Comments By Seppo

I've been calling a few different companies to get my career going, both those with and without CDL training programs. I got in touch with Navajo yesterday, and their recruiter told me that for the first year as a new driver, you are paid a guaranteed amount each day you are available and "ready to work" regardless of whether you're moving or sitting. This pay scale is $110 per day months 1-3, $115 per day months 4-6, and $120 per day the remaining six months of your first year. You begin your second year at $.35/mile. This is much different than what is stated on their company profile here on TT, which has first year pay at $.25/mile.

It seems most companies do a flat rate during training, and I've seen a couple that give you the choice of either a flat rate or CPM once you go solo, at least for the first year. Seems with some of these programs, if you choose the flat rate they'll give you a bonus if you end up going above a certain number of miles, but Navajo is the only company I've found so far that does exclusively flat rate as the only option for the first year. Wondering if anyone here has any experience with that type of system and how it worked out for them.

I'm not inclined to put all my eggs in the Navajo basket anyway, as their recruiter told me they do not do pre-hire letters whatsoever for drivers before they attend CDL school. This was also surprising as it seems from what I've read on this forum that pre-hire letters are pretty standard. The recruiter said it limits their liability so they don't have to commit to hiring people before they've gone through schooling, but I didn't think a pre-hire was a binding agreement that a company HAS to hire a driver. Anyone aware of any other companies that don't do pre-hire letters? Might be beneficial info to add to company profile pages or at least in a thread here on the forum.

FYI - I went thru orientation with Knight a few weeks ago, they did the Hair Follicle test on me using armpit hair, which allows them to go further back. The hair on my head was long enough for them to go back 90 days. They say they go back a full year; based on my experience, I believe them...

Can anyone else confirm that Knight goes back a full year?

I also didn't know you could take "home-time" in your truck that makes things very interesting.

You may want to check with individual companies for their policies on this. It was one thing that drew me to trucking, and I've signed on to begin orientation with Knight next month. When I asked my recruiter about this, I was told that while I'm free to take home time wherever I like, the truck must be on Knight property (parked at a terminal) while I'm on my days off. Fortunately Knight has plenty of terminals around the country so I'm thinking it won't be an issue, but it also may not be as easy as just deciding to take a few days off in whatever random town you end up in. Perhaps there's some leeway on this policy that an experienced Knight driver could elaborate on, but until I hear otherwise I'm going with what I've been told.

I chose Knight for school, but for my only traffic ticket they wanted me to wait till this July.

Errol, can you elaborate? I had seen this in a previous post of yours and meant to ask about it; I believe you mentioned they had told you that you can't have a speeding ticket less than a year old on your record? I've been accepted to Knight, set to begin orientation in July, but I did receive a speeding ticket in December. I mentioned it on my application, my recruiter said there were no problems that he saw on my record. I'm concerned Knight will wait until I arrive at orientation to tell me I'm ineligible due to the ticket and I'll be back at square one and out the cost of my transportation and accommodation. Should I have a backup plan in place?

Would think about bringing my acoustic if I get out on the road, but I'd be concerned that the extreme summer heat or winter cold would be bad for it if I'm away from the truck for a few hours. Any suggestions for this?

Thanks for your input, good luck to Seppo & Jessica.

When I am reading, some are saying, that one of the perks is that this is a nice way to see the other parts of the country, while others say all you are going to see is the interstate at 60 mph.

I was just trying to figure out, if there was a logical way to see a bit more than the highway?

It appears it is up to the company, if you can use the truck for personal use. As far as visiting places, would need to rent a car, unless they have parking for rigs (and then you might have to have it stay there the whole hometime).

I guess no easy answer, just have to figure it out as you go.

In my research I've definitely seen that quote, used a bit sarcastically by a few seasoned drivers: "Oh you wanna see the country? You'll see the country...at 65 miles an hour." I think their concern is that people may look into the career just for the opportunity to travel the country without realizing the difficulty of actually doing the job and living the lifestyle. I'd like to "see the country", even if I'm just passing through with no time to stop. The idea of spending a day in, say, the Colorado mountains is infinitely more appealing to me than sitting at a desk in a room with no windows for 10 hours.

I'm sure if you get into the job you'll be getting off the highway to make deliveries and pick ups in different cities and towns, so long as you don't do a dedicated route. From what I've read on this site, I'm not sure if sightseeing is always going to be possible though. I believe it all depends on whatever load you currently have, how much time you have to deliver it, and where you're driving. Certainly all the veteran drivers seem to say that if you want to make the most money you're going to be rolling as much as possible with minimal stops. For example, it would be incredible to spend a beautiful sunny day driving through the New Mexican desert en route to Arizona, but it doesn't seem likely you'd have time to stop and take pictures at the Four Corners.

As far as visiting places on days off, I think you'd just have to check ahead to see where you can leave a truck. I know Brett has said that pretty much any casino, especially the ones in Vegas, have truck parking. But again, this is all from my extensive research of everything on this site. I'm sure someone who's actually been on the road will have some better answers for you.

This is the lane in the middle of the road, with yellow lines on both sides.

I don't think I've ever seen a road with two sets of solid yellow lines forming a middle lane. What purpose does that serve?

On the other hand, we have turn lanes like this where I live. You pull in, come to a stop, and make your turn. Alternately, if you're pulling out of a parking lot, driveway, or side street you come into this lane, stop, then merge into traffic. I wasn't aware you had to stop when I first arrived and would use these lanes to come to speed and merge in to traffic before I got pulled over for traveling more than 100 feet in the lane. Fortunately only let off with a warning!

For anyone with knowledge on the hiring process: as a new driver, are you required to disclose a speeding ticket you received that was dismissed?

Jerry I'm 20 years younger than you and considering a career partially for this very reason. No wife/girlfriend/fiancee, no kids, friends and family more or less scattered across the country. I have a room with family I can stay in when I need to make it "home", but I'm looking forward to pretty much exploring wherever I end up and saving money by not keeping a permanent residence.

For experienced truckers, I have a few questions. When you find a company to drive for, do you have to live near one of their terminal locations? And if so, would your runs regularly end at the terminal locations? Or do you just drive directly home? Also, what is the difference between a transportation terminal and a drop yard?

I'm also wondering how strongly where you live influences who can hire you. I know different companies only hire from certain states, but does this have more to do with the convenience of where they run? If "home" is nowhere, could I make that case to a company that I could be wherever they need me? Or does it have to do with legalities of hiring from the state where you keep residence?

When it comes to employment, most companies will want you to be at least within the month for starting and ending dates - like 5/13-9/14 - that sort of thing. And they will need at least a company name and phone number to verify your employment.

Regarding prior non-driving positions for people looking to get into the industry, do they contact your actual bosses/direct supervisors from your previous jobs? Or do you just give them a number for Human Resources and someone from HR verifies that you worked there?