Small Outfits, Mom n Pops Trucking....

[MacDad]

I pulled this quote from another post, I believe GolfHobo posted it.

Fact is.... something like 97 percent of all companies are O/O's or Mom and Pops. I work for one! They wouldn't DARE treat their drivers like this! And the 3% of companies that are Mega's actually only have about 22% of the trucks on the road! Yet, because they have 100% of the advertising budget, they attract (guessing) 95% of the new drivers!

Is this correct? If so, it would seem even a newb with some detective work may find something (I'm not talking local gigs) without having to just put in time at say a Swift or England in order to gain their experience. Any comments, ideas, opinions?

*(hope its cool w/ GH to be quoted)*

I pulled this quote from another post, I believe GolfHobo posted it.

"Fact is.... something like 97 percent of all companies are O/O's or Mom and Pops. I work for one! They wouldn't DARE treat their drivers like this! And the 3% of companies that are Mega's actually only have about 22% of the trucks on the road! Yet, because they have 100% of the advertising budget, they attract (guessing) 95% of the new drivers!"

Is this correct?

No.

[Chasing Daylight]

There is some truth in that information. I wouldn't bet the ranch on the exact numbers, but all the same there are lots of small fleets running out there.

But to answer your question, maybe if you did enough searching you could find a small shop willing to give a new guy a shot. Truth is, you're most likely going to have to spend your first year with a larger company. This is another area where the insurance companies hold a lot of sway. Many, if not most, small fleets can't hire a rookie driver as their insurance carrier prohibits it (or charges obsene rates to allow it.) No doubt there are exceptions to this, but one would have to look real hard to find them.

[Jimbpard]

I got my cdl on my own, never went otr, and my first job was for a small mom & pop company hauling flatbed local.
Besides no benefits, they treated me great. I'd still be there if they could throw me some benies....
Actually I'm going to do a few runs for them this week since I dont start at Ryder until next monday.

But anywho, YES, it can be done. Just knock on all the doors you can, especially the ones you expect to tell you no, like the guys that have a couple trucks parked in their driveway at home...Thats where I found my first.

Good luck.

[headborg]

I pulled this quote from another post, I believe GolfHobo posted it.

Fact is.... something like 97 percent of all companies are O/O's or Mom and Pops. I work for one! They wouldn't DARE treat their drivers like this! And the 3% of companies that are Mega's actually only have about 22% of the trucks on the road! Yet, because they have 100% of the advertising budget, they attract (guessing) 95% of the new drivers!

Is this correct? If so, it would seem even a newb with some detective work may find something (I'm not talking local gigs) without having to just put in time at say a Swift or England in order to gain their experience. Any comments, ideas, opinions?

*(hope its cool w/ GH to be quoted)*

not totally fact-

yes, the majority of TRUCKS on the road are o/o--- but YOU can't drive a truck that's already being driven by THE OWNER/OPERATOR-- so, that leaves those out-

then, you have the owners of VERY small "fleets"- 10 trucks or less.
(a) they don't want a newbie WRECKING tearing up 1/10 of total assets.-
they just can't take that chance( if the equipment is in good shape to begin with-- so If you did find one of these small fleets to work for-- you're probably going to be driving something that's gonna either a) get you IN trouble(safety defects) or b) lay down and die on you.

(b)-- small companies tend to want at least a year's experience before they will hire you-- Insurance reasons and reason(a) above.


now, you get to companies with 100+ trucks--
you have a better chance MAYBE finding one that need's a But-In- the- seat! So they usually operate some kind of "training program"--
but, usually it's just designed to Milk you for couple weeks/months- have you "hold the wheel' while the "trainer" sleeps.-- then possible TEAM up with another "newbie" so they can have "the blind- teach- the blind"- and they milk both you for couple more weeks- with some kind of .40 cent split.
Now, if you've survived all that-- you now find yourself working for either
a) a outlaw outfit

& or
B) no benefits

c) told you can either drive a nice truck--and take .26 cents per mile

or GO to ONE of the major larger "coolie" carriers-- and make .30 something cent per mile-- but drive a STRIPPED DOWN fleet truck & have
B.S. policies shoved down your throat, treated sub-human(like a number),
and probably get fewer miles-



Finding that Small Carrier that can provide IT ALL-- would be great-- but I still haven't found anyone that will actually put a name out there that does.
There isn't a perfect carrier out there.

