I don't think your attitude is bad at all, just ignore the BBR's.

I also don't think you're asking for the moon, but when you're(our industry) on a beer budget, you don't drink wine. With ONLY 18 months exp you will have no pull whatsoever in applying for a driving job as there are guys with 20 -30+ years of exp also applying. You're going to have to impress them with your attitude, how mature you seem and how polite and professional. I got my last job, which is by far the best, by showing up to an appointment very clean cut and with a very professional attitude with only 2.5 years of exp.. He was talking to someone(who had 15+years, but was a dirty pig) by his truck and I waited 15 minutes past my appointment time(in my car near his truck so he could see me) and when the other person left and he was prepared, I came up and introduced myself. 10 minutes later I got the job and was told he wished he got more applicants who as professional.

Your list is a little too large to go over Company by company. I would scour as many trucking forums as you can and visit each companies website and make notes on each. You may have to settle for a lesser one for a few years while the economy gets better and you have more experience to put on the table. Knight is a good(not great) company that pays detention(if you have an appointment). But they do run mostly short runs with odd delivery times and the terminals compete with each other.

Heard good things about Crete
I drove for May for 8 months and really didn't like them, but I was a new driver
Never really heard anything bad about Schneider, alot of guys I know like them

And yes if you relocate that can help your job hunt as you can move near a company that is hiring(as some do have hiring radius's(SP?)) or you could be in an area with plenty more jobs.

Good luck

Interesting thread . .
 

. . you think you've got the world by the b . . gonads while your critics think you have your head up your sphincter.

Your experience and record are decent and they'll help anywhere you apply. But, because of your year off, I'll bet a large, national carrier will require you to spend some time with a trainer, especially if you pick a place that doesn't use autos. I would also bet that if you made the right phone call or showed up on the right doorstep at just the right time you could walk right in to a decent job. So, don't be discouraged.

As for your demands? Good luck! I have had very decent miles over the last few months . . until this week: Monday 150, Tuesday - Wednesday 250 and no load, yet, to look forward to. That won't help my 2450/week average so far this year. I also have no home time requirement which definitely helps (helped?) my miles. "Consistent" miles will be up to you to decide. The majority of my loads are D + H but I don't make that a condition when deciding whether to accept.

If you want to go OTR, try Swift. If you want dedicated, regional, back and forth, try Averett. If you're willing to expand your horizons, try tanks or grains.

I have no bills...and I bought a new truck which I paid cash for). I have time to weigh various options. I won't starve tomorrow, next week, next month etc. I took whatever job was offered to me the first time...and you can see where I am now. :D Making 35cpm (practical miles) wasn't all that horrible after a year though. I prefer moving forward...and only going backwards to get a trailer into a dock.

Yes. I did drive OTR for 18 months (37 states)...but I haven't driven for any of those other companies. I know exactly how the company I worked for was...so I know what to look for now. I don't expect anyone to hand me a job on a message board. Obviously, I wouldn't be taking all of this time if I was lazy or unwilling to work. I am doing research. I've been reading on here for weeks about different drivers' viewpoints on various companies. Drivers, who posted two years ago, about how great (or horrible) a company was, may have a very different outlook today. You can only learn so much from a company's website. That doesn't include a realistic view of what is really happening at that particular company. You can make a turd look good if you cover it in frosting. Are they getting freight? Are drivers getting any miles? Their website might say drivers averaging 2500 miles per week but that doesn't necessarily make it so right now. Was it better at that company last week, last month, last year? Did they just layoff 10s or 100s or 1000s of drivers? Are they going to be bankrupt in 6 months from now? I know over 3600 companies vanished in 2008. Is it better in certain regions of the country? Are there specific segments that are doing better than others? Etc. This is the kind of information I am trying to find out (so I am not back here in two or three months looking again). Basically, I've had 3 jobs over the last 14 years. The first and the last one closed down. The middle one, I was injured on the job (and then they proceeded to fire me illegally). I hate job hopping!

Thanks, scythe08!

Where was your last job at (that you liked)? Are you still working for them?
I know the kind of pigs you are talking about all too well!

Knight has a new terminal about 35 miles from here.

Crete has one about 60 miles from here. I've read a lot of positive comments about Crete.

Schneider...I have no clue about where they are near here...but I will look into it.
Doing intermodal around here and getting paid mileage doesn't seem like a good gig.
JB was looking for someone to do that, too.
Driving a rig around Chicagoland is like being at a circus!
If I do stay here, I definitely don't want to sit in traffic all day...which is why I picked OTR.

May...their map showed only reefer in this part of the country...11 western states were dry van.
I have never slept well next to a reefer. They have always woken me up. I can't imagine it being any better attached to one...or trying to drive 600-700 miles when you are falling asleep.

