Schneider

That Gordon company that runs all over the southwest sounds like a great company if you live in another country like California. You should contact Luman (another board member) and find out about them. They sound like the real thing.

 

Killie....................

You should have about 1000 questions by now and that is a good thing.....

However, one wannabe to another, I will tell you people around here get tired of answering the same questions over and over..............

The "old timers" are GREAT about answering more detailed questions, but all the information you need about a companies training program, typical starting pay, expectations, requirements and regulations (including inverters and idling) have been answered numerous times on other posts.....

This is one of the best forums I have ever seen for organization and my hat goes off to them....... (not to mention the fact that glitches are virtually non-existent around here ........ ) I don't think most of the posters here realize how professional and well run this site is.........the teacher (and former computer programming major) give ya'll Well...... that was a little off point!!!

Anyway..... Killie...... every question you probably have has probably already been answered...... you just need to get yourself a pitcher of ice tea, some snacks, a comfortable chair and then start reading..... I promise you will be amazed at how much you learn about not only the company you are researching but trucking in general.

The best place for you to start your research is over in these three areas:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/discuss-your-favorite-trucking-company-here/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/motor-carrier-questions-the-inside-scoop/

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/trucking-company-dac-reports/

And a quick search using the "Search" button above revealed that this particular thread has a poster who drives for SNI talking about inverters and what SNI allows:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-company-here/30424-schneider-national-4.html

Now.......... once you have just about gone blind from all your reading there....... IMHO you need to go to the area below and also do searches on the negative aspects of any company you find interesting ........

There are a lot of posters here who get annoyed and whine about all the negativity that goes on around here....... drivers complain, put down companies and detail stories of how they were mistreated............. (yep... they get in trouble for...um....... venting)

However, I PERSONALLY WANT TO READ THAT INFORMATION! (so everyone else leave them alone...)

I mean....... I don't get it........... I want to drive a truck....... I don't exactly need someone to "warn" me about GOOD things about a company ...... it's not like I really need to mentally prepare myself because some company might give me a Christmas bonus or an extra day off (paid) every so many miles .......... ya think?
But I do want to know about BAD things that the company does on a regular basis........ doesn't mean i won't chose them, it just means I want to know the worst case scenerio of what I am going to be dealing with...... for example..... if I only want to drive out west (because I consider anything below 65 to be freezing) and a company is notorious for hiring drivers and telling them that they will be in the west......... but every driver for their company knows that the poor newbie puke won't see west of the mississippi for the first 6 months........ I WANT TO KNOW THIS........ then, I can be mentally prepared if I decide that I still want to go with that company..... (and I will have brought the appropriate clothing to keep my tushy from freezing........... )

So you have your links above to get started....... and for the record you will find that Schneider will come out on top for large carriers....... the issue with them will be if
YOU meet THEIR requirements........ they have been known to be selective (picky).........

GOOD LUCK...............

Time to start your homework.........

 

I agree with all of the above.....and if I see a bad pattern developing with a company some rookie is asking about and see a good pattern with another, it's easier to just answer that way instead of telling the guy 50 ways to not bang your head against a wall. The stuff some of these companies pull would be hilarious if it weren't true.

 

Oakland,Maine? Sorry...don't know much about that area, but I'm sure somebody around here knows of a company up there that'll treat you right. Sometimes a smaller company that takes students is better, but you won't find them on the search engines too easily. The local truckstop may be the best bet. Best to go in with a CDL and a clean driving report in your hands.

 

I see StoryTeller has been going to the AfterShock school of post writing.

yes, I'll beat you to the punch, folks. But after all, *I* taught Shocky.

My posts are occasionally concise, but more often... expansive.

 

Schneider for my week long experience says that since we are in 2nd quarter we can idle 25-35%. My DBL says that is for situations like Laredo loads "where it is 100 degrees at night". But really I think it depends on miles traveled or time traveled. I don't know, but because of load and repair requirements I will have to drive from maybe midnight to 9am or so. Not good at all, so I will be up tonight all night and sleep during the day. I am in Memphis, TN/ West Memphis, AR, OC and it is expected to be 90 degrees in the afternoon. No way on this earth am I sleeping through that with no AC. I slept in my truck in Ill this morning and it was hot inside at 9am. It wasn't too bad outside, but there is no secure way to get that air inside the cab.

These trucks make great greenhouses. In order to keep the idle down they must redesign these Freightliners. Although I don't know another option. They do have screens for the door windows at only $40 each, but my check on payday was a whole $2.61. All I was paid was for a toll refund. Must have not turned in logs early enough. If next pay day isn't better, something is hitting the fan!

They will run you to death your first week at least. I ran out of 70 hours in 5 days, mostly from driving past the shipper 6 times trying to find the address. But a lot of that was things like spending an hour backing into a dock because I moved the tandums all the way back before I went to back it. That's a mistake I won't make again! Another mistake I have learned is not to look on the side of the warehouse for the name of the company to be there. That is almost never the right name. You want to find LSF, you better not be looking for LSF. You will never find it. Just an example, not real names.

 

Can y'all imagine tryin' to go right to sleep after runnin' hard all night --
in the bunk of a cab-over on a hot day,
with a hot engine right below you?

Sizzle me bacon Barney!
And stick a fork in me ---
I'm DONE!

10-4?

 

When it is hot this is what I done in order to keep my Idle low... You need a decent A/C that blows pretty cold air.. If not then take your truck to the shop and schedule it to have the A/C charged (I always tried to talk to the actual tech that was going to do the work (they usually are right there when they page you to take the truck into the shop) this way you can tell them you are just trying to save on idle time so the colder he can get it the better, if he is cool then he will hook you up, if not he is just going to do what company tells them to set it at) Anyways run your truck till it is ICE COLD inside, shut it down and that usually will get you 3 hours (takes you an hour of idle to get your truck ice cold so that's 4 hours) then idle it 1 hour to get it nice and cold again.... So if you done this right you had your truck ice cold when you pulled into the truck stop... you idled 1 hour half way threw the night and you now have been in bed for 8 hours... now you have 2 hours to get your butt up and running...


Winter? use a sleeping bag and don't idle... (you will wish they would make a key less starter lol) when you get up is the worst part because you have to crawl out of that bag and start the truck... Somedays I would just hop there in my bag lol to dang cold..