Comments By Steve C.

Thanks for those suggestions. Couple of new ones on the list to try. Receiver does not allow overnight parking, and the three Walmarts nearby don't either. Pilot filled up hours ago. Just sucks that this load delivered when it did. Being unloaded now so hopefully one of those places will have a spot open for me.

Honestly this time of night can work out pretty well for parking. The people who run their clocks really early (3AM-5PM or something) will just be leaving when you arrive, and tend to be parked in the easiest spots since they got their when the truck stop was empty. I don't anticipate you'll have much trouble.

I agree with DON'T - but to add a little more information: If you don't get the miles you want now that leads to a low paycheck. If you don't get the miles you want when you are leasing that leads to you OWING the company money.

I love that you bring your own bathroom cleaner

Basically you will either need to schedule hometime for election day OR get an absentee ballot. I don't live in Alabama myself, but this page seems to have good information on absentee ballots.
Alabama Absentee Ballot Information

Keep in mind you can WORK after your 70, you just can't DRIVE. Meaning, after 3:45 minutes is it possible to spend some on duty time? Maybe fuel and post-trip to bring you up to 4 hours to get paid?

Just a thought.

I know Old School got his start there and has good things to say. I imagine he'll be around to fill you in. Was there anything specifically you wanted to know?

Hey David.

To answer your first question: "No forced dispatch" means they will not force you to take a load. That said, it is in your best interest to accept every load they offer you. This will show your dispatcher that you are willing to make deliveries safely and on time, and they will be more likely to help you out down the line.

To answer your second question: The company only makes money when the truck is moving. It is true they won't be paying YOU when the truck is sitting still, but they are still paying money for insurance, licensing, etc etc. They want to keep downtime to a minimum otherwise they are just losing money on a truck sitting still.

I just carried one of these around... Winch Bar

McElroy is owned by a very religious family. That may be a good or bad thing, dependent on the felony conviction.

Jesus says to forgive, right?

Something you also want to consider is how many hours per week you will be working.
Assuming 40 hours/week if you are making $15 hour x 40 hours x 52 weeks that is $31,200 / year. Kind of on the low end for a new OTR driver.
If they are having you work 50 hours/week you are making $15 hour x 55 hours x 52 weeks, which would be $42,900, quite a bit higher. I came to 55 hours because after 40 hours you would be paid time and a half.
I'm not really pushing for you to take it or not take it, I just want you to try to find out how many hours each week you will be working as that makes a large difference. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.