Confused, Need Advice
Topic 15436 | Page 1
Call 866-532-0431, Swift's main recruiting number. Tell them what's going on. Give them the name of the recruiter who doesn't know how to follow up.
BTW, Swift is nationwide, so "everyone" is in the middle of their territory. Good luck, keep us posted.
Here's contact info for my recruiter:
Daniel Alexander
Driver Recruiter
Swift Transportation
Direct Phone: 773-321-6562
Email: daniel.alexander@classarecruitinginc.com
Did you ask them at Roehl about how often you'll get home? They wouldn't hire from an area if they couldn't get you home on whatever schedule they've set for the fleet you'll be in. Roehl has some of the best home time options of any company out there but I don't know if those only apply to certain areas of the country or not. I would speak with Roehl about it and see what they say but I would also speak with Swift and find out the options they have for you.
Don't rush the process. Give yourself a little time to speak with a few companies so you can figure out which one suits you best.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Here is another number to call. Contact Lizanne Luke Driver Recruiter 623 907 7283 or email Lizanne_Luke@swifttrans.com Lizanne comunicates very well. You can leave her a message or send email and she will respond. Best of luck to you. Swift is a great place to start.
Swifttrans:
Swift Transportation began operations in 1966 transporting imported steel through the ports of Los Angeles to Arizona and Arizona cotton for export back through to Southern California.
Jerry Moyes, founder, began with the same entrepreneurial, can-do spirit that is one of Swift’s core values today.
Today, Swift generates over $4 billion in revenue and operates nearly 18,000 trucks.
I saw a list of Roehls terminals somewhere. Take it with a grain of salt:
Bensalem, PA Conley, GA Darlington, SC Dayton, OH De Forest, WI E St Louis, IL Fontana, CA Gary, IN Grand Prairie, TX Hinckley, OH Houston, TX Iron Mountain, MI Jacksonville, FL Kansas City, MO Marshfield, WI Mechanicsburg, PA Memphis, TN Neenah, WI N Las Vegas, NV Oak Creek, WI Phoenix, AZ Prentice, WI Richmond, VA St Paul Park, MN Schofield, WI Sharonville, OH Springfield, MA
Having posted that, I will say that everyone is right. Call the company and ask. Research, research, research! And ask questions. Not just here, but to the companies. This is a big decision and you should have as much information as possible before making it. You will be spending the next year or more with whatever company you choose, so choose wisely. Keep in mind that whatever company you choose no company is perfect. They all have their problems. I chose Prime for a lot of reasons; pet policy, training and CPM not least of them. But you have to decide what is best for you. If you need home time, find the company that best suits your needs. And don't just listen to the recruiters, read everything you can about them on here. I have found this site to be the best for new drivers. There is a TON of fair and (for the most part) unbiased information here. And definitely use the training/study tools here. High Road Training Program is, hands down, the best CDL study course I have found. And I looked at a ton of them.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.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.
LadyLanes, I've never considered proximity to a terminal to be of any value in the decision making process. I've never lived near my home terminals. The location of a terminal isn't what helps them get you home. It is the destinations of the freight they are moving.
Right now my home terminal is Gulfport, Mississippi. I live in Texas. I am never even near Gulfport unless I request to go there for service on my truck. I am constantly on the move, I move where the freight takes me. When I need to be home, I put in a request and they get me a load of freight that gets me within a few hundred miles of my house. Then I'll deliver it and go home - it's that simple. Don't get all tangled up about terminal locations.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
LadyLanes, I've never considered proximity to a terminal to be of any value in the decision making process. I've never lived near my home terminals. The location of a terminal isn't what helps them get you home. It is the destinations of the freight they are moving.
Right now my home terminal is Gulfport, Mississippi. I live in Texas. I am never even near Gulfport unless I request to go there for service on my truck. I am constantly on the move, I move where the freight takes me. When I need to be home, I put in a request and they get me a load of freight that gets me within a few hundred miles of my house. Then I'll deliver it and go home - it's that simple. Don't get all tangled up about terminal locations.
