as Salt Lake or Denver. Most of these companies will be reefer outfits. Stay away from these companies. Again, there is a good reason they advertise every day of the world.

Avoid the 'job-hopping' whirlpool. Quitting trucking jobs makes you look bad and will get a lot of doors closed in your face, meaning you'll have fewer choices and increasing the odds you'll have to settle for a rotten apple like Swift if you stay in trucking. Some of those doors that get slammed on you may lead to GREAT trucking jobs in the future. Make sure your first company is a company you can stay with for at least a year. Try like hell to NOT be a job-hopper. Keep those doors to the great jobs open.

Accept this reality or walk away from truck driving right now. Don't go any further.

If you can accept this, tell me what you know about reefer driving, and I'll then tell you what I know about it. Know up front that I wouldn't drive reefer again if I got paid 45 pennies a mile to do it. The job would have to be GREAT before I'd sleep in front of a Thermo-King unit tonight.

 

1. Go with dry box.

2. Get your work history information together for the past ten years. Make sure everyone can be contacted and can verify you worked for them. You will be entering this info on your application at every good company. My work history had gaps when I first started trucking, and I couldn't contact an ex-employer. This alone kept me out of an M.S. Carriers' truck. This was a hell of a loss, I found out later, as M.S. was a great company compared with the company I had to go with instead--Swift. Swift didn't/doesn't care who applies to be drivers. If the person has a pulse, he'll get a job with Swift. It won't matter to Swift anyway. The way Swift treats its drivers, most of their new hires are gone within 8 months.

Again, there is a good reason for the help-wanted ads you'll see in newspapers.

3. Go with someone like Crete, although they may want a year's experience. Like I said, avoid J.B. Hunt and Swift like the plague. I worked for Swift once and wouldn't wish that company on a worst enemy, not that I have any. If Crete wants a year, ask others here. I don't know right off who else would be good to go with.

PS--I know I said reefers are bad news. There may be two reefer outfits that are good. Marten and Mark Martin's trucking company. Those two may be good and will take a chance on you. Above all else make sure you land in a GOOD company.

If you can't find a good company to start with, don't bother entering the industry.

 

Yes I agree please what ever you do do not be fooled by a JB Hunt recuiter into signing with them. They are notorious for not giving miles and making you sit. My husband was a driver for them so I am talking from experience. Good Luck.