I'm starting CDL school in 3 weeks. My wife and I own a commercial cleaning company but I've decided to get behind the wheel of a truck and give it a try. The business is our primary source of income so this would be extra to try and get this darn mortgage knocked down.

Hometime is more important to me. Who are some of the carriers that hire newbies but also have a good hometime policy? I've heard Roehl does the 7 on 7 off and Knight has something similar although I think Knight requires some experience. Any other suggestions? I'm in a good freight area..Huntsville, Alabama just off of I-65. H.O. Wolding was also promising me weekend time off but it could be recruiter BS. Thanks.

Yes, you will need at least 4-6 months worth of experience before Knight will consider you.

With any of these 7 and 7. 14 and 7 etc type of programs it is all a matter of where you live as the hiring areas are usually very limited. Also with these programs you usually are not assigned a truck, but rather share a truck with another driver or are simply assigned to what ever truck is available when your duty rotation has you working, better known as slip seating, so you will need to travel light and clean out the truck every time you come home.

There are many companies that offer weekly home time options, but one thing you need to be aware of is that often times your "weekend" may only be 36 hours instead of two full days. Flatbed companies such as TMC and Maverick seem to have weekly home time the most often.

One thing you might want to look into is talking to LTL companies such as Yellow, Conway, ABF, etc and see if they are needing what is known as casual drivers. These are drivers who fill in on an as needed basis. Another option is to check into what truckload companies have terminals in your area and see if they are in need of local type drivers. (Companies like Swift, Werner, US Xpress, etc that hire new drivers.)

Star Transportation out of Nashville TN will get you home every weekend. They got bought out by Covenant a while back but still operate on there own. They have a Southeast regional division. They have terminals in Nashville TN, Knoxville Tn,Memphis TN, Jackson MS, Atlanta GA, Jacksonville FL, and Orlando FL. McGriff Transportation out of Cullman AL. also will get you home on weekends. I don't know if they take new drivers though. Its like Uturn stated about the weekend thing though is usually your home long enough to reset your 70.

I drove for Maverick for awhile,had to leave due to personal reasons.They are a great company and will get you home most weekends.You may get home on Friday or it could be Saturday and then leave out on Sunday or Monday morning. Depends on where the load you bring home delivers. They also having a training program.Not sure about the details on that.Might give them a call or visit their website.www.drivemaverick.com