New CDL Holder and New to Truckers Report Forum

Hey everyone, name is Troy. Im 34 years old and I just got my CDL from West Michigan CDL and am looking to find the right company to go to. Its more stressful then I thought. A little background is I'm married with 2 daughters 6 and 7 years old. I dont want to be OTR for more then a week. Home time will be very important to me. I have been in contact with 3 companies.

1. Modular Transportation- Flatbed work hauling steel. Mainly go to Wisconsin, Chicago, Northern Indiana, Northern Ohio, and Michigan. Its a Mon-Fri job and home weekends. Medical, dental and vision all paid by the company. Starts out at 23% of the load is my pay and will move up to 26% with time. I really like them but am not sure I want to do flatbed.

2. Falcon Transport- They offered me a dedicated route from Grand Rapids MI to Bowling Green KY all week. Mon-Fri and home weekends and possibly home a little during the week. Would be hauling auto parts for GM. They were not totally clear on the pay but it said it was paid on a round trip basis and would average $750-$850 a week. I was almost sold on this one until I read a few threads about them on here lol.

3. Alliance Beverage ( formally Kent Beverage ) This is a local position with home everynight. Bad part is is it would be a swing driver position. I would only drive when a driver calls in sick or goes on vacation. I would work in the warehouse otherwise. I got my CDL to get out of a warehouse which I have worked at for 10 years. A drivers route will open up eventually but she said she has had swing drivers move into routes in as little as 2 weeks but it could be 2 years she just couldnt tell me.

I love to drive. I sick of doing warehouse supervisor crap and want to do something I love to do. Im not getting into this business to be rich. Dont get me wrong I want to make the most I can but home time would be of most importance to me. I dont have to be home every night but also at the same time dont want to be out for 2-3-4 weeks at a time. Im also looking for a good company to drive for and to be a great and safe driver for.

Any help or tips on who I should really go with would be highly appreciated. I have done some research but its so mixed it seems to confuse me more on who to go with.

Thanks everyone in advance for your replies and I look forward to being part of this for a long long time.

Troy

 

They told me the average is about $850-$1000 a week.

 

Are they really as bad as I have read with the DOT inspections?

 

Thanks man that helps me a lot. Are there any other companies that you know of that would work in my situation?

 

Yeah I looked into them but they wont take anyone from West Michigan CDL because West Mich CDL stole one of their trainers. Sounds pretty petty to punish a new driver but is what it is I guess.