Non-BFI OTR companies for newbs?

People on this board get a HO for certain companies. they blast them, then call them BFIs.
If the truth be known, more people get their start with a 'BFI' than any other way and with out them, they would not be in the trucking business.
Almost every company with 500 power units or more has been labeled a BFI on this board.
you'll have to make your own decision.
Personally, I see a lot of these posts as whiney butt people who don't want to suck it up and get started.
Think of it as going thru boot campl
You'd never choose to do it again, but you're glad you did it.

 

Why would anyone be glad to make piss poor wages, get treated like dirt, and be away from home for long stints at a time (Assuming maybe someone had wanted to run regional once they got their experience)?

 

because most Drivers are masochists.

 

I guess it all depends on what you call piss poor wages.
I made more than 39,000 my first year with a BFI carrier.
I've been with them just shy of 4 years now.
Last year (2011)I made over 70,000.
I am home when I want, I enjoy OTR, run good equipment.
Treated poorly? Not at all. People are nice, I enjoy most of their company.
They have never tried to beat me out of a nickle.
What one person calls piss poor, another thinks is good.
What one person calls lousy hometime, another thinks is great.
It's all in the perspective of the individual and what they want and expect.
I'll be the first person to tell a young driver with a young family and spouse at home that OTR is a lousy way to run
But the fact is, most good jobs that are local, require one to two years of OTR before those companies will hire them.
Most of those companies have people standing in line to come to work there because they get great hometime, so the companies can be choosy.
Why pick a guy that has little to no experience when you can get someone with two years experience?
Now there are exceptions.
My younger brother managed to latch onto a local job right out of school. He's there and happy. Home every night.
but for every one of those jobs out there, there are probably 500 drivers that would love to have them.
I'm just saying that all starter companies are labeled BFI on this board.
A person has to make their own choices. There is plenty of information on this board to help with that decision.
But just because a company is called a bottom feeder, doesn't mean it isn't a good place to work. Labels aren't always right.

 

Some people don't look at multiple companies. They sometimes get set on one company and get blinded and think that 25cpm is a great deal.

When I was in school I looked at Werner, swift, Conway, cfi, Central reefer, and a few more.

I liked chose roehl cuz it starts out at 30cpm and by the end of your first year your up to 36cpm as long as you meet fuel mileage requirements and safety requirements which are pretty easy.


I wouldn't consider them a bfi, I heard good things about hen from drivers by talking to them in person at truck stops. I enjoy working for them, their not the best out there. But for starting out their pretty good. I've never had to unload anything and I've never had a problem getting paid for the miles I ran, even Bob tailing.

Also wanna say I stay out for 20-30 days because I choose too. You make more money since your constantly running. I like being away from home, its not a bad deal for me. Roehl has good home time fleets. Every trucking company will meet different people requirements. What works for someone might not for someone else.else

 

A much higher percentage also fail and do much deeper in debt going to a CDL mill then to a BFI . BFI's are blood suckers . Drivers are just another expense to be kept to a minimum to allow cut throat rates competing with other BFI's for low paying accounts .

 

Fleet owners with expedite companies will hire drivers right out of school for straight trucks . They prefer teams though .

http://customcritical.fedex.com/us/owneroperator/quals/lgstrtrk.shtml