When signing on....Go Big or Stay Home.....

I agree; go with the medium to large companies.

 

Sorry, this thread's a fool's errand IMO, recommending 'big outfits'. Well, maybe if it's FedEx, UPS, ODFL. CRST??? Really!! More 'slack' in a big outfit?? Oh, yeah, sure, driver number 59218 gets all sort of slack at his mega. Try anonymity. Like one Snickers bar gets more 'slack' than another.

They both get 'et' is what they get. Drivers at some of these megas just get abused. Recently talked to a Werner driver, Richard, who said made less than $500/week gross for 7/day weeks, did not get home for 3 months.

Sure, lots of slack. Treated like the number he is to them. Do L/O's, O/O's get treated any better? Doubt it. The culture of a company pretty much defines how it treats people and usually the same across the board. If crappy to one, crappy to all.

Richard said, "Must be a sign in Fleet Manager's office: 'Don't kill them, they're expensive to replace. You can abuse them all you want, just don't kill them." Words of wisdom. Do O/O's have it any better, doubt it.

Sure, sure, everyone should work for a mega with 100% turnover, right??

Chinatown at his worst here. Yes, there are bad small companies, too. With owners from Hell. Okay, do a little research and avoid those. Look at company turnover rates. Ask. Ask. Ask. If they get sarcastic when you ask about their turnover rate, take it as a signal to move on to talk to another company.

The turnover rate for LTL's below 10%, around 7%. For OTR truckload, 100%. Why? LTL pays more and gets you home every night. Simple. Some OTR has lower turnover. Don't let anyone tell you turnover doesn't matter. I tend to eat at restaurants with lots of return customers. Good habit. High turn over means drivers decided not to return... like voting with their feet.

Smart companies care about turnover because it's expensive.

Abusive companies don't; it's what makes them abusive.

Whether you own your truck or have payments to make is the defining difference to my mind. That YOU have choice to take truck and move on rather than 'walk-away' from lease and your supposed 'equity' in truck. Right now trucks are in demand just like drivers. Rates are good and moving up.

Unless you're stuck in a lease with a mega at $1 mile or less...

 

I'm sure more and a few drivers who used to run for Arrow would disagree with you, OP ...

 

Just an amazing analogy! I couldn't disagree more. But if I've learned anything in life , it's certain that what fits one may not suit another! JS Very Very thankful that we are all different and just a great diverse group!

 

i prefer the 10 truck outfit i drive for
just my $.02

 

I know of 3 guys that drive for a small fleet owner.... out Mon-Fri sometimes back Sat. paid % and they make as high as $2200 a week and as low as $1500. Checks never bounce. Ask them if they would like to drive for one of the big companies you mention.

My 2 cousins are leased to a guy that runs 6 trucks. I asked them why they would not go to a bigger company and they said they would rather make a little less and not deal with the big company environment. I asked them if they were sure they were better off, they both looked at me like they were ready to beat me to death with the winch bar.

Not all big companies are the same, most guys at Mercer and Landstar seem to be happy, & not all small companies are the same. The danger I have seen with small companies is when the owner sees all the money coming in as his play money and starts falling behind in paying the o/o.

One last comment, I get the vibe youre discontent with this industry.

 

Any owner/op that gets his truck repossessed because his company went bankrupt and skipped out on his last settlement had bigger issues. I say good riddance one less cheap freight hauler.

 

Hey!! OP!!

There's a shower here. Go over and wash that smelly stuff off.

Okay??

Sheesh!!