Help! Who do i sign with?

[david8135]

Hi my name is david I'm new , i have a list of 7 companies I was wondering if someone could help me rate* them from 1 to 7 central Refrigerated Service Inc. CRST Van Expedited Maverick Transportation LLC Prime inc Roehl Transport, Inc. TransAm Trucking, Inc. USA Trucking.

[crb]

Where do you live?
What do you want to do?
Is there a reason you are comparing flats vs vans. I personally would decide what sector you want to be in first. A location will help us a lot.

[david8135]

I live on long island, new york I'm new to this. , driving solo,possibly teams umm I'm not sure all suggestons would be greatly appreciated

[crb]

I would add western express to your list if flatbed interests you as I've seen them pickup a lot of refuse off the island.
I would not team with somebody I don't know, but that is just me especially with CRST as they will force you to team possible with a newbie. Prime pushes the lease purchase deal so you won't hear me recommend them either. Transam pushed the lease deal too before, not sure about now. Maverick and Roehl seem to be good companies. With central expect a lot if sitting in docks at grocery warehouses especially since you live on the east coast. USA in my opinion is the bottom of the bucket. Hell I would be tempted to lease at prime before I went to USA truck.

[david8135]

To be honest with you I'm not too crazy about flatbed but I don't wanna close the doors that might be open and I wanna keep an open mind living in the north east Driving in inclement weather it might be a possibility(flatbed), not a preference.

NOTE 2 SELF, NO TEAMS. :-)

[crb]

Time to broaden your search. Schneider, western express(van division), swift, crete, and many many others. I have heard a lot of good about roehl. Are you wanting to do otr, regional, or local, you are in a good place for local work.

[D17554]

So this is new to you, exactly how NEW ? Some of these companies have different minimum experience levels that they accept. If you are just getting out of driving school you will have to go with a trainer which most do train, except Western Express Only trains within the van division. But you'll find out quick that within a few cents they'll basically all the same animal. I haven't read a review yet where everyone seems satisfied with a single company across the board. If you get a good DM then you can last longer with that company. Understand what you need to be comfortable within that company, meaning truck year, home time, pay, pets and so on, ask for it up front. The company that suits and grants your requests are off to a good start with you and less likely to leave you feeling the need to check the color of the grass on the other side as they say. Don't get it going in don't expect to get it after they nab you without some bad words, that send most looking again. Like I'm about to be with this Anderson Trucking Service. Good company, useless DM. Lying recruiter. Lots of not moving and lots of sitting which is about to have me moving. Good Luck and AiM HiGh

[david8135]

Local and regional sounds awesome but I don't know how are elegible being I'm a new driver, do all the companies you listed have local positions available for new drivers in my area?

[Fredog]

P.lease R.emember I M.ortgaged E,verything I. N.eed C.ash

[crb]

Local and regional sounds awesome but I don't know how are elegible being I'm a new driver, do all the companies you listed have local positions available for new drivers in my area?

No they are national companies and probably don't have local positions. Where are you going to school? West Babylon? Have you started school? Some of the companies listed will have regional work. Check the local job ads, newspapers, monster, etc for local jobs. There are a lot of trucking companies that run local and might train.

[golfhobo]

To be honest with you I'm not too crazy about flatbed but I don't wanna close the doors that might be open and I wanna keep an open mind living in the north east Driving in inclement weather it might be a possibility(flatbed), not a preference.

NOTE 2 SELF, NO TEAMS. :-)

Wow. Open mind closed in an instant!

Okay, you're obviously just out of or finishing CDL school. The companies you listed are the ones who came to your school and tried to recruit you. The "other" ones that CRB listed might not have.... perhaps, because they don't hire from your area. [but you should check them out.]

If you knew what WE know... you probably wouldn't be "considering" any of them. But... those are the most obvious choices that you have to get into the business. You're probably going to have to choose one of them (or be chosen by...) and get your foot in the door. Wherever you start, try to stick it our for at least one full year before making a change. You have to WANT to be a truck driver MORE than these companies CARE whether or not you become or stay a truck driver.

Your location strikes me as particularly "relative" to how you start. The more "local" the more bad weather... and bad traffic. NOT good conditions to earn your stripes as a trucker.