I can't park a bobtail here...so that is a factor.

I found this forum when I was in trucking school almost three years ago. Most people were really helpful in answering questions. It's really hard to even imagine how things are when you have never driven OTR before. I will take a gander and see what else I can dig up.

Thanks for your input!

Clearly, I don't have my head up my rear! People with their heads up their rear think they know it all already (and they don't ask questions)! Usually, they just criticize everyone. :D

I had considered that...since I have been driving an auto-shift, I may have to do a little bit of training unless I find another auto-shift. I did drive all manuals at school but that was quite a while ago. I wouldn't want to drive around Chicago (just locally) with a manual all day.

2450 miles/week average? That isn't really that bad (considering how things are)! It sucks that you aren't getting many miles this week though. That sounds about what I was getting for a long time...and I was fairly happy! In the end, I was lucky if I got 1200-1800 in a week! Many weeks were less than that, too. I started getting loads like PA to OH (300 miles for 3.5 days over the whole weekend). Coming out of the house fresh off a reset, they had me pick up one load from the local yard that another driver dropped from Baltimore. It went about 18 miles to the consignee. It took me about 14 hours to get there, get unloaded, and drive to Menards DC about 48 miles away. By that time, I was out of hours with a whopping 66 miles for the whole day.

Swift sounds really seedy, which is why I didn't chose them to begin with when I first started driving...but I have recently reconsidered them. They do have a lot of bad drivers! LOL I read they have an overflow of applications already...and some stupid quote making it sound like everyone is dying to work there. WH had a horrible safety record overall but I only got DOTed once in WI. It was January 2nd and they were pulling everyone in at the Sturtevant scale. I can only imagine how Swift's record is looking!

I will definitely check out Averett! I could be mistaken but...aren't they owned by someone else? Or maybe it is the other way around and they own other trucking firms.

Tanker or grains doesn't sound bad at all! I wouldn't want to haul gasoline though. I've seen a few too many engulfed in a giant fireball (because of other people's stupidity). I can't imagine that there are many worse ways to die!

Don't give up searching for the job you want.

Do your research, which also means asking about different companies on boards like this one. And your gonna run into people who think you have a attitude. This is because they think that with the economy being bad, you should settle for a crappy job. Problem, if things turn around, and the good jobs start opening up in a couple of months, then your a job hopper..... I know, that's BS, but what can you do?

Here a hint when your asking about companies. Just ask about the companies....

Don't tell anyone what you are looking for(pay, miles, hometime, etc..), and never give out your experience/qualifications. These people don't need to know that information, and you will always find a jack**s thinking that they are better than you, or you should work at McDonalds first before looking for a job.

Now the good news. If you can sweat if out for another 2-3 months, the good jobs will open up for the summer season. The real question is how much more they will open....

I wish you the best of luck. Don't quit on looking for the right job. Leave the loser jobs for those who will take them.

Your going to have to make a job out of looking for a job, don't give up looking, Contact the Co. your interested in and put in an app. DON"T count on the generic on line app that went to all 499 co listed! A lot of them ignore them cause they get them by the thousands. Try Crete, I know i like it here but I don't know if there hireing or not. Also try JB but even JB has a waiting list!!

You had 18 (almost) months of OTR (sort-of) driving. You have been doing "What?" the last (almost) 12 months? That is going to be the big question, where-ever you interview. "Why did you stop driving?"

You say you hate job hopping, yet you quit one job after almost 18 months...plus what ever job you had before getting your cdl....and what ever job you did the last few months....which puts you just two jobs behind "ME", in my "total jobs" sequence. Three if you count the ranch-hand job I had when I was a kid in high-school. I have 30 years driving experience.

You wrote this; I'm fairly aware of the numbers of tankers that have burned the last few years. The numbers of those drivers involved, whom died, is actually pretty low. Just 3 that I am aware of last year. I do haul tanker for a living...and most of the stuff I haul...as with most of the stuff Mike3 hauls, is worse than gasoline.

With your self-confidence on your driving ability, why would you raise your nose in the air, and act like one of the primadonnas, when it comes to hauling gasoline? It does not add up.

Almost 18 months of experience, with an almost 12 month break, means you don't have any experience at all...but who am I?
Just a shmuck on this messageboard.

I PROBABLY WOULD NOT HIRE YOU TO DRIVE A STRAIGHT TRUCK, LET ALONE A TRACTOR-TRAILER. SO YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE DRIVING ANYTHING BUT AN AUTOMATIC, WITH VERY LITTLE EXPERIENCE OVERALL AND YOU ONLY WANT TO PULL A DRY VAN?























Sorry about the caps!