Systems Transport

There are a few drivers I know of on the NW Regional fleet that don't go into Canada. All of the newer drivers I know of do go into Canada, however. I don't know If they are requiring it of new hires or not.

My experience has been that reliable hometime is just not there for anybody who doesn't live in Spokane, though.

There are a couple other options that might be worth looking into:

The heavy haul fleet pretty much sticks to the NW. They may get more reliable hometime.

The Genie fleet runs back and forth between Redmond and North Bend exclusively. I believe they are home most nights and every weekend.

If you're not dead set on flatbed, you could check into JJ Williams. They have a yard in Longview. From what I hear, they get paid pretty well and get home quite a bit, too.

 

Well just wanted to give my view of System so far. I am just going through orientation and today is my firist day. 1 key note.
1) DON'T FALL ASLEEP OR NOD OFF AT ALL! THEY WILL WARN YOU ONCE AND THEN ESCORT YOU OUT AFTER THAT. To me it is understanadble. You are there for a job not a vacation. A few guys in my group had issues during the movies.

Anyway they flew me out and the flight was ok. Got to the hotel yesterday, and had first day of orientation today. First shuttle bus from the hotel left just before 6 am. Once orientation began we started with some paperwork. Filling out info that would be on our driver profile so dispatchers know how we like to run and other necessary info on us. There will be your typical signing of documents that say you know their drug policy, log policy, job offer, and so forth. You will take an in house drug screen. They have certified personnel within to company to administer the drug screen. The road test isn't bad. Road testing went on at the same time drivers were taking drug screens. Be sure you double clutch on the road test. There is a 51 question open book test on various rules in your bible ( green FMCSR book). Recruiters came in today to hand out lunch and talk a bit about the company. A woman can in to discuss their health insurance and a man came to talk about their logs. They are running mostly qualcomm E LOGS. At this time only about 100 trucks are still on paper logs. Then before going back to the hotel we went to a third party test site to take the physical aptitude tests ( vision, hearing, lifting tests). Once that was done we walked the two blocks from the testing site to the hotel.

Overall I think this company seems to be very solid and thorough. I will post more as the week goes on.

 

Brett can be kind of standoffish at times, he really likes to see more than a year of experience. Maybe that's what is holding you back right now. Just keep on him, check back a couple times a month. Keep your name out there.

 

DAY 2 ORIENTATION

Ok guys. Well, today was day 2 of orientation. Just a crap ton of more movies and tests. Mostly all test were with a movie or a group discussion, which I liked. There was a diving awareness assessment test & video, hazmat test and video, driver inspection test & video, winter driving test & video, along with Smith System tests and vodeos. We also had personnel from the licensing department come in and speak with us and a man from a legal program for drivers.

Tomorrow is supposed to have Smith System driving assessments. Not a huge deal but it will be all about understanding areas where we as drivers can improve on. It should make for an interesting day and a relief from all the tests and movies. Aside from that I haven't much of a clue as to what else is planned. Still seeming like a solid company.

Now a little about what I'm doing here. I came over with 2+ yes of experience and most of it being in flatbed. I will be joining a very recently aquired dedicated account out of Hicksville, OH - very close to home. I will be one of the very first two full time dedicated drivers for the account. My recruiter is Brenna and Joe is doing orientation. Today happened to be Joe's birthday. Any how I am surviving orientation so far and will continue to post the rest of the week.

 

May I ask what you mean by "SPECIAL"?

 

I usualy only take a 10 hr break but if I am ahead of schedule and can make my deliveries no problem I would be pissed if I had a dispatcher up my rear end to only take a 10. There is no reason to harp on that if you always make deliveries on time. That would last about 2 seconds with me