Comments By Fred M

Another question to anyone willing to chime in. If I have the option, should I start out with a company that has manual trucks or automatic. I feel like I should cut my teeth with a manual. What say you, anyone?

My guess is you’d make more money at Prime than Western express but that’s just speculation based on the fact Prime has always been one of the higher paying companies that train new drivers. I agree with everyone else who said don’t go with your friend. I’d love to work for a guy with two trucks but I wouldn’t do it in your situation if for no other reason the fact that he JUST got his authority. He’s gotta figure out his business first and you’re a brand new driver who needs to figure out driving first and get trained up and get some experience. You’d probably end up costing each other a lot of money—the timing is terrible for both of you.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. Everything I have been reading about Prime has been good. I am also considering CRST, but have not applied yet. Unfortunate that the timing wasn't better for the both of us, but maybe after getting miles and experience under my belt I can go run for him.

I did both reefer and flatbed at Prime. It’s just what you prefer. If you can handle a nonexistent sleep schedule, and are able to stay up all night, you could find success pulling that freight. I wasnt cut out for it, and found myself fitting in better with the open deck trailers. For the most part, it is a day time operation. I do not spend much time driving at night. With Prime, I felt like I got more of an OTR experience pulling flatbed than I did pulling their reefers. Whichever one appeals to you more, I’m sure you’d be satisfied with. I’m glad to have done both.

With your friends new authority...has he verified that his insurance will cover you? That is generally an issue with new operating authority and insuring new drivers. Otherwise, that would be a completely different experience than you would get from Prime. Do some soul searching man. There are so many different opportunities in trucking, something is right for you.

Thank you for the info, I greatly appreciate it. I am hoping to go flatbed, fingers crossed that if I go with Prime they will have a flatbed trainer available, but either way I'll do what I have to do. Was the biggest issue with reefer the inconsistent schedule? I don't think I will go with my friend's dad, maybe down the line if he is still running and I can work alongside him with my own truck!

If you're looking to do local, FedEx freight is hiring driver apprentices in Santa Clara, CA. Old Dominion also hires new drivers and I believe they do training in CA, but I don't have much info on that.

You'll be in good hands going to prime or Western Express. We have a lot of representatives from Prime here that can offer more information on that. We also have drivers they have had experience we Western Express, if you have questions.

As for option 3, stay away from that. First, intermodal work sucks. Second, working for a small company and/or for a friend is not how you want to start this career. There is no support and they can't afford any hits if something goes wrong. You want a company that has experience in training new drivers and understands that there will be some bumps along the way.

Thank you for the info on FedEx, I'll look into it. And that's pretty much how I feel about running for my friend's dad. I need proper training from people who know how to do it. Thank you again, Banks

Hello! I just earned my Class A CDL, and am currently job hunting. Everything local wants experience and I am down to three options: reefer with Prime or flatbed if a trainer is available, flatbed with Western Express or working for a friends dad. First two options are pretty straight forward, the third one is unique. Friends dad has two trucks, does intermodal and just got his authority. I would be working under his authority out in South Carolina. I am not sure what training will be luck under him, and still have more questions to ask him. I probably should have done that before coming to you guys, but alas I'm here. Starting to feel somewhat lost and not sure of what to do. I know this fairly vague, and I apologize for that. I would like to hear advice from anyone who is willing to chime. Thank you for your time.

Congratulations! Best of luck and kick ass.

TMC is a flatbed company that hires drivers right out of CDL school.

Just want to clarify. TMC is a flatbed company that will allow recent CDL grads to come in for an INTERVIEW not necessarily hire you right out of CDL school. They do a 2 week training process and if you pass you will then be eligible for employment. TMC from my experience seems to be a great company to work for. Right now I'm scheduled to start with Knight doing flatbed, just waiting for a trainer to free up.

From what I've heard from this forum, Prime, Maverick and Knight are good flatbed companies. Good luck with your search and good luck starting a career.

Hi, TwoSides! Thank you for the heads up on TMC and the information on the app. Good luck with Knight! Maybe I'll see you out there if I pass CDL school.

Hello, Truckers! I am hoping to become one of you very soon! I earned my CDL permit thanks to the High Road Training program, and I'm starting a private trucking school next week out in the Bay Area! However, beyond that I am not sure where to go, or maybe I should say I am not sure what to do. A good friend of mine from my time in the Navy was a Trucker, and he suggested I do flatbed. Any advice in how to get my foot in the door with flatbed trucking, or really anything in general, would be greatly appreciated. To those who read and/or respond to this thread, thank you for your time.

