JB Hunt Job Offer
 

First of all let me say that this post is NOT intended to be turned into a Prime bashing thread. I am simply seeking advice from experienced truckers.

I got into trucking with the goal of getting out of debt, organizing my finances, and to eventually get a local driving job. I finished Prime's over the road training program (6 months) and I feel I have benefited from it greatly. But I've been leasing my own truck now for a month and I've still got negative settlements. I'm not making the money I need to be making to get my debt whiped out and get a local job after 2 years over the road.

Now JB Hunt has offered me a dedicated job, which pays 60,000 a year, as a company driver, hauling freight between wal-mart centers. 14 days out, 3 days home garunteed. This sounds like a great deal but I'm wanting to hear from you guys if this is a good thing or not? I don't know much about JB Hunt. I like the idea of only dealing with one customer and having consistancy in my job. Do they run good equipment? How do they treat their drivers? It would also bring money in right away, and I wouldn't have to worry about a lease payment or paying for fuel. Leaving Prime now would leave me owing them 1500 for training for leaving before my commitment. But what good is that doing if I'm not making money? I beleive if I were to stay with Prime for a while and stick it out I'd be successful here, but since my goal is to be out of debt and off the road in two years, Prime doesn't seem to be able to meet my goals. What do you guys think about the offer from JB Hunt?

Thanks,

Ryan

50-60k is believable as jb pays about 40 cpm and you should have no problem getting 2500 miles with Wal-mart . I'm not completely sure about wal-mart but many dedicated runs will true your miles up to a promised amount so if you only have 1800 mile wk you will still get 2500 miles paid . But I have heard Wal-mart dedicated is a good account to be on with every carrier that services the account but some are better than other ...

Let me see. You can stay with prime and lose money every week or go with J.B. Hunt and make $60,000? :roll: If it were me, I would not let the door hit my back side before taking the job with J.B. Hunt. Although, it does seem like a lot of money for someone with only 6 months experience.

Well, if you did not wind up earning the $60K, but DID wind up earning 40CPM @ 2500miles per week, that would STILL be $1,000. per week, or $52K per year, and for a driver with 6mos. experience, them ain't bad crackers at all!!!

My advice???

$60K sounds nice, but remember that it may or may not happen. Rather than approaching this from an "all or nothing" standpoint where the $60K is concerned, and focus instead upon getting your life moving in the proper direction.

I applaud you for wanting to get out of debt, but it ain't gonna' happen With Crime. With your offer from JB, it can happen. As Mr. G-Man so correctly advised, "Don't let the door hit'ya where The Good Lord splitt'ya!!

What more need be said?? 8)

What are you waiting for?

I guess it's just that I'm not the type to give up or quit and I feel that maybe I'm not giving Prime a chance. That maybe if I stick it out a while longer things will get better. I'm just not a quitter, I don't like to give up. So it's hard making up my mind to leave, if that makes sense.

When I drove for JB Hunt 4 years ago, I hauled Wal-Mart trailers preceding Thanksgiving. JB Hunt was not my dispatcher. I REPEAT; JB Hunt was NOT my dispatch. Do you get my meaning?!?!? :P

If this has not changed and you can get onto a Wal-Mart account, I would not hesitate. Those accounts are often snapped up quickly.

In 3 weeks I did one back haul from a Wal-Mart vendor (like a regular driver). The rest of the time I took a full trailer from a DC to a store, then brought back the empty. EASY money.

They run almost exclusively Freightliner Century class tractors.

I highly recommend it.

A very wise man once said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again....after that?? Give it up!! There's no point in being a dammed fool about it!!
8)

I have talked to a couple of drivers for JB who are running dedicated Wal-mart accounts and they are loving it. If your loosing money now bail out driver

Re: JB Hunt Job Offer
 

I have talked with those on the Wal-Mart account while I was there....if you can get it, take it..but beware, SOME recruiters may promised that account to you just to get you to orientation. Make sure you are HIRED before you leave prime. I was OTR with JB Hunt, and very disgruntal about what happened to me.

