Truck Driving Jobs

Orangetxguy · #11 03-30-2011, 09:40 PM

I just saw your "looking for work" post on that other thread.

Here is a company, in Huntsville, that has an excellent reputation, and is worth the effort.

A&R Transport

Their Huntsville terminal is north of town on US20, south of the 3M plant. It is on the left about 3/4 mile before you get to the turn to 3M as you are driving north out of town.

P0rk Ch0p · #12 03-30-2011, 10:48 PM

A&R wants 25 yrs old and 3 yrs Exp.. I'm 24, with like 2 months

Orangetxguy · #13 03-31-2011, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P0rk Ch0p

A&R wants 25 yrs old and 3 yrs Exp.. I'm 24, with like 2 months

Okay......Then take a look at some of the other listings I posted. You need to get some experience behind you for the best jobs. AAX, AMX and McElroy all run new equipment and do not force feed the "Lease Operator" BS down your throat. Sanders doesn't either....but they don't run the newest equipment either. If you are willing to run, they are willing to let you. Boyd's has fallen in love with the "LO" operation. Being in Huntsville, you could still do good with USX, JBHunt....or any of the others....But I think the first group will work better for you.

GMAN · #14 03-31-2011, 02:38 AM

With only a couple of months experience you need to find a company and stay with them for at least a year. There are opportunities, but they can take legwork to find. There are some truck stops around Huntsville. I would spend some time talking to drivers and see if they can provide some leads. There are a lot of carriers of varying size in Alabama and Tennessee. Many of them are in easy driving distance from you. I would call Covenant and US Xpress in Chattanooga. You have Star, Western Express and a few others in Nashville. Big G is a mid size carrier in Shelbyville, TN. I believe that Nationwide is also still in Shelbyville. That isn't far from you. I have no idea of their current hiring requirements. I would pick up the phone and start calling. It is only a matter of time. If you contact enough carriers someone will hire you. By the way, have you filled out an online application on this website? There are also other similar sites that also offer on line applications. You fill out the application and they then match your experience with the needs of carriers. You might also check the company listings on this site. It lists most of the major carries and their basic hiring requirements. If you went to a driving school you might even check back with them to see if they can help you with placement. One other place that you should check is your state employment office. Carriers often list positions with them.

P0rk Ch0p · #15 03-31-2011, 04:21 AM

Yeah, I'm still looking.

It just pisses me off, because so many companies want all this experience, and it doesn't even matter by who. They'd hire some jackass from Swift who had 6 months of F'ing stuff up, over someone like me who can drive the hell out of anything you give me, be everywhere early and a spotless MVR and CSA record..

GMAN · #16 03-31-2011, 01:25 PM

Carriers hire based upon whom they can get cleared by their insurance company. Carriers have different hiring requirements, but it still comes down to what their insurance company will accept. Unless the insurance company accepts the driver then they are not going to hire him. Some of the major carriers self insure up to a point. I expect that is one reason they can afford to hire inexperienced drivers. As a smaller carrier I need more experience and a clean MVR to maintain my low insurance rates. If I go outside of what the insurance company requires then my premiums will go up or the insurance company will not cover the driver. It is difficult to find a carrier that will hire you with only 2 months verifiable experience. You may not like Swift of some of the mega carriers, but those could be your best bet to get some experience. Once you get a year older and have at least a year of verifiable driving experience you will find more doors that will open for you. Sometimes we need to do things that we don't particularly like to get where we want to go.

One · #17 03-31-2011, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orangetxguy

See...The thing about all of this Pork Chop.......YOU drove the truck back. From Miami.

You did not name this POS company. (The company name warns others away)

Had this been me.......(I know....I have to many years at this).........I would have stopped at the FL scales on I-10 just before the Alabama state line, and called a friend or family member to come and pick me up.....then I would have taken the paperwork for the truck inside and explained the situation to the DOT officer in the coop. But...that is me. I have been called several different types of names by a couple companies similar to that one you didn't name....but those companies understood in the end....that their butt was the one in the sling.

just sayin young lad.