[Uturn2001]

While a very high percentage of trucking companies are O/O or Mom and Pop type operations they do not have nearly as high of a percentage of actual trucks on the road.

Sure if a person gets lucky and looks hard enough they may find a smaller outfit to take them on right out of school, but those who are willing or able to do so are extremely rare. Far, far more often than not it is the insurance carrier who controls who a trucking company can and can not hire. About the only say a trucking company has is how much they are willing to pay for insurance premiums.

[BigDawg]

around my area here in Missouri there are several Mom and Pop comp,however the damm Ins. companies Dictate to em the guide lines to who they can and cannot hire.Most of the Mom and Pops here want 2 to 3 yrs. exp.and no less than that .............grrrrrrrrrrrrrr,

[duck]

Some mom and pops seem to get around the experience questions with "My driver has had his CDL for 10 years!" Mostly my case. I have experience, older stuff. I still have to get in the truck and not bend up equipment before he is ready to invest im me 100% but yeah - had the CDL for 10 years. That's how we look at it.

[gp12]

MacDad, I was reading the same thread you were. I asked the "expert" to name some of the small companies that hired someone with no experience. He didn't want to "help" me or anyone else. I've talked to independents & they all tell me exactly the same thing. Their insurance won't allow it. If they lied about your experience to ins co & then you had an accident, who knows how much they'd have to pay for ins after that. It's not worth it.

Training is another issue. Small companies don't have the resources to teach. If they have business they need their drivers to drive-not teach. It costs $ to teach. Smaller companies won't even have a training "program" because THAT costs $. This is what I've been told over & over again. I also doubt that small companies could pay as much or provide health ins, etc.

The only exception might be union jobs. IF they're hiring you might get in & be able to obtain training. But there are a lot of people right now looking for something better.

Hope this helps although it's probably not what you wanted to hear!

[Copperhead]

I have found the 100-300 truck outfits to be, overall, the best ones out there. They usually have a lower turnover rate, a niche customer base, and are receptive to taking on a new driver or two. They usually have as good or better benefits than the Mega carriers and are not running on a shoestring budget like the very small outfits. Even the trucks usually (not always) are spec'd a little more "driver friendly" since most owners of these outfits are CDL drivers and hit the road once in a while. They want a small driver turnover rate and run their companies accordingly. It costs a lot to keep shuffling drivers in and out the door. There are always exceptions to this.

Started with a small outfit for 5 years, 8 years with a Mega carrier, then 9 years with 250 truck outfit (hated to leave) , and now with a 300 truck outfit. These 'medium' sized carriers are far more friendly with a lot of flexibility. I have averaged better miles and money and home time since I stayed away from Mega sized carriers.

It does take some "detective" work to find a good outfit, but the effort is well worth it.

[Root]

I agree with ya, Copperhead.
I'm with a 'Mom n Pop Outfit' of approx 650 units +-, Regional Flatbed, still 'family-oriented'/ home-every-weekend, operating under somewhat strict conservative business principles and holding their own out here. And nobody's perfect.. Still taking Newb CDL school grads..
They gave me my start, fresh outta school, 49yrs old then, still with'em 3 yrs later @ .43/mi loaded or empty. '06 Cornbinder, C13 Cat, and Good Lord Hab Mercy they're still oochin' along buyin' New Trailers while carefully shucking older trailers in tune to prevailing freight volumes/ conditions.
Hallalujah..