Profile For Georgia Mike

I use hammer it's free and pretty accurate. I'm to frugal or cheap to pay 500 dollars for a gps but that is just me

My codriver's first day driving the truck.

I dont know i hit submit and it no internet service. The only clouds i know to look for are in the sky

Reality check...

The premise of family in trucking is so over-used. Heartland is a successful business, as is CFI, both in a cut-throat, dog-eat industry. And honestly like others have written (Rob T most recently); I want to be treated professionally, with respect, not like family. The family dynamic and all of its potential dysfunction doesn't belong in business. My brains and moxie are for business, my heart and compassion is for family.

The family paradigm in trucking is an enigma, cannot be defined... in the grand scheme of things, not a realistic criteria for selecting one company over another. Cross it off the list. IMO, it's a cheesy recruiting tactic...that in reality doesn't make you a better driver or make you more money.

And one other thing to understand... every top performing, experienced driver in this forum has earned their "chosen" place within the ranks of their respective fleets. It is not magically bestowed upon an entry level driver and is only "awarded" through consistent safe and efficient performance. CFI indeed does treat Big Scott very well...but why? Because he earned it; it was hard work, and it took him several years to accomplish this. I cannot emphasize this enough...

We are now owned by Heartland Express, they own us, Millis and Smith. One family with 3 training options. While I love CFI, I know these others are treated well. CFI for OTR, Millis is mostly regional and Heartland seems to have a mix.

Figure out what are your top 3 most important wants. Then try to find a company that satisfies at least two of your most important needs.

I dont know i kinda like being in a company that treats you like family and not just another truck number. Many family owned trucking companies ceos have an open door policy. Heck the patriarch Don Freymiller will call you personally on your birthday. I most, not all drivers will work harder if you treat them as human beings not just a truck number or driver code and show them appreciation more than just the obligation month of September. Now im talking about free lunches and goodie bags but like a message from the ceo or coo through the eld or video can really help moral.

I was going to do a thread on how i train at Freymiller but i lost service when i submitted and was not going retype all of that.

Freymiller trains 6-8 weeks no specific trainee drive miles or hours. Training is at trainers discretion.

So im now a trainer for Freymiller and im on my second student/codriver. We listen to the road home podcast everyday and discuss the topic. Love that podcast. I do wish we had more episodes.

What tends to fuel those decisions?

Typically loads coming out of FL don't pay well. Its not uncommon for trucks to LOSE money coming out so they can get to a better freight lane. Lots of loads going in but they don't produce much down there. Prime has alot of floral loads out of Miami but those seem to be mainly team trucks getting those. Many carriers don't hire south of I-10, and it becomes even more drastic south of I-4.

Does that blow anyone elses mind with all ports florida has the pay is crap? I live in Florida. The only 2 things I love in Florida are 9 and 11 everything else about that state sucks. With that being said i would rather get a load to or from Florida than CA NY NJ NH Connecticut ME. Im glad i do reefer its easy to pick up oj loads.

G i didnt post that to ruffle your feathers bro. Was the frieghtshaker comment or the swifty swift comment that got you so huffed and puffed. Opinions are like boogers, everyone has and i have every right to express that opinion. I tried daycab with swift and all there trucks at my terminal were cheap broken down 2018 shakers, volvos, and intertrashonal sleepers. I chose the intertrashonals because they were the best of the worst

LOL And WHO has time for gaming? "Maybe" on a 34 reset, otherwise, I don't see much time for it. Hell, I took my laptop with me OTR, and maybe, got it out once a week or longer. Too much time to concentrate on doing the job well, and safely. Used my Metro PCS hot spot for laptop use, and there was states I couldn't even get hotspot, Wyoming practically the whole state, western half of Nebraska etc, etc lol

I woulf if i did. i run at midnight shut down morning or early afternoon. When i shutdown i cant just go back to the sleeper and crash i have to wind down. You can make time for down time during your 10 it doesnt be pull the breaks post trip sleep. Hell you could play while doing a live load.