Interesting..but wuldnt that but you in a situation where you would have to dispute a 'truck abandonement' on your DAC? I guess im lucky and have not had to deal with things like this but I did run for moving companies who used to lease Ryder straight trucks and the only way we would ever turn in a truck was on a tow trucks' hook. But the straight truck division may have differed from the class 8 trucks...

Orangetxguy · #18 03-31-2011, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One

Interesting..but wuldnt(wouldn't) that but (put) you in a situation where you would have to dispute a 'truck abandonement'(abandonment) on your DAC? I guess im lucky and have not had to deal with things like this but I did run for moving companies who used to lease Ryder straight trucks and the only way we would ever turn in a truck was on a tow trucks' hook. But the straight truck division may have differed from the class 8 trucks...

First off....fixed those for you.

As far as putting ME in that situation........No it wouldn't. At this point in my life, I understand how to do things in a manner that would circumvent a company being able to do something like that.

IF a young driver like PorkChop (Mike I think his name is) finds him or her "Self" in a POS truck like that, before doing anything, documenting the repair requests as well as the subsequent refusals to make the repairs, is important. Turning the truck over to a DOT officer at a scale does two things. It puts the truck under the control of a law enforcement facility, plus....THAT truck isn't going to be moved again until all repairs that are subject to the 49 CFR regulations, and that are found by the DOT facility, are repaired.

You have never been forced to drive a POS truck One?? I gotta say....You have been lucky. Even major corporations find themselves forcing drivers to drive poorly maintained equipment, when penny pinching managers hide the VIR's and threaten meek drivers with lose of the job if they refuse to drive the equipment.

Sure....leaving the truck at a scales may be Chicken-chit....but then again....refusing to maintain your equipment before putting a driver in it is also Chicken-chit. With CSA, drivers can no longer afford to collect DOT OOS tickets. Before, those tickets only affected the safety score of the Carrier. A carrier that is large enough, can absorb the odd OOS ticket. NOW....not one single driver can afford those tickets....but those drivers are still at the mercy of managers or Owners, that look at repairs as "unnecessary". NOW those tickets affect the reputation of the driver....and bonafide carriers will not give a rats-azz that the driver was forced to drive a POS truck. No driver has to....they can look for work elsewhere....but then again....that puts the driver in the postion of being unemployed. Classic catch22. Damned if you do....damned if you don't.

It is one thing to fly off the handle because of disagreements with a dispatcher, another entirely to be forced to do something you would not otherwise do. Abandoning a truck because of a dispatch disagreement is far different from turning a truck that is in disrepair, and that an owner or manager knows is in disrepair and ignores the drivers repeated requests....that is a whole new ballgame....especially now.

Maybe my stance makes me a "Horse's Azz".......but then again..........after 33+ years of doing this....I really don't care.

P0rk Ch0p · #19 03-31-2011, 07:11 PM

What's funny is, when I get home, Where i parked the truck at, is like 2 miles from the owner's house, and they tried to say it was truck abandonment lol. I quickly set them strait and then the owner agreed with me.

Kentla93 · #20 03-31-2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P0rk Ch0p

What's funny is, when I get home, Where i parked the truck at, is like 2 miles from the owner's house, and they tried to say it was truck abandonment lol. I quickly set them strait and then the owner agreed with me.

If I were you I would have documented every move on video EVERY MOVE...
In this day and age with cell phones the way they are it is not hard to document issues with any situation you come across.. If I am making a fuel drop and noticed that there is a decent stain from an earlier fuel spill, I pull out my camera and start snapping photos or video.. a simple move to make that will garentee your azz is covered..
The owner may have agreed with you over the phone or in person but will that be enough to stop him/her from trashing your DAC if they so desire???
Then you will have to deal with all the red tape and BS to get the situation taken care of which I have been told does not happen so easily... You hear lots of horror stories about guys getting trashed on their DOC'S by previous employers, is it worth the headache.. Cover your azz at all times by having a decent video/camera phone with you...

Timberwolf