Thinking About Leaving Schneider

Some loads you just have to babysit more than others. Really it's just part of flat bedding. More often than not, when you get a load that should be in a dry van , it's because of the receivers unloading equipment/capabilities. Goodluck to ya bro, in whatever you decide to do.

Jamie, it's hard to advise you because you contradict yourself sometimes and you don't seem to have a clear vision of what you want.

When you first joined this local account you said it was because you wanted to be home with your family more often. Now you're saying you want to return to OTR and that the time away from home wasn't a problem.

You said you would make double what you were making running OTR, and we called BS on that. Then you rescinded that statement but said you would make way more on this local account than you did OTR. Now you want to return to OTR where apparently you made less money and had less home time with your family? So you want to make less and be home less often?

You've spent a lot of time talking about how difficult certain items are to strap down and that you don't want to take the risk of something falling off the truck. But then you say that's not the reason you want to change jobs; that you simply want to return to OTR. You have the option of OTR with Schneider running dry van or tanker, and you say tanker sounds interesting too, but you're not sure if you want to do that.

Are you after the best pay?

Do you want to be home more often or not?

Do you like pulling a flatbed, but only if the loads are easy to secure?

You're all over the place. You clearly don't know what you want. I'm not sure how we can help you when you have no clear vision of what you're looking for.

Having left Schneider more than two years ago, I offer this:

1. I left because I could make the same money while getting home more often. At the time I was getting home twice a month. If I would’ve had to take a pay cut to get home more OR if I’d have had to stay gone more, I would’ve stayed with Schneider. As much as I loved Schneider and would go back if needed, I made the right decision.

2. Sometimes the grass is greener because of a septic issue. No matter where you go, there will be differences from Schneider. If you like a structured, corporate environment, I doubt most trucking companies do that as well as Schneider.

You’ll likely make the right decision. It may take some time and seek advice from those who DON’T stand to profit from your decision.

Good luck!

"Sometimes the grass is greener because of a septic issue."

Lol, that's great. :)

Jaime, I’m late to this party, but I’m going to share my thoughts anyway. You have indicated that you prefer flatbedding, and have no desire to pull dry vans. Keep doing what you enjoy. You’ve done what all new drivers are asked, and that is to remain with your first company for at least a year. This of course doesn’t give you carte blanche to begin job-hopping, but I think you’ve proven that that’s not going to happen anyway. There are excellent companies out there, TMC, Maverick, Melton, and Prime, just to name a few, who also have great resources similar to Schneider that offer the flatbedding lifestyle you appear to seek. I’m pretty sure that if you’re driving a skateboard down the highway and a tanker passes by, you’re not going to look wistfully at it and regret not going that route. Either way best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Jaime you have expressed some interest in tanks. Ya’ll have a tanker division, have you talked to anyone there?? What specifically is intetesting to you?

I’m around alot of your tanker drivers. Ya’ll pull chemicals, not food grade. I know you guys as well as all the other tanker companies have much more tanker freight that is regionalized. The long haul loads are there, but the exception rather than the rule. So wanting OTR with long miles is not going to be there. Mostly runs are 600-900 at best. Chemicals still pays decent in comparison to dry van and regular flatbed. We do tend to get alot of empty miles also just because of availabity of tank washes. It isn’t for everyone. It’s kind of like flatbedding. You either love it or hate it. I love it, but that is just my personal choice.