Who is a good company for a new driver?

[dlsmith_ky]

I am starting school in a week and having paid for the school myself will not be bound to any company starting out. My question is what company should a new driver try for to be treated fairly and earn decent pay? I had thought about Werner but after reading several posts on here I am thinking against that idea. I live in Western KY but am probably looking OTR for jobs.

Any suggestions?

[Eagle Eye]

dlsmith_ky,
Check out Tyson Foods. After doing a lot of research and picking the "wrong" company 1st time around I chose Tyson. I have lots of information on my website about them. Good luck and stay safe!

[Uturn2001]

At the end of the day it is up to you to try to figure out what is right for you.

Take a look at CFI, Roehl, Millis (before you go to school), Crete (if school is PTDI certified).

[rontwo]

My husband decided to go with Maverick and we both are extremely pleased with them (he is with their specialized division). He started with them straight out of school and everything has been just as the recruiter told him it would be.

when it comes to finding a good company for you, you really have to see whats important to you.. if you are looking for good home time, good cpm pay, etc.

I would also suggest that you seriously start hunting now. my husband contacted the company he is with while he was still in school himself and was *pre-hired* before he got out of school so once he was done with his schooling, he headed straight out to Maverick.

BOL to you!

(rons wife)

[choperbob]

transport america, just check out their website, just check them out. they were great for me.

[silvan]

Oops. That was supposed to have been a PM. I never openly admit who I'm currently driving for in public.

[GoldiesPlating]

I am starting school in a week and having paid for the school myself will not be bound to any company starting out. My question is what company should a new driver try for to be treated fairly and earn decent pay? I had thought about Werner but after reading several posts on here I am thinking against that idea. I live in Western KY but am probably looking OTR for jobs.

Any suggestions?

What do you want to run? Van, Flatbed, Tanker, Reefer?

[dlsmith_ky]

I plan to drive vans. I checked out Transport America per ChoperBob's suggestion and from their website and other message boards have found them to be one of the best thought of companies by their drivers I have found. They had problems last year financially but were bought out and seemed to have turned a corner. Hard to find new financial info as they went private. Found several threads from new and older (ie. working for them for years) drivers and they have no problems with the company since being sold.

[GoldiesPlating]

gotcha.... Good Luck and stay safe!

If you want a good van company look at Hays Transport they are a divison of Henderson Trucking and I was very happy at the main division there. Also try Sharkey out of Quincy IL they may also be a good fit for you I think they also take trainees also.

[4roses]

CFI is a good company to start out with. They'll put you with a Finisher - Skywalker could explain to you what a Finisher does - you could ask him about CFI ... Their equipment is kept in good working condition. DOT doesn't stop a CFI truck often - they know the depths that CFI goes to keep their trucks and trailers safe and working. .... CFI owns all their tractors and trailers free and clear ... they had 500 new tractors setting on the back lot - paid in Full ! ... but have been in the process of slowly changing out the older tractors for these .. so who knows ... you could get lucky and end up with one in the near future.


Here's a site you could visit to talk to some of the drivers with CFI ... and ask them their oppinion of the company ..

http://www.cfidrivers.com/phpbb2/index.php

good luck. :wink:

[Ian Williams]

CFI is a good company to start out with. They'll put you with a Finisher - Skywalker could explain to you what a Finisher does - you could ask him about CFI ... Their equipment is kept in good working condition. DOT doesn't stop a CFI truck often - they know the depths that CFI goes to keep their trucks and trailers safe and working. .... CFI owns all their tractors and trailers free and clear ... they had 500 new tractors setting on the back lot - paid in Full ! ... but have been in the process of slowly changing out the older tractors for these .. so who knows ... you could get lucky and end up with one in the near future.


Here's a site you could visit to talk to some of the drivers with CFI ... and ask them their oppinion of the company ..

http://www.cfidrivers.com/phpbb2/index.php

good luck. :wink:

While on vacation last month I stopped to enjoy the view at the pullout 2/3 down the grade before Yreka on SB I5 in CA. I talked with a CFI driver for 10 min or so; he seemed to be a content fellow.

