Hey y’all. Not sure if this is the right category to post this question, but I am about to be a new driver, so here goes… I’m going to be starting at Swift after classes and mentoring. I’ll be operating out of the Phoenix terminal. I’m excited for OTR because I don’t have wife/kids so don’t really need to be home all that often. I do, however, have an elderly grandmother in New England. So I’d like to be able to see her from time to time while I’m trucking by doing my 34-hour resets close to there. So, my question is, does anybody know how possible this will be. Like, will I need to find OTR shipments going from Phoenix to New England? Does Swift even have shippers/receivers in New England (I noticed they don’t have any terminals there). Any advice on how to negotiate this with my TL and if he/she will be at all likely/able to organize me being in that region? Do I have to transfer to another terminal closer there? Hopefully somebody here who has worked for Swift has had similar requests, or anybody who has been in the industry a while knows how this sort of works logistically. Thanks!
Plenty of loads in that area and terminals in upstate NY. Lots of drivers do not like driving that area.
Being based out of Phoenix does not mean your loads will originate there. Being OTR means you will be all over the country and wherever you deliver a load will be fairly near your next pickup. You can request a home time anywhere you like, so you can always use that to see your granny. It is far easier to plan a home time than a 34 hour reset. The reset will happen wherever you are that you run out of hours on your 70, so not really easy to plan at a specific location.
set your hometown where ever you want to spend time at. hometime doesn't have to be at your home terminal. set your first day you want off 2 days b4 you need it. BTW. me and Moosetek13 drive for swift
I took that to mean he meant if you need to start your home time say on a Friday, tell them you need to start it on a Wednesday (2 days before) to make sure you get there by when you need to be there, not to give them only 2 days notice that you want home time.
My bad. I usually get home on the day I set, sometimes the day after like this time. Timing can be tricky if you need to be home on a certain date for something important.
Swift goes everywhere. Usually only the drivers that live in NE want to go there, It is usually considered the hardest place to drive a big truck, not enough truck parking, traffic, bad weather, etc. You may need to start looking for truck parking now . Hopefully you will be bobtail, without a trailer, which should make it easier to park. Don't just assume every neighborhood or the local cops allows truck parking on the street or in the neighborhood.
