Reefer Or Dry Van? I Must Choose In The Next Day Or Two

I have been extended offers from FFE (reefer) and Swift (dry van) and both want me in their academies before the end of this month, with FFE starting on Monday the 26th. I think either company will be just fine to start with as long as I am willing to prove myself.

After carefully comparing the two, I am now leaning toward FFE. I like the fact that the training program is practically free, and the pay rate is a little better than Swift, especially since I would not have any deductions for tuition. Their training academy videos also look good to me. I also like that FFE has a tough training program to weed out people that should not be in trucking or don't really want to be there. I spoke with their head trainer, a fellow Air Force vet and liked what I heard. FFE, like Swift, runs all lower 48 states. The equipment is probably about the same for new drivers in the first year, as newbies are more likely to get the older gear, but both have overall young fleets. I also like the fact that spending time in a reefer van is a lot cooler than a dry van , lol. Stevens may have nicer equipment, but I think I am going to rule them out because their training program costs are just not as attractive to me, and they are not returning my calls. Anyway, I have to make a decision in the next couple of days because I need an income quick. I don't think either company is a bad fit.

Honestly, if you're leaning on FFE then go with FFE. I've spoken to numerous FFE drivers and they were all young like me and they had a great personality and were happy.

For reefer you'll simply have to manage an additional fuel tank (for the reefer) and whenever you drop the trailer that reefer tank cannot be less than 3/4 full. It really is no problem. If you fuel the reefer tank every other fuel stop you'll only be fueling it for like 30 seconds and it'll be full again. You will also have to either sweep your trailer to make it look washed out or you'll have to find a washout. Washouts aren't a big deal either, simply find one on route before your pickup. Smartphones make finding a trailer washout easy.

For me, dry vans seem boring. That's why I chose to work for a refrigerated company. Besides, when its 100 degrees outside and your reefer is set to a frozen temp... Nothing beats that feeling of opening those trailer doors and having an ice cold blast of air hitting your face. Go with your gut man.

There are very few similarities between Swift and FFE and I'm a little concerned that you're making this decision without considering the proper things:

Stevens may have nicer equipment, but I think I am going to rule them out because their training program costs are just not as attractive to me, and they are not returning my calls.

Please do not choose to begin your career with a company because their training costs are a little less than someone else's. That is very short term thinking. This is your career - a new life - the heck with the training costs. You'll make those back 10 fold every year you're out there. It's insignificant.

And the fact that a recruiter isn't returning your calls doesn't have anything to do with anything. In fact, I just wrote an article about this exact topic because people keep making this mistake:

The Biggest Mistake New Drivers Make When Speaking With Recruiters

Here's the opening paragraph to show you what I mean:

Recruiters for truck driving schools and trucking companies are a valuable resource for anyone considering a career as a truck driver. But far too many new drivers equate the professionalism of the recruiter with the quality of the company or school, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Let’s take a look at what a recruiter’s job is, how they can be valuable to you as a potential driver or student, and what mistakes you should avoid when interpreting the conversations you’re having with recruiters

Now Swift is mainly a dry van company with 98% no-touch freight and a lot of drop and hooks. Swift also have a lot of divisions to choose from after a short time (flatbed, regional , dedicated, etc).

FFE is basically an LTL (less than a load) refrigerated company with a lot of short runs, many mult-stop deliveries, and mostly driver unloads.

Stevens is a refrigerated company with mostly no-touch freight and longer runs.

The job duties and lifestyle at these three companies will be completely different from each other. Very few similarities at all.

Their training academy videos also look good to me

I also like that FFE has a tough training program to weed out people that should not be in trucking or don't really want to be there

How is that going to affect your career? You're not running a trucking company that's hiring students from FFE. You're going to be a solo driver working for FFE. It has no bearing on you who they keep and who they get rid of.

I also like the fact that spending time in a reefer van is a lot cooler than a dry van, lol

I know you say that in a joking manner, but I'll bet my left arm that somehow it's playing into your decision or you wouldn't have mentioned it or even thought about it. Remember, you're not living in the trailer.

I think you can do well at any of these companies and I have no preference whatsoever who you choose. But you need to choose a company based on qualities that will actually affect your life and your career. Things like home time, pay, benefits, physical labor requirements, average weekly miles, equipment (truck, not trailer), type of freight, etc.

The cost of their training, the temperature inside the trailer, the quality of the drivers they keep, whether or not the recruiter calls you back, the quality of their training videos - none of that should have anything whatsoever to do with your decision. This is a life and career decision. Make it based on the factors that truly matter and make it based on what's best for you in the long term.

