Questions From Possible Newbie Drivers

Actually, my husband is not a newbie driver but never done over the road. He has had his CDL since 1986 and has done various types of work with that CDL. He has spoken to one recruiter and they said he would just have to take a refresher course not the full fledged Driver's class.

My question is, we are SERIOUSLY looking into driving with me riding with him. There are some questions, we know to ask but thought there may be more that you guys could recommend so we can find somewhere that would fit us best. We are in Alabama, have a married child in KY and son in college but still at home. We are thinking of taking the window of opportunity and see if we can do this. We are not opposed to going to Canada or being gone for home weeks at a time but I gotta see my babies at least once a month. We would LOVE LOVE to go out west, since we have already driven all 48 and we love it out there. I would not be team driver so it would be just him.

So here it is... What are your top 5 or so questions we should ask the companies to see if we are on same page (we are not going to purchase a truck) Any other info we welcome too, even companies you think would be good for us to contact :) Thanks in advance

First would be to find out who will have the best rider policy as far as how long he would have to run solo before they allow a passenger. Check into what freight lanes they run and getting you home every 3- 4 weeks isn't really a problem with any company that I'm aware of. Avoid forced dispatch and then just research which company will best fit your needs. There are plenty of great companies out there and more than enough opportunities to make a good living.

Pretty much every large carrier is forced dispatch, I really wouldn't let it be a deciding factor in your decision making.

First thing first, you'll need to choose A company. List your needs and find the company that fits your needs. You obviously require that the carrier allow passengers in the truck - start with that.

Heres a long list of some of the questions you can ask a recruiter. Take a look!

Questions for Trucking Company Recruiters

Company Name:

Recruiter Name:

Phone Number:

Email:

1. Where is your orientation?

2. Is the orientation a controlled curriculum for subject matter and teaching points? Mileage? Time?

3. Do the trainers get graded by the students after completion or is there a feedback loop to make the training better? Team driving during training?

4. What is the pay during orientation and training?

5. What is the pay after training completion? List for each division please: tanker, dry van , reefer , etc. Please list if it is for ALL miles, or is a progressive (“tiered”) pay scale.

6. Any bonuses post completion? 6 months? 1 year?

7. Is there a 401k and how is it structured? Cap limits? How much does the company match?

8. During orientation are lodging and meals paid for by the company?

9. If the trainer takes home time does the newbie keep driving?

10. What electronics does your company furnish to make a more safe and efficient driver?

11. Where are the main hubs?

12. Does the company have any dedicated contracts? Divisions? Is the newbie eligible for them?

13. What medical and dental plans are offered? Details and pricing of each plan to include time with company?

14. Can you switch trainers if it doesn't work between the two of you for whatever reason?

15. Idling policy?

16. Inverter installation policy? APU in trucks?

17. Is per diem built into the pay?

18. Breakdown and layover pay? Detention pay?

19. Are they no touch or is unloading involved? Pay for unloading?

20. How many miles do they usually put on a truck before they pull it from the fleet?

21. How does the pay period work? Do they use TRANSFLO and does it cost you? Do bills have to be sent in by a certain day to get paid during a week?

22. General home-time policy and where they want the truck when you go home?

23. Slip seating or assigned trucks?

24. What speed are trucks governed at?

25. Vacation policy?

26. What miles are paid miles and what miles are not?

27. When am I working and not getting paid?

28. If weather, driver (sick) or road conditions are such that I feel it is unsafe to continue driving, will I be penalized for parking until it is safe?

29. What are the reasons I could be disciplined and or fired for?

30. What can I expect my first year earnings to be? 2nd year?

31. How many miles per week does a newbie average?

32. Is there a tuition reimbursement program? Explain how it works please.

33. How many of their recruits as a percentage remain past 90 days?

34. What is the number 1 reason new recruits quit or their biggest complaint when they're terminated?

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

Per Diem:

Getting paid per diem means getting a portion of your salary paid to you without taxes taken out. It's technically classified as a meal and expense reimbursement.

Truck drivers and others who travel for a living get large tax deductions for meal expenses. The Government set up per diem pay as a way to reimburse some of the taxes you pay with each paycheck instead of making you wait until tax filing season.

Getting per diem pay means a driver will get a larger paycheck each week but a smaller tax return at tax time.

We have a ton of information on our wiki page on per diem pay

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

^^^^^This^^^^^^^ is the answer you were looking for. Daniel B to the rescue. Although I disagree about the forced dispatch, more large companies are not doing it anymore.

^^^^^This^^^^^^^ is the answer you were looking for. Daniel B to the rescue. Although I disagree about the forced dispatch, more large companies are not doing it anymore.

We can disagree with each other, that's fine. But we'll always be cool because you and me are friends!

^^^^^This^^^^^^^ is the answer you were looking for. Daniel B to the rescue. Although I disagree about the forced dispatch, more large companies are not doing it anymore.

We can disagree with each other, that's fine. But we'll always be cool because you and me are friends!

Exactly and I think you're an awesome cat. One of these days we'll run into each other and grab some lunch. Actually that goes for quite a few people on here as well. I've come to respect an awful lot of the folks on this website that I'd enjoy meeting up with to shoot the breeze over a cup of coffee or a meal.

Thank you guys so much! He talked to a recruiter yesterday at Melton. It sounds like one we may be interested but they said most of their routes are east of I-35. We really would like to do some out West...Love it there and HATE NYC. Anyway to stay out of there ? LOL

We really would like to do some out West..

If you guys want to run coast to coast your best bet is to go with refrigerated companies. They get by far the greatest percentage of coast to coast freight of any type of carrier. Most flatbed and dry van jobs will keep you within a certain region of the country and hand off the coast to coast runs to their teams. This will happen at refrigerated companies at times as well, but your chances of running one coast to coast as a solo driver is much better with refrigerated companies.

Thanks Brett. That is what my husband had thought might be the case. Looking at Shaffer on Glassdoor reviews, it sounds as if they are not good at getting you home on time. we are totally flexible with time but i there WERE a time we needed to get home, I would want a company that has a good reputation with doing that. If you know of any other too, please let me know. We are definitely researching everything. This is like a whole world in itself. Who knew??