My trucking journey

I’ve been driving since 2006, brother. Idk what my profile says.

 

Just commute to Sage, it’s only 30-40 minute drive.

 

I don't think there are any schools in the country that include lodging with the exception of the mega-carrier company schools. TDI with their overinflated price for a 3 week course doesn't even include lodging. At least that's what they told me when I asked about their location in TN. It's pretty well discounted ($300 for the three weeks if you don't mind sharing a room, double that if you want your own room). But not free, and even if it were "free" I still wouldn't count it as free when their program costs 7 grand and only lasts three weeks.

Why did you decide to rule out going the mega company schooling route? Maybe CRengland is a horror story, but there are plenty of folks getting on well at other megas. Lots of guys that decide to stay at the megas long-term...either they're all suckers or they've calculated that the pay is good for them. Maybe those companies have some other benefits that a small company doesn't like a terminal near a big city so you're not stuck at some bathroom-less turnout 100 miles from NYC and dealing with transvestites waking you up in the middle of the night...Think of how much pay you will lose when you have to pay out of pocket for parking, or park 100+ miles away from your destination every time you deliver to a big city. Or wait for planning, because your company doesn't have a big enough freight base to find a load for you.

You really can't expect much pay during your first year no matter where you go. A lot of the "recommended" companies on here that get tossed around don't necessarily pay more than megas and prefer to hire drivers with more experience unless they are pretty desperate for drivers, but last I checked the economy wasn't that great, and the cost-benefit analysis of most small to mid-size carriers still dictate that insurance costs outweigh the benefits of hiring a driver with no experience.

When I first came on this forum I soon latched on to the idea of one of the smaller carriers that was mentioned to new drivers. I went there after cdl school, did my time with a trainer, and then went solo. It was nothing to write home about. Sure it wasn't heartland express where they make it so you barely squeek by with ~1000 miles per week, but it also wasn't smooth planning with good dispatch. There was a fair share of sitting, plenty of short hauls, inept office staff, and in hindsight their pay scale was lower than industry average. My priorities then were to just be saving more money than working some unskilled labor job back home and also I wanted to "see the country". I probably could've done better on both of these points with a mega. The majority of people that recommend companies on here do not work for those companies, have not worked for them, and do not even know anyone in real life that works for them.

Some of these smaller carriers it's like deliberately going to work for a company with less money, but you're expecting more pay. Sure the megas can be greedy (their lease programs come to mind), but it's more about how each company operates its business. Intuitively, if you wanted more money you'd go work at a company that has more money.

If you have some principled reasons for choosing one company versus another such as you're philosophically against driver-facing cameras. Then consider that a lot of the small to medium size carriers are the ones pushing these, because they need any insurance breaks they can get.

New drivers come on this forum and think that they're getting the inside baseball and they're going to end up with some magical trucking company recommendation that no one has heard of before, and they are going to get top-tier pay with top-tier benefits. Smaller is not always better. Keep in mind some drivers on here just have an axe to grind (consciously or not) against the megas, becuase those companies are helping steer the industry in a direction that they perceive as negative. They might be right, but, reality check, smaller companies often do not have the resources to make your life that much better, even if they want to. What happens if you go to IRT for example, and the 3000 miles per week at 60cpm that you've been hearing about only turns out to be 2,400 miles per week due to forces outside your control?

Even if the reason is that you have the "freedom to switch companies and not be tied to a contract" this still doesn't negate the fact that you have considered schools that will cost you over 7 grand when all is said and done. You can still break your contract and pay the money. Heck some other companies will even buy the contract and pay it off for you. You can always leave whenever you want, and some mega carriers' cdl schools (like that of big orange for example) are valued at much less than 7 grand and will include your lodging and even some food.

 

Well that's ideal.