Brett, I have appreciated your advice from day one. I have learned so much. I know you are looking out for me. I will address your concerns one by one, and afterward, lets see if you are still concerned.

I really hate to air my situation in public, but I have a lot of respect for you and what you do for the people wanting to come into the industry, so I want you to understand where I am coming from. I am flat broke. My savings that I have been living on while taking care of my mother have all but run out, and there may be nothing to help from my mother's small estate which I was counting on thanks to a mountain of medical bills that are still coming in, and from a shyster lawyer that is basically screwing my brother and I out of what little we would be inheriting. I have not been able to get any up front money for a junior college or private school to give me additional job options with the company that I thought would be a nice fit for me, Con-Way. WIA may help, but not until October, and I cannot wait that long. The VA will help, but again, not upfront. I need a job, and I need one quickly, or I WILL be homeless and in a shelter or under a bridge within less than two months. I need to be employed, the sooner the better.

I live in a small town of 15000 in the boonies. I have been searching for work here for many months, applying for many jobs, but there just seems to be nothing here for me that I can earn a living wage doing, and anyway, I want out of this dead end to beat the band. As you know, trucking is my dream job. It has been what I want to do for many years. I at first was worried that I did not have a chance due to my hearing and blood pressure issues. I have been working as hard as I can to improve my health to the point that I could even pass the DOT physical by overcoming those issues. I am proud to say I did that after hard work along with enduring a lot of stress, yet I have managed to keep a positive attitude through it all knowing what I will achieve if successful. Therefore, after researching each one, I applied with all the companies that provide CDL training listed on this site that hire in my area, and even some that did not I came to find out.

You have stated time and time again that any of these companies are going to be what one makes of them, and I have heard that from the drivers I have talked to as well. Have the right attitude, be safe, earn the trust of your dispatchers and managers, and eventually after proving oneself, any of these companies can work out. Just stick it out for at least a year. I am taking that message to heart, as I believe that advice is sound.

You see, I don't really care that much whether I pull reefer or dry van. I would love flatbed too, and may eventually go to it if my health continues to improve. It is not about time off, or the best equipment either, as long as I can sleep comfortably in the cab. I don't care if it is occasionally more stops pulling reefer at one company as opposed to the other. It is the lifestyle that I want, and I can make good money at any of the companies being divorced, without rent or mortgage, car and all the other monthly expenses. As for the day to day frustrations, believe me, I can and will handle them. Failure to do so is not optional in my situation, because the alternative could be far worse.

I have heavily researched both Swift and FFE along with all the companies I applied too. I have read their websites basically from cover to cover. I have read repeatedly ALL info you have provided about all these companies, and really, there are few that I would not consider working for. Three companies have contacted me that I applied to. FFE, Swift and Stevens. FFE is not a bad fit for me at all. I have found by communicating with drivers with positive outlooks from both companies that the equipment is comparable, many of the issues faced with first year drivers are comparable, and the training academies are comparable, although FFE's may be more militaristic in nature than Swift, which as I stated I prefer. Personally, I don't want to train around people that come in aggressive, overly opinionated, jokesters, etc. I want to learn to be a good, safe driver, and I like what I have seen and heard about FFE in that regard. I also have found that on average, FFE drivers tend to average more miles per month than Swift, at least among the drivers I have communicated with. Not greatly more, but substantially enough more. As for Stevens, they just do not offer enough more to me than FFE. At Stevens, you get great equipment for less cpm pay, with little or no real advantage in miles. So really, when looking at the two from a training standpoint with tuition costs, FFE wins in my opinion. Additionally, I called and called Stevens, and they refuse to contact me, apparently not happy about the time I took care of my mother. I really don't have time for that monkey business in my situation, and I also don't have time to repeatedly contact the others at this point. Also, the recruiter with FFE did not try to blow smoke, which I appreciated. He was succinct.

As for FFE having far more loading and unloading, that is not according to the drivers I have communicated with. It may be a little more than Stevens, but not by much. Besides, I unloaded reefers for Walmart for nine years as a grocery associate. It does not bother me a bit, and you do get some extra pay when unloading with FFE. (Cont.)

Since it is the lifestyle that I want, and since these companies are basically comparable in what is important to me, and all have contracts to sign, it just makes since to go with FFE in my situation. Why should I pay far more for Stevens training with a longer financial commitment when they don't really offer me any more than FFE in what matters to me? Swift would actually be just fine, but again, the pay is a little better with FFE, and I would still have money being deducted from my weekly pay.

