I'll try to answer this as best I can, because a lot of it can be summed up as "It depends....."
Home Time:
Honestly, it depends on freight, how close you live to your terminal- and yes it also depends on your DM. If you live within a reasonable drive to your home terminal then often you won't have a problem. If you're like me and live 300 miles from the closest Terminal than there can be issues with getting home. Sometimes they really have to dig for freight that will take you "Close to the house".
Recently I had to park my truck at the Terminal and have my wife drive the 300 miles to come pick me up.. Then drive 300 miles back. There just wasn't any freight headed close to home. So I had a choice.. Sit around and wait for a load.. Or find another way home. I found another way.
I also have DM that I don't think believes in hometime. Recently- if he really wanted to have me home on time he would have done so.
Training:
Again, that depends on the attitude of your instructors, and YOUR attitude. You have to remember that the Academy is going to give you the bare minimum to get you a CDL. Lots of people don't agree with that policy but it is what it is. Make the best use of the time you are given.
When you go out on your six week "Mentorship".. It's going to depend on your mentor. Some are good, some aren't. You have to realize that some of them do it merely to have a second logbook on their truck. Best advice is if you feel that the mentor you are assigned is not teaching you.. Talk to your driver services manager and try to be assigned to a new one. If you don't think you are being given any of the skills needed to even be remotely successful as a solo driver, be proactive and try to get it fixed. Don't just try to get "A check in the box". That will be setting yourself up for failure.
Pay:
As long as you are on top of your paperwork Swift is pretty good for getting you paid on time. Just have to remember on ething.. Swift pays by "Shortest miles" not Practical miles. So if your Dispatch says the distance for your run is "950 miles". That's what you get paid for. Doesn't matter if you drive 1,150 miles.
Trucks given to new hires:
It all depends on what is available when you Solo out.. and amusingly enough WHERE you solo out. If your terminal is a small one, and only has a 4 year old truck with 400,000 miles on it to give you.. That's what you're gonna get.
If you solo out at one of the large terminals.. like say.. Phoenix.. There is a possibility that you could be assigned a brand new truck. They have a pile of 'em sitting there.
Supplies for your Truck when you get it assigned:
Go over it with a fine tooth comb. Make sure it has all of the required safety equipment. Beyond that, it's good to go to the shop and get replacement parts for things that commonly need replaced.
Get a box of spare glad hand grommets. Get a trailer light kit. Get an extra set of chains. Bungee cords... Basically get yourself set up so you can make very basic repairs.
Personal items wise.. Just whatever you think you'll need to be most comfortable. As for myself, I have several 12v appliances that I use to prepare my own food. RoadPro makes a pretty good line up of cookware. Get a good cooler and stock up on groceries. Try to keep the need to eat at fast food/truck stop restaurants to a minimum. You'll spend too much money.
That's all. Hope it helps to some degree... Can't comment on Memphis though as I went through the Lewiston, ID academy.
