[cameron]

i have no experience but have had cdl for 2 yrs and was thinking about going with swift heard good and bad things can anyone help me

[aysocoach]

If you look you can find all the information you want about Swift

[Fredog]

Originally Posted by cameron

i have no experience but have had cdl for 2 yrs and was thinking about going with swift heard good and bad things can anyone help me

they are good and bad

[Skywalker]

Do "search", read much, make up mind.... 8)

[aysocoach]

Here is a good start for flatbed
http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...er=asc&start=0

[YoungZ.W.]

2 guys I graduated with went with Swift. Both started out really liking them then after a couple of months the glory faded. I spoke with a driver last week who has been with them 2.5 years. He saided their the same as all the other large carriers and that they will keep you running if that is what you want to do. Swift's frieght base is pretty large. Their is better starter companies out there than Swift but there is also companies that are worse.

[newolddrv]

I left Swift after six months. That old Frieghtliner had a lot of miles on it and a lot of breakdowns. I only got to be home about six times in six months: sometimes for only one day. Too many times I was given short runs at the start of the week and long ones at the end. I started keeping a record of all the idiotic problems caused by the planners but it soon became too depressing.
I want to run the Midwest only. I really hate it on the East and West coasts. I have no problems with the Midwest or down South.
Like any oversized organization everyone is afraid to make a decision. I once had to sit on a refused load all day and it was only after I got sarcastic on the Quallcom that they sent me to a terminal to drop it. I know that almost any job is better than no job but I just couldn't stand the dumb stuff anymore. If you want to keep moving and don't care where you're going Swift does have the freight.

[tjv189]

newolddrv, I am amazed right now with how well you just hit the nail on the head in your above post. I drove for Swift for 10 months then I couldn't take it anymore. My complaints: where I live in Western Pennsylvania, Swift had no freight at all. This means it would be an absolute nightmare to get me home/out of home. I recall one time coming out of home on a Saturday at noon. I sat in the truck 5 miles from my house and waited 7 hrs before I got a preplan. That preplan was a 38 mile run, which I would have had to go all the way up to New York to pick up (NY was out of my region). I turned it town for obvious reasons, then went home until Monday when my DM would be back to get me a decent run. Another complaint is the piss poor equipment Swift runs. They have crappy old Freightliners and some decent Volvos. The trucks spend a lot of time in the shop, and they usually screw you out of pay for those days it is in the shop. I can only recall once in the 10 months when I had a trailer that didn't have something wrong with it. Most trailers have doors that don't close the whole way, and tandem release handles that won't pull. Another problem I had with Swift is they would plan me on loads constantly that went far far out of my region. I would turn them down for that reason, and they would get mad.

The only positive I found with Swift is just as the above poster said, that they do have a lot of freight everywhere except where I lived really. Also as above poster said, if you don't care where you go (which I did, I picked the midwest region for a reason) then you might be able to put up with Swift, but beware that they will make almost no effort whatsoever to keep you happy. I hated running the east coast more than anything, but it seemed the planners would go out of their way sometimes to keep me there, and that makes me mad.

And the hometime is another issue. Again, as newolddrv said, they are very bad with hometime.

[markthetrucker]

Originally Posted by Fredog

they are good and bad

Ha tell me the good part! lol I did the absolute minimum time to get a much better job 3 months!

1 you are a number

2 they always have a lot of freight except where you live.

3 you will have to threaten to quit to get home.

4 fueling can be a major pain because they can't keep the fuel card on. to many ppl would be taking the truck home and ditching it!

5 they LIE!

6 swift has got to be the worst company ever! I have not one good thing to say about them at all!

[satch]

swift did ok by me .
if you chose to stay in a comfort zone ( a certain region ) you will always have problems . if you go where the customer wants their freight to be sent you wil have plenty of miles.
a lot of drivers think they can go where they want. and then get a attitude if they have to run the north east.
most of the u.s. population lives in the north east or the west coast so that is were the freight is going to go.
as far as being treated like a number, thats fine by me i don"t want to get personel with my company and it keeps them off my back if i want to drive my own route instead of their route .
on fueling if you go to a unauthorized fuel stop just get the fuel code and send a message. they will always approve 75 - 100 gallons. depending on who is on the recieving end of the message it might take 30 min. to an hour or 15 min.
as far as the lying my d.m. lies from time to time. but the people in corprate do not. and the pay roll dept. is honest any problems with pay can be taken care of .
the equipment is not the best you always need to carry a hammer and a can of wd40 for the trailer tandems . i would rather have a freightliner then a volvo. more room in the berth and a little longer wheelbase gives a better ride. but those volvos are nice and quiet.