CFI does keep their trailers in good shape. At my barn in Reno we load & unload contract trailers from CRE, Werner, CFI, & Landspan. CFI consistently has the best trailers of the lot.

Werner has the worst of the lot; dirty, stuck tandems, scrubbed tires, trailer number faded on the inside.

[redsfan]

I liked what I saw at Transport America also. Arnold Transportation is another one that looked good to me. Ditto for CFI.

Being in Russellville, you're fairly close to Murray, KY which is where PTL (Paschall Truck Lines) is located. I have a friend driving for them and he seems to like them fairly well. They do like you to stay out a couple of weeks at a time, but he says that they keep him busy and he doesn't sit a whole lot.

IMO, you're in a good location for a lot of companies. You're nearly within shooting distance of I-24, I-65 and I-40 which are all great freight lanes for a lot of companies. You should have many options.

Good luck!

[Dawn Kirshna]

In my opinion, companies like UPS freight, FedEx freight, Old dominion and others such as ABF, Yellow etc. are the best place to start off. Yes, they will hire new, inexperienced drivers.

That's how i did it (after only one month OTR).

But i think you're jumping the gun; Get your licence first, then we'll talk.

[dlsmith_ky]

I appreciate everyone that has responded. I am not trying to "jump the gun" just get my gun sighted in! As an old Drill Sgt in the Army I believe what I taught my troops. That being the 6 P's: Proper Planning Prevents Pi*s Poor Performance.

I have narrowed my list to: Transport America, Averitt and Roehl. All three seem to treat their drivers well and have what I am interested in. I leave for CDL school Sunday and want to talk with their recruiters when they come by the school. I am sure there are many other good companies to drive for and I will consider them in turn. I just wanted to get some of the chaff seperated from the wheat.

Later,

[thebobguy]

I'm currently pulling for Sharkey, dry van mainly mid west and they have been above average for me, good but far from perfect. Dont know anything about tanker divison but for dry van...If you are smart and run hard you can get some great miles,. A top choice especially if you have less than 2 years otr although they have plenty of old timers.

Several pay plans including cpm, percentage and even a $1000 wk guarantee with 1.5 days off. Lots of d&h but primarily short, under 500 mile trips although they do have some 700-900 milers. Free family major medical but no vacation pay, 401k, truck washes, paid hoildays, ect.

Trucks are mainly smaller Macks with low hp set to hey will lis65 mph that they pull in for pm every 8-10k miles. You can go all the way to the top, Jack Sharkey and if you have a legitimate concern they find a solution.

[Soladad]

Spoke with a lady CFI driver the other day while unloading. She said that since Conway's buy out of CFI that some things are starting to change at CFI. Anyone thinking about CFI may want to wait until the dust settles.

Soladad

[worldisnotenough]

I work for CFI and nothing has changed, yet. A lot of rumors and such but nothing has actually happened. I am no recruiter or cheerleader. I would say for first year it is pretty much a throw your hat in the ring with any company and see what happens kind of thing. Good luck. Wherever you go, stay at least a year!

[Evinrude]

[but no vacation pay,


go to the labor board... they have to pay vacation pay, plus any company that doesn't, it's worth working for. Stand up and have some balls.

[RaiderNation]

you could try US Xpress. I work for them and have no problems with them, they're a pretty damn good comany in my opinion. They have top notch equipment.. but be warned ALL their trucks are automatics. I hear some people say that they'll never go to work for US Xpress because of the automatics.. i'll tell you what.. automatics are real nice once you get used to em, especially on grades. If you don't want it to shift by itself, put it in manual and push a button when you want it to upshift or downshift lol. Maybe not the 'best' for a new driver, but it's nice. Every truck has turn by turn GPS screen which is real nice. They have KWs, Petes, Volvos, and Freightliners. It's really a tossup as to what kind of truck you get, i know quite a few brand new drivers who got put in 2008 volvos with less than a hundred miles on em when they're done with a trainer.. however i got put in an 06 freightliner.. but it's still nice.

good company if you can get hired.. they're real picky.. went to orientation with about 25 people and only 5 of us made it through in the end.. i hear this is commonplace among all orientation classes.