Hopefully, if you were able to get through all this long-winded post, perhaps you better understand why I made the choice. Thanks for looking out for my interests. BTW, I was mostly joking about the dry vs reefer , as that was based upon a comment Starcar made in another post. It would not have had a bearing on my choice, although I will not lie, I much prefer cold to hot. As mentioned, I wanted to drive for Con-Way. I may still after getting experience and fulfilling my contract, and they pull HOT dry vans, LOL.

Sounds good. I just wanted to make sure you understood what factors will actually affect your life and career and what ones will not.

I called and called Stevens, and they refuse to contact me, apparently not happy about the time I took care of my mother.

That's not a good assumption to make at all. There's no way of knowing why they're not contacting you. This happens to be the busiest hiring month of the year for most companies and their recruiters are certainly overwhelmed right now. FFE has a very attentive recruiter on your case so they're more responsive. But don't make assumptions like that about Stevens. There's no way to know why they're not calling.

As far as training around knuckleheads, don't forget it's only for like a couple of weeks. It makes no difference in the grand scheme of things. One thing to consider is what will they do if you struggle a bit. Someone just asked me the other day what they should do because they came out of school, went to Schneider, took a road test on day one and got promptly put on a bus back home. Schneider has the shortest training period on the road that I know of and they don't really want to work with drivers. Even straight out of school they want the people who are pretty solid at everything and they send the rest home. Now I know from students reporting back that Swift is very tolerant and patient with drivers. They'll work with you and give you the time you need to pick up on things. You're thinking the more strict environment at FFE is an advantage, but it may also mean they're far less tolerant. If it takes you even a few more days to pick up on something than the other drivers, will they boot you to the curb? Personally, I don't know with FFE. I haven't heard. But it's something to consider and ask them about.

But I can totally appreciate your situation. I've been broke plenty of times over the years. And I mean flat broke. So you have to get rolling quickly and I understand that. But I still wanted to make sure you're making wise decisions based on factors that will affect your life and career out there. You're going to do great no matter where you go. So it's just a matter of doing the best you can to find the right fit. You're very flexible so it won't make much of a difference for you. For others it may so it's good to let people know what's important and what isn't when choosing a truck driving job.

That's not a good assumption to make at all. There's no way of knowing why they're not contacting you. This happens to be the busiest hiring month of the year for most companies and their recruiters are certainly overwhelmed right now. FFE has a very attentive recruiter on your case so they're more responsive. But don't make assumptions like that about Stevens. There's no way to know why they're not calling.

I am not just completely assuming. My Stevens recruiter told me that her company was concerned about my employment gap, and I asked her what I needed to do on my end. I could furnish written attestations. She told me that she would do what she could to help me, that she would need to talk to others about this problem within her company about this. She asked that I call back later that day and gave me a time to call. I called at the exact time she specified and got her voice mail. No problem, I just left a message and politely asked that my call be returned. It was never returned, and I called for several days after that each day, still leaving polite messages. Nothing.

Now you are right that I can't be certain about why this recruiter is failing to return my calls. I don't even blame Stevens for the problem. I have actually talked to several of their drivers, both by email and in person at the truck stop as one of my posts reflected. I am sure I could be happy driving for them. However, I held up my end, and for whatever reason this recruiter failed to hold up hers. I am a generally patient person that makes judgements upon individuals, and upon their word, but as I said, I just don't have time right now to wait for who knows how long to receive a call back given my circumstances when another company that I am likely to be just as happy with did not fail in the same regard. I hope this makes sense.

As far as training around knuckleheads, don't forget it's only for like a couple of weeks. It makes no difference in the grand scheme of things.

I will grant that you are making a strong point here. I should not worry about this. I have been advised though that the FFE training program is really a good one per the drivers I have communicated with that have been through it.

But I can totally appreciate your situation. I've been broke plenty of times over the years. And I mean flat broke. So you have to get rolling quickly and I understand that. But I still wanted to make sure you're making wise decisions based on factors that will affect your life and career out there. You're going to do great no matter where you go. So it's just a matter of doing the best you can to find the right fit. You're very flexible so it won't make much of a difference for you. For others it may so it's good to let people know what's important and what isn't when choosing a truck driving job.

Thanks, Brett. I am very flexible. I truly believe that after what I have learned from drivers that have positive outlooks for each company I applied to, I could be generally happy at any of them. Give me a truck that will keep me comfortable when sleeping, does not constantly break down, a reasonable starting .cpm and mileage given that I am new, three or four days off every five or six weeks, and I am willing to do what is necessary to make my company happy.