I strongly suggest you reconsider TEAM training... if not team DRIVING. You will get OUT of that miserable area you live in, and see the better part of the country. AND, get home more often! A team trainer/co-driver will be able to give you experience and knowledge you cannot get from a school... and WILL not get "quickly" on your own as a solo. You will keep moving (for the most part) which will keep you from getting "anxious and depressed" from SITTING too much.

I have only been driving for about 6 years, but most of them have been as a TEAM. I really liked the weeks here and there that I got to drive SOLO, but... I have NO real problems with team driving. The benefits have outweighed the perceived discomforts.

The more I hear some of the sad stories of the "solos" here, the more I believe I made the right choice.

ONLY as a team, can you get to the west coast within 2-3 days, and get ALL the way home before the weekend! Why? Because the food warehouses in your area NEED fresh veggies and fruit from California and the southwest (Mexico.)

More dry weather driving, in expansive territories with less traffic. Warmer weather. Beautiful sunsets to ease the pain of whatever you had to deal with that day. Someone to TALK to... to ask questions of and learn from. Someone to help you with what you don't know or understand.

What YOU need.... is a "regriferated" VAN division of a company that has s "secondary" contract to haul ANYTHING from your area to the WEST COAST... and then, a primary contract to haul produce back to the NorthEast. The money is in the "backhaul" of PRODUCE. You will spend about 5 days on the road, and sit only ONE night (in most cases.) You will have the best trucks the company HAS. The "local" drivers will drive the "flatheads" from the last century, to deliver the loads YOU bring in to the yard... to the warehouses in your "local" area. THEY fight the weather and the traffic while YOU sit at home with the "other."

There are other reasons. I don't want to bore everyone. I just want to point out that SOME of us "successful" drivers are understanding of, if not supportive of, the concept of Team training... driving... logistics.

I like your story, David. I hope you keep us informed.

Hobo

[Bigmon]

Melton is running ads all over the East Coast for drivers with only 2 months experience.

[Orangetxguy]

Local and regional sounds awesome but I don't know how are elegible being I'm a new driver, do all the companies you listed have local positions available for new drivers in my area?

The Golfing-Hobo gave you a pretty clear synopsis on the situation. IF you are gonna drive truck and have to go with an "OTR" company to get started, then team driving for a year or so might be a good deal for you, especially if you have young kids sitting at the house! You won't be there every day....but you will be able to be there most times when it counts...and driving team will give you a better "living" paycheck wise than running NE "Solo" will.

[crb]

My objection to teaming is if you team with another new driver. Crst is notoriousfor putting news together and you see a lot of Crst trucks laid over especially on 80 in Wy, Ut, Ca, Ne. You have to trust the person driving the truck while you sleep. Take it from a team driver! You may find you can't sleep with the truck moving and CRST VAN EXPEDITE is 99% team, so you will pretty much be stuck teaming.

[golfhobo]

My objection to teaming is if you team with another new driver. Crst is notoriousfor putting news together and you see a lot of Crst trucks laid over especially on 80 in Wy, Ut, Ca, Ne. You have to trust the person driving the truck while you sleep. Take it from a team driver! You may find you can't sleep with the truck moving and CRST VAN EXPEDITE is 99% team, so you will pretty much be stuck teaming.

I agree with you. Two "newbies" should NEVER be teamed together! MOST "solos" say they can't sleep in a moving truck. How hard did they TRY? I've found that most people can get used to it in short order. If it is a "trust" issue.... that is another animal.

I grew up "trusting" my parents on cross-country drives twice a year from our home in Seattle to the grandparents' in N.C. In the Air Force, I was a back-ender on a 707 derivative being "piloted" by someone I never even met. So, team driving was not a scary prospect for me. Maybe, I am a 'fatalist." Like Christians... I believe it will not be "my time" until it IS my time. I just don't worry about it unless I notice dangerous behaviour by the other driver. I have had one FIRED for not being "nominally" safe.

But, I STILL say that the only thing more dangerous than a "newbie" in charge of his own truck WOULD be an unsafe team member/trainer.

But.... there are 200 to one "newbie" solos out there over "team" drivers OR trainers.

I play the "odds." And I have read dozens of stories on here from newbie SOLOS who have wrecked their trucks and are hoping to find another company to hire them. I have not read ONE SUCH STORY from a team driver.

Do the math.