"My Story: I First Went With [insert Company] Because..."

Please share your experience(s) of how you narrowed down and chose your first company out of all the trucking companies in the nation. If subsequent companies were joined, please add those stories in, as well.

Please refrain from offering advice, suggestions, assumptions, conclusions, etc. This is strictly a "please tell me your own story" request. Thank you!!!!

"My Story: I first went with [insert company] because... "

I went with Swift Transportation because..... They offered a great No Money Down tuition plan. They are a Mega Carrier with lots of freight and great newer Trucks(less break downs, in theory,equals more miles). Solo Status immediately after 200 hours with a Mentor (no forced teams). Good cpm , 0.37 to start. Affordable Health insurance plan options. Company matched 401k option. Stock purchase options. My home terminal is 100 miles north of my home town. And last but not least.......EVERYBODY on the internet said they SUCKED! I wanted to work for the Largest Truckload Carrier in the USA that accomplished that by sucking so bad!

I hope that helps you in your search. Good Luck

John the TRACTOR MAN

I'm probably going with Maverick because I want to go flat bed and I was able to find a guy on youtube named Dale Clay that has chronicled his entire journey, including his pay.

It just makes me feel more secure that I haven't forotten to ask any questions.

There are flat bed companies that pay more (and less), but Maverick seems to be very concerned with driver retention. One example, they moved a driver into a relatively new truck, but apparently the driver seat was wore out. They said, "We will replace it the next time you come through the terminal". Little stuff like that makes a difference to me.

Anyway, look up Dale Clay on Youtube if you are interested and are in their hiring area.

I still haven't pulled the trigger, but I'm 90% certain that's where I'm headed.

I'm leaning towards Jim Palmer, because, 1)they have company sponsored training , 2) Drive for them for one year and it's free, 3)Starting pay is 40 cpm , 4)They have new equipment, 5) Their rider policy. With that said I have a second, third, fourth and fifth choice.

I first went with West Side Transport because of their regional home weekly option in addition to their $900/week minimum pay commitment, excellent equipment that is impeccably maintained and their great csa scores.

I completed their orientation and company training to go solo. Loved it but after I went solo I began dating a another driver at West Side and we finally made the leap to teaming and transferred to Network Fleet (home every other weekend).

I love it at West Side and hope to remain with them for many years to come.

My ex at the time had a bestt friend who used to train at prime. He only left when he got married and needed more hometime

After I researched cr england roehl and swift as well as some others.... prime had the highest training pay and allowed pets on the truck. I never even heard of prime cause the ones I mentioned are the ones to advertise in NJ.

I have chosen Swift. I start training next week. I'm with tractor man, I read so much bs about them and watched horrible videos, I figured they could not be as successful as they are and be so horrible. So even though I live in Mississippi I was born and raised in Missouri so I will see for myself. And for all the negative haters I will be posting my journey and will video swift drivers doing the right thing.

Roehl was my first choice because of the dedicated accounts and hometime options.

I went with TransAm because of their hometime guarantee, the automatic transmissions, the "extras" (inverters, APUs , tv and DirectTV, and fridges standard in their trucks), and no freight lanes west of the Rockies.

It's been a rough go the first few months but things are starting to level out. I can't say I love my company but they are at least trying to make things better.

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.

APUs:

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.