Comments By Chelsea P.

Hmm, interesting. Alright, what do you like about Prime? Why would you suggest it as a place for me to go? I'm assuming I can get in with only 3 months of experience otherwise you wouldn't have suggested it. Would I have to go through training? Would you recommend dry van or reefer? Please, give me more information about Prime from your point of view.

I did look at Prime when I was first looking at training companies, but they said on the website that it's 50% no touch freight. I'll look into it again and see if it's changed though. When I spoke with JB Hunt, they said 34-48 hours home time depending on freight which was fine with me because it was weekly. I could deal with that and make it work for me. And their regional was more like dedicated where you were on an account and delivered to DCs for one company in different states. Only reason it wasn't regional to me was because while most of it was down south, two locations were in New York but not NYC.

Like I said before, I would have stayed with Celadon for at least that year to get the experience but they didn't give me a choice. Honestly, I wouldn't go back to them anyway because I didn't like how they ran things. I liked just about every other DM aside from my main one but they wouldn't allow me to switch unless the manager saw something that he didn't agree with which I completely understand. The reason why I said not to ask about Swift and Schneider was because I had heard things from my teachers and trainer and none of them were good in regards to those companies.

I have seen a few companies that prefer OTR experience before hiring. I don't remember which ones though but I have seen that.

Oh that post, sorry I was looking then but that person decided to go solo as well as me. So that didn't turn into anything. As far as regional goes, I do understand that the home time is different. For me, I'm looking for more frequency and getting home a few times a month. Before, I was staying out for two months to come home for a week. In hindsight of course, I was doing that completely wrong and really shouldn't do that again.

I did look at Roehl however I am physically unable to unload freight and have no clue how to operate a forklift. They told me that was going to be an issue with them. Both of my knees are damaged and I have exercise induced asthma which acts up in very hot or extremely cold temperatures. I can keep it under control in normal conditions but I need to watch how far I push it. So, I need a company that is first and foremost, no touch freight. Averitt did offer that to me so I am going to check into them. They told me to apply when I was ready and they would see what they could do with only 3 months of experience.

I was originally going with JB Hunt on one of their regional runs but because I had a minor accident (wasn't recordable or anything like that) they needed me to have more experience first and couldn't look at it again until June of this coming year. I live in Georgia so I was looking for Southeast Regional or a dedicated as the JB Hunt account I would have gotten was more dedicated that regional. So I do know that it's only a couple of days max but that's better than what I was doing before. Even PTL said their drivers are out 6-10 days at a time, but I don't know what their home time is exactly so I'm going to have to call them. Now, if PTL works out then I plan on staying with them. I just wanted to know what others thought of the company first.

I understand what you're saying Rainy. And, to be fair, I didn't understand how to run OTR so that was partly my fault. I burned myself out by staying out too long. However, I did my best when I was with Celadon. I can count on one hand how many deliveries were late because of me and I made sure to tell them ahead of time. I ran my time the way I was trained to do so. About the whole governed speed thing, I can honestly say I got used to the speed and just shut up about it. Getting a faster truck is more wishful thinking.

In regards to staying with Celadon, I would have stayed the entire year but they gave me an ultimatum. After going through 3 different DMs to find a load back home (with my main DM saying 'you don't even know if there's something wrong' by the way), they let me use my the home time I didn't realize I had to go home and help care for my mother. When that time was up, they said I could either come back to the truck that day or they would have to term me. It's only the two of us here so leaving wasn't an option for me. I paid off the contract because that was the only choice I had left after that. Since then, I've known personally 5 drivers, including my trainer and teacher, that have left Celadon because of their crappy service. One driver, whom I know is a great driver and was even trained by her father, was stuck in an intersection for 4 hours waiting for maintenance to answer the phone and send help her way. The main reason I wanted to leave is because I didn't like the way my DM was treating me, acting like I was a malfunctioning robot that was only supposed to run a certain number of hours, shut down then start over.

