Truck Driving Jobs

floored · #1 02-19-2010, 05:22 PM

Yes I said it. I love JB Hunt. Now before you all freak out on me let me tell you why. In the ongoing saga of my life, I ended up single last July, and kinda broke. I had let my own truck go because at the time I thought I didn't need it anymore and would be taken care of.

Anyway, I took a job with JB out of Stockton, CA in the intermodal division. First I ran the "regional truck" division, which was cool my dispatcher was great, ran me about 600mi a day, gave me weekends off and let me choose what customers I wanted to go to and hours I felt like working. I made about $700 a wk take home. Which is ok money when you don't own a truck, but I have kids at home and I missed them. So I asked the terminal manager if he could make room for me in the local division, and with no questions he did. I worked nights, had a brand new truck that I loved and made $200 a night average (local gets stop pay, mileage, extra bay area pay, ect). They let me work till I was tired then go home (I usually worked 8 hrs, sometimes 10). I loved local with JB but night shift work was very hard on my kids because mom time was still lacking and things changed in my life where I didn't need to be working anymore. So, I left JB at the end of last year for that reason. But, I would go back in a heartbeat to the local intermodal division if I ever needed to work again or once my kids are older and don't need mom quite as much. The terminal was fun to work out of, co-workers were great and they were very accommodating to me at least. JB Hunt is VERY big on safety, and the orientation is hell to go through with all the testing you have done before you are "hired".

A lot of people give the big guys a bad rep, I just wanted to say that not everyones exp. is a bad one with these larger companies. But knowing what I know, I would never drive for the OTR (dry van or intermodal), only local intermodal division.

BanditsCousin · #2 02-20-2010, 12:09 AM

Word up. I think a lot of people's attitudes they bring with them from other jobs has a lot to do with their success. Glad to hear it worked for you while you were there.

Jackrabbit379 · #3 02-20-2010, 01:35 AM

Kinda like what Bandit said, it's all how you like it, take it, and do it. lol
Some people bad mouth companies, but I think it's because they took a step on the wrong foot, or had a fall-out with their dispatcher, etc. When I hear bad things about this or that company, I don't think it's the company itself, but a lot of times, it's the driver(s) that is disgruntled, unhappy.
It's good that you landed yourself a good job. Hard to come by these days. Good to hear. :thumbsup:

Roadhog · #4 02-20-2010, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floored

Anyway, I took a job with JB out of Stockton, CA in the intermodal division.

I heard they had a job opening when that JB driver drowned at the Vanco Truck Plaza in Stockton.
He was getting a drink of water, when the toilet seat fell on his head.

:lol:

Jackrabbit379 · #5 02-20-2010, 01:49 AM

Roadhog, that's not very nice.

JB, ....party of 6, your shower is now ready.

Just kidding!

GMAN · #6 02-20-2010, 03:11 AM

I think that often it is the driver and their attitude that is the primary problem when we hear about bad companies. Most problems can be worked out by talking things out. Many drivers would rather leave a carrier than try to work the problem out with their dispatcher or whomever they are disgruntled.

dewercs2 · #7 02-20-2010, 09:31 PM

Hey floored.... Get by that yard once a week... Pretty nice that you were able to get into Intermodal. Ive been trying since I came on with JB. Guess San Bernardino is a little tougher to get on with. From what I'm hearing the local pay ranges from 900-1200 a week depending which account you run for.
I spoke with one guy who slipped sheeted a day cab at a customer location. He gets 900 a week take home, He pulls empty trailers to the dock and runs loaded trailers to the San Berdo yard. Doesnt matter how many trailers he pulls or how long he works. He can be there a full 10-12hrs or he can be done in 6-8hrs. Its what the customer wants. Home every night. The guy that runs the LPG truck and has 2-3 drops in your area deadheads back to San Berdo to grab another loaded trailer and turns back around. he's home friday night and leaves sunday afternoon.

Ridge Runner · #8 02-27-2010, 10:15 PM

I'm glad to see someone finally post some of the +'s of these larger companies and not just all the bad. I can say the same of USX. Never had a real problem there and the small ones I did have were easy to fix. All it took was acting like an adult and talking to the dispatcher. If I needed to go back to OTR for any reason, my first stop would be USX.

Phreddo · #9 02-28-2010, 02:45 AM

If Schneider hauled fuel in my area, i wouldn't think twice about applying.
SNI may have it's hassles and shortcomings, but some of the smaller companies can be downright -frightening- the way they run their business.

"The pay was great right up until the company folded!"

GMAN · #10 02-28-2010, 11:33 AM

Most people tend to not say much about a company with which they are happy. We all too often hear the negatives. I agree with Ridge. It is good to hear some positives about a large carrier. I figure that these large carriers must be doing more things right than wrong. Otherwise, they would not have been able to have grown so large.