Questions from a new yorker interested in trucking

If you live in NYC, you live in an area hated by drivers all across the US...

Are you looking to move? Running a Box truck delivering around NYC likely pays more than most OTR work. Box trucks are the bread and butter of nyc, they can hit docks a 48ft couldnt get close to.

 

I am curious if you have a tanker endorsement. I pick up used cooking oil from tri state bio diesel in the Bronx and oilmatic in My vernon. They both pay pretty well I think. It is a nasty job tho. I go there twice a week with a big tanker and take it to a refinery

 

Oh sorry, I'm not familiar with swift. I can't answer your questions about them.

 

And if you don't want to share you don't have to.
All you have to do is pay the other half of the cost of the room. Probably around $30-35 per night.

 

Is the hotel shared with someone cuz thats ganna be kinda creepy?

Yep, Two double beds. New friends with you for Class.

Any new york city truckers know which terminal id be going to after i get the license?

Forget the Ternimal. You live in a City hated by half the USA Truckers. You WILL be dispatch out of a yard that has nothing but NYC loads for you. Hunts Point comes to mind.

Is transfering from terminal to terminal easy?

Not usually. Your home address determines your closest yard.

Does your pay change when u transfer recruiter said no but just checking with others?

Your pay is the bottom for a year or two. Then over 10 years or more it will slowly improve. I started off at .20 in the 80's and finished in the .50's during 9-11 it is essentially entry pay today almost 20 years later. (Inflation) Just like the GWB tolls increased from 12.50 to 25 then up to 106 or so today.

Whats the diffrence in work type from reefer to flatbed to van and all the other ones?

There are many differences. Different strokes for different people. Vans bore me. Reefers is food and meat, heavy stuff. Flatbeds are really mental. Everything has to be just so. If not you will either kill yourself or kill a family next to you. Tanker is a acquired skill. Everything has something. Good and something bad.

What work type is more recommended pay wise and hometime wise?

To be home is to bleed pay. You lose money sitting home or keeping your left door open in truckstop.

Recruiter said swift doesnt do tanker and doesnt pay extra for haz which sucks cuz i have both tanker and haz. Is this true?

Swift does certain things. There are 10,000 companies out there if not more. That do it all if you look around. Some endorsements you might never use in your life time. Others you might allow to expire etc.

Someone said on the forum that on there day off they bobtail it home idk what that meant does anyone?

Bobtail means no trailer attached to tractor.

I see other companies talking about shifts as 7/3 5/2 etc etc i, assuming those mean days work/days off what kind of schedules do swift usually have?

You drive 11 hours. Take 10 hours in the sleeper. Repeat until your 70 hours total is used up. What happens the 8th day depends on your hours worked the first day. You might work or you will have to sit up to 34 hours doing nothing to reset. There is a 14 hour work day that you could do total. However... there are no limits to how long it takes you to unload currently. You could be 24 hours back there.

When it comes to miles and getting paid for them do u get paid for the miles even if u not hauling anything? Like if i start in jersey take something to virginia then come back home am i getting paid from virginia home miles?

Going home pays nothing usually. Get your mind off going home. To go home means to bleed a bunch of money. You can never get it back again. If you are told to go to Freehold Newjersey and load widgets which is about so many miles from you in NYC you will be paid zip code to zip code which is about 20% less than actual ground miles run. That is the empty miles you get paid. Once loaded going to ...Omaha Nebraska in 5 days it might be a bunch of loaded miles. Taxes etc will reduce this amount greatly. Borrowing money will cause your paycheck to be 0.00 until you pay back your company all the money you borrowed. Getting paid is not going to happen sometimes if you submit your paperwork late etc.

Im hearing something about driver facing cameras is this true?

Some companies have it. Personally I flat refuse it. If they want me to do that, they need to have a pretty dispatcher for me to look at on her office desk with a inward camera of her own. With my luck I might get Bruno instead... Because I refuse it on principle, I already know I will never work for them.

Can u bring a fiancé with u once your solo?

With a passenger waiver yes. You might not have a fianc'e anymore when the trip is over for a variety of reasons. Most women live a life time and never see the trucker side.

Is doubles and triples recommended?

Triples are out west. Doubles is more common east. You also have the big twin turnpike doubles on your NY Turnpike. If you like that kind of work, then go for it. But I don't

I have more questions but ill leave it at this fro now thats for any help in advance and sorry for long winded post hope u all enjoy ur day

Longwinded. Ha. Don't worry about it.

Trucking is bigger than you will ever be. This Nation is so big and great in all it's forms under the Sky. When you come out of NYC and get into say... Armarillo Texas you will find a different people with different way of acting, talking and living. You will have to drop the jive and step easy and be polite. Different areas of the USA also relies on different foods. You will learn.

The most dangerous time is your first 6 months to a year. if you make a mistake and hit and damage or destroy something, you could be and probably will be fired and told go home. They might not put you on the bus to go home. You will have to get yourself home. And depending on what goes into your DAC, PSP etc and other reports that stay with you for many years, you might not be hireable for a while.

Finally, you will have a medical check every time you join a company, every two years you must renew that form. It goes into your CDL to be a American OTR trucker. Fail to stay fit and in good shape physically or keep up your required exams will cause your CDL to be potentially stripped from you.

Some states have lawful drugs like pot. DO NOT go anywhere near that stuff. You are on Uncle Sam's Federal now. Nothing illegal or state legal on or in you going back a long time. You will be tested. Over and over again.

 

After taking Swifts training you will be indentured to them for 1 year (I think, might be 2) You might want to try XPO, (the former Conway) they have a dock to driver program that would probably fit you better.

 

Loan for school swift will take out a certain amount for 13 months. Now the lian is payed. Now... swift will return that monthly amount for another 13 months. Now school is free. Takes a bit over 2 yrs to get it payed off. But you do not have to stay.
If you quit b4 the first year is up, you still owe the balance. Call the loan company and set up a payment plan.