I didn't have to ask the same questions as most people because one of the teachers went out of their way to teach us about it. He had driven with Celadon for several years then got tired of them and left. Now, he's driving for a friend of his out of South GA. My trainer is now driving for Barnes. That friend who got stuck in an intersection is driving for another company but I don't know who. I never asked for a company with teams. The main thing I wanted was better home time which I realized I can get with regional or dedicated which Celadon doesn't have unless you live in Indy. As for the truck, all they have for company solo drivers are Prostars which I didn't realize until later. Teams get KWs and lease purchase or owner operators could choose between anything on their lot from Prostars, Lonestars, KWs and Peterbilts. Again, didn't realize any of that until later on as I had issues with the truck that required it being in the shop quite a bit; it was taking an insane amount of fuel and hardly any of the DEF which I knew it wasn't supposed to do. As for the miles, that was actually a bad week and I shouldn't have said anything in regards to that.

Now, with all this being said, I did some research and found that regional or dedicated would get me the home time I was looking for. Like I said, Celadon does not have this option and, as far as I know, neither does PTL when I was looking which is why I said I was going to get in, get the experience I needed and probably switch to another company that did. If they did, I would stay with them but I'm concerned that I'm going to have the same reaction to OTR. I want to make myself a better driver but I need to know where to go. Belittling my problems doesn't help me Rainy. All I asked for was for help. I personally do not like Swift or Schneider (please don't ask why) and that's why I choose not to go with them. So please, I just need suggestions. Now, if I need to go through training, then I will which is what I said earlier.

What are good places I can go with only 3 months of experience? I'm trying to avoid having to go through training again since I went through it so soon. If I have to then I will as I heard that Heartland Express just started a training program.

When I graduated from training and got my truck, they asked if I wanted an auto, 10 speed or 13 speed. Once I had selected which speed I wanted, which was a 10 by the way because that's what I trained on, then they looked through their inventory to see what trucks were available. Then they handed me the keys to a 2014 Prostar 10 speed. Mind you, this was with Celadon and I hated driving for them; those people gave me a headache. But, I think that's a common thread for companies that have more than one kind of truck to drive.

Hello all, I know I said I was giving this life up, but here's the thing......I really like driving! Every time I see an 18 wheeler on the road, all I can think of is getting back in the driver's seat. So, I've decided to give this another shot. After talking to one of my teachers that I've kept in touch with and my old trainer, they have said that Pascall Truck Lines is a good place for me to start since I only have 3 months of experience. I was termed from Celadon, my old company, because I needed to stay home and care for my sick mother. Anyway, I've heard that PTL was only an OTR company so I'm hoping to get at least three months with them before switching to Martin and getting a Regional or Dedicated route with them. Any advice on PTL and Martin please?

I wasn't scared off. I was ignoring the thread because I didn't think I was getting what i needed. Turns out, I was getting what I needed. I have discovered that I can learn just about anything, including the things that take a certain kind of person in order to do it. I also discovered I don't have what it takes to follow through with this kind of commitment. This is too different and too separate from everything I know for me to continue. I never thought this life was grand or even that adventurous. I just didn't think it would be this hard. This life isn't for me and I'm getting out while I can. Thanks for helping me. Guess this site is good for just what you need it to be, getting the truth.

I work for Celadon. I went through their training and as such I'm under their contract which only pays .27 per mile. Once I get out, it starts at .33 per mile with an increase only every 120k miles. I'm buying out my contract in a few days. They didn't say I had to stay out that long but hometime isn't guaranteed with them. Every 7 days out gives you 1 day off and they have no holiday time off, paid or otherwise which doesn't seem fair to me. I was told by my DM that if I wanted any time off, I had to request it even for holidays. I had to ask 3 different DMs to get home when my Mom got sick because my day one said 'You don't even know if something is wrong.' That's none of her business and should not have been an issue. That's part of the reason why I want to change.

Been working with one truck company and I've been running ragged with their hometime program. In essence, I have to stay out for 2 months in order to come home for a week. Every other driver I spoken with has told me how crazy that sounds to them and it is! So, I've been looking to switch companies to something that could get me home more often, not to mention with a better pay rate. However, I only have 3 months of solo OTR experience under my belt. Does anyone know of any good companies that will hire someone with that amount of experience? Please help!