Looking For Truths

ride

" You need to learn now that it's not the company it is the driver. A lot of people are quick to complain about anything. How do you know if they reject a lot of loads, won't run certain areas, want to be home every week.

I am with Swift and people make the same complaints, yet I am doing real well. If you are willing to work you will do good no matter what the company is."

Devan,

I had those thoughts too; that people lie. I've been looking at several companies and trying hard to do the proper research. While a few of them look really good to me, the sliding pay scale they use scares me. I've narrowed my choices down to Roehl and Swift. They have both offered me a solo position. And of course, the cpm matters but my wife suggests a 2 cpm difference should not matter as much as the companies ability to keep me rolling and I agree with her.

My other issue is that the recruiter is telling me I will be out four weeks with a trainer with Swift (initially) but when they sent me the e-mail stated six weeks. Roehl recruiter 11-15 days with a trainer before I get my truck assigned and their e-mail confirmed the same as the recruiter.

Swift said they pay X amount cpm but I read on here they pay sliding scale. Roehl wants a signed contract and if I don't drive 75K miles, I pay thousands back to them. If they don't give me the miles to support my family, I would have to move on. I would not be able to live on $300.00/week with bills at home and food on the road. Know what I mean? And I'm sure that $300.00/week would not be every week but that's just not enough to be away from home 24/7 for that little amount.

At this point, I just have to decide between the two companies and I'm absolutely right down the middle as to which way to go.

H.

With Swift it should only take about 4 weeks to complete the training. I went through the training and it went by quick. Another thing is during training you will barely make anything, average of 350 a week after taxes during this time. Once you go solo you will average around 500 or more a week after taxes. You are in for a rough year, but if your wife is ready for the sacrifice you can make it work. Location is also key. If you live by a terminal you could drive locally for swift and be home every night. It starts off not that good but as you get better the money gets better.

I am in a different boat from you, I am single, 21 years old, no kids, and just responsible for college debt/cellphone so it is not as hard for me to get by. In fact I used to only make 350 every two weeks at my old job. So this money I make now is definitely improving my life. Good luck and be ready to make a lot of sacrifices.

Devan, my wife's a nurse. She makes double what I made at the job I left to go to CDL training. She has been covering all the expenses, birthdays, and extra things we wanted at home while I've been off. When I said I needed to be able to support the family, I meant that we want my income to cover the bills and she was going to bank her income for our future home. It is just me and her and our two babies (Yorkies) at home. We would always have her income to supplement but if I'm going to be on the road 24/7, I want the big wheels rolling on down the highway and not sitting still unless I'm holding her. Know what I mean? It has to be worth being away from my wife to make this job feasible for me. It sounds like it certainly can be, as long as I put in the effort to keep dispatch sending me for loads.

H

Getting home every two weeks is certainly possible with some companies. That said, you're not going to make the money doing that. I usually stay out 4 to 6 weeks between home times. Sometimes, I'll even stay out longer if I have a certain date I want to be home for do as to make certain I get there when I need to and have the money banked for it.

When you are headed home, you are being rooted too a specific area and sometimes have to wait a little longer for runs that head you in the right direction. When you are coming back from home time, it takes a bit to get back into the groove, especially if you live in an area where your company has little freight.

As your point about requiring 34 hour resets, no you don't need them if you manage your time in a way that allows you to run on recaps.

My cousin is home every weekend, (for a reset) pulling in between $700 & $900 new, each week. That is on par with people being out several weeks at a time. The whole "you get more money by being out for months," is innacurate at best. She busts her ass, but she gets her miles.

Have you looked into the Roehl Home Time Plus options? Or are you not in one of those areas?

You will not have to worry about a paycheck with either company, from what I see on here, and talking with other drivers.

You will get made fun of more at Swift, but that is another topic all together.

My cousin is home every weekend, (for a reset) pulling in between $700 & $900 new, each week. That is on par with people being out several weeks at a time. The whole "you get more money by being out for months," is innacurate at best. She busts her ass, but she gets her miles.

Have you looked into the Roehl Home Time Plus options? Or are you not in one of those areas?

You will not have to worry about a paycheck with either company, from what I see on here, and talking with other drivers.

You will get made fun of more at Swift, but that is another topic all together.

Who does your cousin work for and how long has she been trucking? I'm just starting out.

The whole "you get more money by being out for months," is innacurate at best. She busts her ass, but she gets her miles.

I was going to comment on this and I agree. You don't have to be out for 3 - 6 weeks at a time to make good money. Ask any OTR driver and they'll tell you they're normally sitting for a good portion of at least 1 - 3 days per week. For years I ran OTR and routinely had a day or two to spare so I could run around and have some fun.

I also made the most money I ever made running regional where I was home every weekend, but to be fair it was the Dollar Tree account where I was unloading my own freight. It was a gruelling job that I wouldn't recommend to anyone, really. But you can do very well getting home on weekends or every other weekend. I believe TMC Transport gets most of their drivers home on the weekends and I guarantee you they're making really good money. A lot of companies are in the same boat but that was just the first that came to mind.

I believe Errol and G-Town are also home regularly on dedicated accounts and they're making really good money also.

Getting home every two weeks is certainly possible with some companies. That said, you're not going to make the money doing that. I usually stay out 4 to 6 weeks between home times. Sometimes, I'll even stay out longer if I have a certain date I want to be home for do as to make certain I get there when I need to and have the money banked for it.

When you are headed home, you are being rooted too a specific area and sometimes have to wait a little longer for runs that head you in the right direction. When you are coming back from home time, it takes a bit to get back into the groove, especially if you live in an area where your company has little freight.

As your point about requiring 34 hour resets, no you don't need them if you manage your time in a way that allows you to run on recaps.

What's recaps?

She drives flatbed for Gypsum Express.

Recaps are driving available hours each day, after your 70hr is reached. Everyday, you will get a certain number of hours back to drive, to hit your 70. A reset, is a 34 hour "break" to reset your 70 hour clock.

What's recaps?

Study the logbook section on this site

Had to hop on here a sec give my 2 cents. Those that are saying you need to be out weeks at a time to make any money are not completely accurate. I'm home every weekend, Friday afternoon to Monday morning occasionally and make decent money. Granted it's not big money, but for a rookie it's not bad. Most flatbed companies offer weekend home time as our customers usually operate in normal business hours. Of course staying out more will help those miles add up but it's not a requirement to make a decent living.

Recaps are driving available hours each day, after your 70hr is reached. Everyday, you will get a certain number of hours back to drive, to hit your 70. A reset, is a 34 hour "break" to reset your 70 hour clock.

To add a little, 70 hours is how long you can run in a period of 8 consecutive days. You get "hours back to drive" each day because the furthest back day in your 8 day period falls off as the new day arrives. That day falling off and giving you back those hours is your recap. If you manage your time well and your loads allow for it, you can use it as a tool to help you get as much as possible from each day you are working as a driver.

If you were maxed out at 70 hours in your past 8 days and had driven 9 hours on the furthest day back in that 8 day period, when midnight hits that day would be 9 days back. Since it isn't within that 8 day range anymore, you can subtract its 9 hours from your 8 day total. We said you were maxed at 70 so taking that 9 from it leaves you with 61 hours run in the past 8 days.

And as Tractor Man said, go check out the Logbook section of The High Road Training Program.