Re: JB Hunt Job Offer
 

Talked more with the recruiter and found out the walmart position only pays .34 a mile and its about 2200 miles a week. The guy said that's low and that walmart has the freight to let you run a lot more than that if you want. Then another recruiter I spoke to told me that that wasn't true, that Walmart had their runs really worked out and 2200 a week is what I can expect. He said walmart gives freigh to their own drivers first. Maverick's .39 a mile plus .04 fuel bonus is sounding more and more attractive to me. In their longhaul division their drivers consistantly get around 2700 to 3000 miles a week. I don't mind being out for weeks at a time so longahlu is great for me. So now it's come down to choosing JB or Maverick. Any pros and cons I might be missing? Thanks,

Ryan

I have actually never talked to a JB recruiter so I can't comment on them good or bad, but I can tell you that the Maverick recruiters are honest in they tell you. I know I was never lied to and the CEO made a point of asking the orientation group if anyone had been lied to in any way by their recruiter. Maverick takes great pride in keeping a reputation for honesty and integrity.

Good Luck with who ever you choose!

Arky

Don't leave your job for something JB offers you......you might get to orientation just to find out that position has been filled, and a offer to go OTR be there instead. That has happened in the past, and most likely, will happen in the future.

Remember, you NOT HIRED at JB just because you go to orientation. I would make sure your hired first, then go.

But that's just me and my disgruntal .02 cents.

IMHO, I would choose Maverick. But that because I know what happened to me at JB.

Could be a good opportunity, could just as easily be classic bait-n-switch

If I were in you're shoes right now I would jump to JB if and only if they are willing to give you a written guarantee that you will be on X dedicated account for Y cpm.

JB made a strategic decision a few years back to quit hiring newbies and use the savings to acquire horde of Fereni commission only headhunters.

They get their payday when you finish orientation and deliver your 1st load, so there is a bit of a agency problem.

A couple of the Rules of Acquisition apply here:

8. Small Print Leads to Large Risk

19. Satisfaction is not guaranteed.

Given the bad deal you are getting right now from Prime you could pretty much throw darts at a listing of carriers and do better than you are now.

If you want to stay in OTR Reefer/Van try a good carrier like Crete, Gordon, etc. But there is much better $ and/or home time to be had in other segments. I gross $800/week and I work 38-42hrs in LTL land. If you dig the OTR thing or the labor market is soft where you "live" try flat bedding or tankers.

BOL

Ian

Yes, I love going OTR. Nothing like getting up early in the morning before everyone else and rolling down the highway driving 80,00 pounds of steel. I can't describe that feeling. It just feels awesome. I've decided to go flatbed, with Maverick. It turns out the recruiter there, CJ, is the niece of a good friend of my dad. My dad and her uncle work together. CJ's mom used to cut my mom's hair. Both me and the recruiter grew up in the same small town, went to the same schools etc. Small world eh? I thought that was pretty cool. That put me at east and made me very comfortable going to Maverick.

Back to the feeling I was talking about, I do hope that driving a midroof and pulling a trailer with no height doesn't take away from the big rig feel as you're going down the road. Is there less storage space in a midroof? Does it take a lot of adjustment going from a cndo to one? Anyone who has maybe done both?

only if you mind not standing while putting on your pants... :lol: :lol:

Unless you're pretty tall, you can still stand up in a mid-roof. I'm 5'10" and I never had a problem standing up to put my pants on. Is a mid-roof a condo? No, but there is plenty of room in one for someone who will only spend 5-6 days at a time in it. Now a flat top, that's a totally different animal.

I've driven a flat top sleeper. I'm 6'6". :shock: Granted I was only out 2 or 3 nights a week, but I still had to lay down to put my clothes on. Extra sucky...

Still loved that job and miss it today, almost 2 years later.