You can listen to all the bull about how this company is better than that company, and that company offers you this and this one don't. But what I always tell people new in the biz, is that EVERY company is gonna screw ya. Some will put on a rubber before they do it. Some will wine you and dine you and make ya feel special. Others will skip the foreplay and just jam it in to ya. Call around to all the companies that offer a "Dedicated" position in your area. OTR truckin is for the birds, and is so C.W. Mcall of the 80's. You wanna see the country? rent an RV, cuz you cant see most of the sights from the highway while the company threatens to fire you if you go off route. If you have a truckstop near your house, go there a few times, and find out which company has the most trucks there each day. (however, if the same truck numbers are there every day, that can also be a bad thing, especially if they are in the same parking spot.) go around and talk to the drivers in person. tell em you are thinking about coming to their company and you would like some insight. How many miles do you want to run, How much are you willing to start out at per mile. Remember, The first year of trucking is the hardest. I lost everything my first year, cuz i was a poor planner. I didnt have any money saved up and when I received a few of those wonderful $0.00 paychecks, my life went to hell. Ya gotta scope out the neighborhood, instead of the forum really, cuz we all come from different parts of the country. Like for instance, if you asked me, I would say US Xpress, but thats only cuz I like em, due to they have a daycab dedicated position 5 miles from my house. However, if you lived in California, a daycab position in Tampa, FL wouldn't do ya jack crap. So you really need to find what is going on in YOUR back yard and talk to them. Thats my two cents worth, and Two cents aint worth jack!!!!
And we will take your advice! I'm an old broad and if it was sight seein I wanted I WOULD rent and RV. I just like the road. I like waking up in different necks of woods. I like a little adventure and a lot of challenge. Not sure I can do those squats to check out all those wonderful things you guys do. Not sure my BP will play nice for the physical. But I DO know that I love being around truckers. They've always been my kind of people! I have a Pilot close by. I've been watchin but I'll be watching a little more.
JMY72, excellent post! I did the same thing when I was a newbie, and it was MY fault. The forum here is good, but like you said, it all depends on where you live. Though, you CAN get a lot of general info here about most companies. They'll all bend ya over if you let 'em!
One thing I have learned through this forum is in-company training. While I went to an independant CDL school, the majority of company schools hold you to a contract until your schooling is paid off. This way no matter how unhappy you are they have you right where they want you (do a search on screwing up DACs and flagging as a do not hire) The company I went with does tuition reimbursement as many others do as well. If you could afford a school or can finance it, I would go that route and apply to companies while still in school. Chances are you will have offers come graduation day. You will still do a short spell with a trainer but the puppet strings are not there in case you find a better job. Now the hard part - what is a good school in your area? HTH - ST
That's the reason I haven't pulled the trigger on going back out on the road. I drive a tri axle dump and mostly haul blacktop, and most likely will be laid off this winter. I have been lurking around here and reading topics, and things haven't changed in the 5 years I've been local. In fact, they have gotten worse in some respects.
No, stay away from U.S xpress. All show and no go... Try central Refrigerated instead. They have a better training class, along with nice eqipment. Oh miles too!