Great. It's good to know that the terminals and drop yards won't effect my home time. However, I do find it odd that I can't find any info on Roehl's flatbed division on the west coast. Does anyone know anything about this? To be honest, I am afraid to ask the recruiter about it because I've heard that they are just going to lie to me anyway. So if anyone on Trucking Truth has any info, it would be absolutely golden.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
LadyLanes, I've never considered proximity to a terminal to be of any value in the decision making process. I've never lived near my home terminals. The location of a terminal isn't what helps them get you home. It is the destinations of the freight they are moving.
Right now my home terminal is Gulfport, Mississippi. I live in Texas. I am never even near Gulfport unless I request to go there for service on my truck. I am constantly on the move, I move where the freight takes me. When I need to be home, I put in a request and they get me a load of freight that gets me within a few hundred miles of my house. Then I'll deliver it and go home - it's that simple. Don't get all tangled up about terminal locations.
Great. It's good to know that the terminals and drop yards won't effect my home time. However, I do find it odd that I can't find any info on Roehl's flatbed division on the west coast. Does anyone know anything about this? To be honest, I am afraid to ask the recruiter about it because I've heard that they are just going to lie to me anyway. So if anyone on Trucking Truth has any info, it would be absolutely golden.
Oh, and I should also add that I don't want to completely rule out Roehl before I get the info I am looking for (and only if it doesn't suite my needs in a company). But I just don't know where to find this info. I am hoping someone here knows something about Roehl's fat bed division on the west coast. If not, I will follow up with the suggestions above about Swift.
Thank you Ironmike and Errol V.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
The recruiter at Roehl is the one to speak with about specifics like that. They'll be able to tell you about home time, pay, benefits, company policies, and any details you'd want to know. Just keep in mind that if they refuse to put something in writing then you can't count on it. And by "in writing" that can mean anywhere - their website, email, a written letter - doesn't matter. If you see it in writing you can probably count on it. If not then you can at least hope for it.
We have a ton of information on Roehl but it isn't specifically about their west coast flatbed operations:
Roehl Company-Sponsored Training Program Review
Roehl Transport Company Review
I've also written an article that will help you understand how to get the right information from the right people when you're evaluating a company:
Choosing A Truck Driving Job Part VIII: Talking With The Right People
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
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.
Oh, and while we're on the subject, here is a section in our Truck Driver's Career Guide about speaking with company recruiters:
How should I deal with company recruiters?
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I applied to several truck companies and the ones that got back to me were Swift, Prime, and Roehl. My first choice was Swift but I couldn't get in touch with my recruiter because every time I called him, I was sent to his voicemail which was full and couldn't leave a message. When I tried to email, he responded by saying that I should give him a call. Needless to say, I decided to go to Roehl and have a start date for company sponsored CDL training next month in Phoenix, Arizona for their flatbed division. However, I am now realizing that I might have a problem...
Despite countless research, I have found very little information about Roehl's flatbed division, especially on the west coast. It seems that most of their fleets operate on the east coast and in the south. The closest terminal to me is in Phoenix, AZ and I live in Reno, NV. I also have never seen a Roehl truck out this way, to my knowledge. On the other hand, Swift has a drop yard (or a terminal, can't remember which) in Sparks and I see Swift trucks out this way ALL the TIME. Now that I am thinking about it, I am worried about how I will able to be successful with Roehl when I clearly do not live within the areas that the company operates. I am afraid that I will not be able to come home for several months at a time, OR that I will not get much freight at all. Based on my research, it seems that Swift would be the better option for me because I live right in the middle of the states in which they operate and they have a drop yard very close to where I live.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, I couldn't get in touch with my recruiter at Swift and I'm afraid that I was too quick to choose Roehl. Did I make a mistake? Someone please help!!! Not sure if I made a bad decision or not. Also, I can't find ANY info on Roehl's flatbed division on the west coast.
One of my deciding factors in choosing Roehl was they pay for training, which is nice but not necessary, and the fact that I couldn't get in touch with my Swift recruiter. Even if I did decide to try to follow up with Swift again, I'm sure they have thrown out my application at this point because I eventually just stopped trying to call the recruiter. What should I do here...? Is it a good idea to stick it out with Roehl or try again with Swift, if that is even possible at this point?
Thanks everyone!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
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.