Comments By sgtwilldog

How about ease up on this crap with personal vehicles. If sombody has an accident in their personal vehicle it shouldn't ruin their career.

If they aren't at fault, why would it ruin their career?

Time is a good filter. Let the youngins get their citations and DUIs in their own cars. Then, if they are still qualified to get a CDL after a few years of recklessness, maybe they earned a chance to try. I'd be curious on the statistics of how many are just old enough to get a CDL but no longer qualify because of a bad record.

Good stuff

These trainer horror stories are crazy. I feel that the trainer is being paid to perform a service for you and that you are his customer. Where is the customer service of some of these guys?

Funny thing I noticed about TT is whenever someone posts about getting fired or quitting, others always feel like they are not getting the whole story. The driver rarely gets the benefit of the doubt. I'm not complaining about TT (I really like TT), just stating an observation.

This is the second thread I've seen where someone has something to say about a weight stereotype in trucking. Well, the other guy had tips at least, but no respect for anyone out of shape. Why do you want see a bunch of men with 6-pack abs at truck stops? Good luck leading the weight loss revolution.

Hello everyone, I want to thank everyone for all the great info on here. I am finally getting ready to start CDL school after 17 years of installing alarms and an injury forced me to change careers. I have pre-hire letters from Knight, May, and Schneider, and it is difficult to sort out what is bs and what isn't from the recruiters. Does anyone have any feedback on which of these companies would be best to start off with. I know this industry is something not to take lightly and I need to make it work. Any info would be appreciated.

Here's my difficulty; I don't know where you live and what type of driving you're most interested in. That said, I drive for Schneider (over a year now) and everything they promised has been true. Here's my basic experience; I drive dry van. I get frustrated sometimes when I don't get 2,500+ miles in a week. However, I have averaged 10,000+ miles per month for the entire 15 months OTR. When you start with Schneider, you're making money pretty quickly because Orientation is only 17days long. When you start out, they usually don't send you into tough places. They let you get some experience before giving you those assignments.

While I'm always skeptical of bonus promises, I've earned the $.02/mile quarterly bonus every quarter since starting. So that's about $600/quarter extra. A nice chunk of change.

Here are the main reasons I chose Schneider; 1. Start earning quickly. 2. They're big enough that I can relocate or choose another line (e.g. tanker, intermodal, dedicated) without having to leave the company. 3. They're big enough that if they don't have freight, there's something seriously wrong. 4. I'm on an OTR schedule that gets me 5 days home time per month. I usually take this split with time off twice a month.

One of the biggest reasons I like Schneider is that we have Operating Centers (OC's) all over the country. All offer a safe parking spot (in addition to whatever is available at truck stops and rest areas), most offer showers, laundry and lounge (at no charge), maintenance facilities for express repairs to keep you moving and some have cafeterias (you pay for your meals there, but it's reasonably priced).

For me Schneider was the right choice and I don't have plans to leave. I wish you luck wherever you go and I hope this helps.

Steve L., I sent you a private msg a few weeks ago, but I don't think it worked?

That's good info. I'll have to inform the doc about that possibility. I am stress-free but I do have the acid thing sometimes.

Thanks for responses. I can't imagine being stuck in traffic and this happening while I wait for it to subside. Ill just continue as normal and hope it doesn't happen more. Since I went to the ER for it, I guess I have to inform the company at orientation that it has happened and let them decide.

Anyone have experience with one of these? I didn't even know what it was before last Friday. Chest pain was enough to call the 911. I live a stress free life and didn't even have any triggers for it to happen. All tests show a healthy me in all areas. I don't want to give up before starting but has anyone had one of these and still gone on to do trucking?