Hired Through School
Topic 194 | Page 1
You seem to have pick the one industry that has the guarantee of having no guarantees. With very few exceptions almost all new drivers go OTR. Weather it is regional or not. For one your training for the most part will be at the least two to three weeks away from home. If your really lucky you might get a dedicated route straight out the door as a new driver and bypass all the other drivers that are waiting to that same position.
Not to mention you might not always get home when you want to be. Bad weather...slow to load/unload shippers/receivers....traffic...canceled loads...truck break downs and and any of the other thousand reasons we don't get home when we are supposed to.
Like I said you might get lucky but be prepared to have to work yourself into a position to get a dedicated route. Could take a few days or a few months.
Most dedicated routes go to drivers that have proven themselves to be safe drivers with great on time delivery. This takes time to build up a good reputation.
So you may have to go over the road at first. Not going to lie to ya. It has happened that new drivers have gotten exactly what you are wanting out of your first driving job but for the other 4 million plus CDL holders out here it can take months and sometimes years ,yes years ,to get what you are looking for.
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.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Dedicated Route:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
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.
Over The Road:
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.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
Yeah, many companies will require you to run OTR for at least a few months before letting you run regional or dedicated positions to get home on weekends, but interestingly enough you hit on two companies that I know for a fact have some options for getting home on weekends straight out of school - TMC and Schneider. The other companies are definitely worth looking into. Don't rule them out. They'll be able to tell you what to expect when it comes to home time.
But I know Schneider has a ton of regional and dedicated opportunities that can get you home on weekends. A lot will depend on where you live and what opportunities are available in that area.
TMC is a flatbed company - a very good one at that - and I know they get most of their drivers home on the weekends, and that includes students. Both companies are worth a very close look.
I know Swift also has a lot of regional and dedicated runs but I don't know if they offer them to people straight out of school, and I'm sure it will also depend on where you live.
I don't know enough about Hogan or Covenant to really have an opinion. You'll have to find out from them directly.
But from the list of companies the school mentioned, I think you're in a position where it's definitely possible. The worst thing you might come across is winding up with a company that makes you put in a few months OTR before you get a position that gets you home more often. But from the sound of things, I'm almost certain you can make it happen straight out of school with at least one of those companies.
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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I would like to hear anyone's opinion on this but I am very interested in bretts opinion. My school that I have pretty much decided on says they will place me with a school either Hogan, TMC, Covenant, Schneider, Stevens, or swift. My question is when they place me will I have an idea of what kind of routes ill be driving - dedicated, regional , or otr? The reason being, I have a family and can only commit to being a regional driver that will be home weekends. Otr would not be possible for me.
Thanks jordan
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.