Question For The North East Drivers, And G-town

The companies that have training programs that will hire me out of the Falls, have all said they have NE regional , and dedicated accounts, with minimal or no NY NY forced dispatch.

I want to put in a good amount of otr time before putting in for one of these positions. Prime, and Swift seem to have the most opportunities for these routes. Which is understandable, considering their size.

As far as Prime goes, my wife refuses to let me be gone that long (psd +tnt). Wil-Trans said they have a lot of NE freight available. Do the NE Primates here see them very often?

G-town, is there a specific route that covers the Walmart / Sam's Club in Niagara Falls? Because that would be a perfect fit, considering my house is only a 10 minute drive to there. Plus that Walmart is truck friendly. I regularly see Swift, and other companies parked there.

I want to get at least a good 6 months OTR in, first, but really want something eventually that will get me home more than the standard 1 day for 7 out. I don't want a daily home time route, though. I know that Niagara Falls is not the most ideal city to hire from, but I have my enhanced license, so can do Canada runs, too.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

PSD:

Prime Student Driver

Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.

The following is from Prime's website:

Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.

Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days

• Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
• Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
• Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).

On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles

• Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
• Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
• Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.

TNT:

Trainer-N-Trainee

Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.

The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.

The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Danielsahn wrote:

G-town, is there a specific route that covers the Walmart / Sam's Club in Niagara Falls? Because that would be a perfect fit, considering my house is only a 10 minute drive to there. Plus that Walmart is truck friendly. I regularly see Swift, and other companies parked there.

The two DCs I run store deliveries for, Gordon PA & Johnstown NY do not go that far west. Based on what I know, Bedford PA is the closest Full Grocery DC to Niagara Falls. Bedford is a Schneider National Account. Here is my suggestion, if you see a Swiftie or a Pumpkin there pulling a WM Wagon, ask the driver what DC dispatched them. You could also call Schneider, but I doubt a recruiter would know if Bedford services the Supercenter and Sam's in the Falls area.

Danielsahn also wrote:

but really want something eventually that will get me home more than the standard 1 day for 7 out

Swift wants 5.5 - 6 days per week from their Walmart Dedicated drivers, roughly 1 day off in a 7 day week. Schneider might be different. I know there a couple of drivers who ran surge out of the Bedford DC (Steve?), maybe they can shed some light on this.

I run northeast regional although I've branched out slightly farther from time to time most northeast regional jobs guarantee you at least your 34 hour reset home with opportunities to do your 10's at home during the week when the loads get you close to home I can't answer any prime or swift jobs only thing I can tell ya about them is I pass a lot of them as they seem to be governed on the low side

Ps northeast regional is still considered otr experience I probably average as much or more miles than the majority of otr drivers

I'm based out of exit 28 on thruway pretty central for ne. Good luck friend

Swift wants 5.5 - 6 days per week from their Walmart Dedicated drivers, roughly 1 day off in a 7 day week.

Good to know. So they are basically home for a reset, each week? My wife accepts that I will be gone 3+ weeks at the beginning, to earn my stripes. She hopes no more than 6. She eventually wants me home at least every other week.

I will admit though, that flatbed is still my number one choice, but reefer is a close 2nd, followed by dry van. No tankers for this guy.

Swift wants 5.5 - 6 days per week from their Walmart Dedicated drivers, roughly 1 day off in a 7 day week.

Good to know. So they are basically home for a reset, each week? My wife accepts that I will be gone 3+ weeks at the beginning, to earn my stripes. She hopes no more than 6. She eventually wants me home at least every other week.

I will admit though, that flatbed is still my number one choice, but reefer is a close 2nd, followed by dry van. No tankers for this guy.

^^^^^^ Yes ^^^^^^ In 5.5 - 6 ,the 70 hour on-duty clock is "net, not much left". So the 34 hour reset is required SOP to replenish available hours.

Jeremy B.

Do you drive for Steven's? I like the idea of driving all regions, and the mountain requirements with a trainer.

No im with a small 50 truck business in fultonville ny ive ran heavy pa and mass but after proving myself i asked for longer runs now i go to chicago 2 times a week or florida

Sounds like a good gig. I asked, because you have a Stevens truck as your avatar, lol.

So far, I have only spoken with Wil-Trans , Swift, Roehl, Celedon, and TMC. While Roehl, and TMC hire out of my area, they do not hire into their cdl programs, from my area. This part still confuses me. With Celedon, Teaming is part of their new hire requirement, and I do not think that teaming is my cup of tea.

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.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Yea i just picked the first pic that came up when i opened account i guess i should get a pic of myself and my truck one of these days i am not ever gonna knock any company but id rather stick with someone who is at least governed for 70 many big companies are not

...... I am not ever gonna knock any company but id rather stick with someone who is at least governed for 70 many big companies are not

Honestly, I don't think I will mind being governed. I might change my tune, once i get out there, but I don't see it as a bad thing, for safety reasons, and fuel savings. But I can also see the need for extra speed to pass a 58mph truck, and being governed at 62mph would make for a rather slow passing.

Swift has the slowest trucks, I think, of my 3 top choices.