TMC is a flatbed company that hires drivers right out of CDL school. Swift has a flatbed division. Maverick is a flatbed company that hires right out of school and also has a glass division that pays slightly higher than the standard flatbed division. Estes runs flatbed. Western Express runs flatbed. Melton is flatbed company. Prime has a flatbed division. Knight Transportation has a regional flatbed in PNW (hiring area includes the Bay Area). 1 year experience preferred with that dedicated division, but they are willing to train. I believe Roehl had a flatbed division.

I am sure that there are other companies that other members here can suggest.

Hello, Kerry! Pleasure to meet you. Thank you for that information. Knight having a regional in the PNW has me very intrigued!

You are welcome. I utilize an app called Driver Pulse by Tenstreet to gather information on all sorts of trucking companies. The app shows hiring areas for various companies and the types of work for which they are currently hiring. It's through this app that I learned about the PNW flatbed regional with Knight.

Knight is a pretty decent company. Old School and Davy are two prominent members here that I know drive for Knight. I think Old School drives flatbed for them, but I am not certain about that.

Best of luck to you.

Hi, Kerry! I gave TwoSides11 props for advice on the Driver Pulse app, my bad! Thank you for the information on the app, much appreciated.

Hello, Truckers! I am hoping to become one of you very soon! I earned my CDL permit thanks to the High Road Training program, and I'm starting a private trucking school next week out in the Bay Area! However, beyond that I am not sure where to go, or maybe I should say I am not sure what to do. A good friend of mine from my time in the Navy was a Trucker, and he suggested I do flatbed. Any advice in how to get my foot in the door with flatbed trucking, or really anything in general, would be greatly appreciated. To those who read and/or respond to this thread, thank you for your time.

TMC is a flatbed company that hires drivers right out of CDL school. Swift has a flatbed division. Maverick is a flatbed company that hires right out of school and also has a glass division that pays slightly higher than the standard flatbed division. Estes runs flatbed. Western Express runs flatbed. Melton is flatbed company. Prime has a flatbed division. Knight Transportation has a regional flatbed in PNW (hiring area includes the Bay Area). 1 year experience preferred with that dedicated division, but they are willing to train. I believe Roehl had a flatbed division.

I am sure that there are other companies that other members here can suggest.

Hello, Kerry! Pleasure to meet you. Thank you for that information. Knight having a regional in the PNW has me very intrigued!

Hello, Truckers! I am hoping to become one of you very soon! I earned my CDL permit thanks to the High Road Training program, and I'm starting a private trucking school next week out in the Bay Area! However, beyond that I am not sure where to go, or maybe I should say I am not sure what to do. A good friend of mine from my time in the Navy was a Trucker, and he suggested I do flatbed. Any advice in how to get my foot in the door with flatbed trucking, or really anything in general, would be greatly appreciated. To those who read and/or respond to this thread, thank you for your time.

Howdy Fred, and WELCOME TO TT !

Personally, I would suggest applying with TMC, RIGHT HERE on this site, and let THEM train you, and guarantee you a JOB!

We ALWAYS recommend company paid training, exactly for that ^^^ reason. Knight also trains for flatbed, as do many companies.

Other than that, read ALL you can, from Old School, Turtle, Chief Brody, and some of the 'bigger' haul f/b guys.. i'll tell ya later...or they will show up, Lol! (Robert B., Bird One, et al . . . )

Best wishes;

~ Anne ~

Hi, Anne! Pleasure to meet you and thank you for your advice! Funny you bring up TMC! That friend of mine from the Navy that I brought up, he worked for them and recommended them as well! Thing is, they aren't taking people from California at the moment. I have considered moving to one of the states they are recruiting truckers from, but I don't know yet. I will try to read up on those fellas.

Pleasure is MINE! Dang about them not hiring out there. . . correction, Kerry .... they DO train!!!

Some of the others Kerry mentioned train as well. Roehl would actually be a good PNW choice; as would Knight.

Did you try this/these link(s) ?? >>Paid CDL Training Programs

Yep, many of these DO have flatbed...Apply For Paid CDL Training Get ya IN! :)

We're here to help~!!!

~ Anne ~

Hi, Anne! Sorry for getting back to you so late. I did use that link! Filled out the info and sent it to recruiters last night! We'll see where it goes from there!