Looking For Midwest Carriers

I've been at West Side Transport for over 4 years now. They treat me very well. I'm regional home weekly and live in Kentucky. I'm dispatched out of Cedar Rapids, IA.

That said, since you live in Chicago, be careful they don't try to get you to run somewhat local if that's not what you want. They offer regional home weekly and OTR which is home every other weekend, as well as home daily in some areas and what they call Flex (in Chicago), which is home a night or 2 during the api. (For your 10 only) and home on weekends. Also, complaints you see online are generally from drivers dispatched out of the Glenwood terminal , but idk why really because I'm dispatched out of Iowa and don't have anything to do with Glenwood staff. We have excellent insurance, but it's expensive.. the older you are the higher it is. Chicago area drivers are generally expected to keep their trucks at Glenwood.

If you want a company that treats you very well, West Side does but I have to say, larger carriers will probably give you insurance at a lower cost and may have a better holiday pay package. You earn a paid holiday upon your first anniversary then one additional holiday each year thereafter. If you want to be home for holidays, theyll absolutely let you, but until you've been there 5 years, some will be unpaid. They allow pets and riders, and we have nice trucks, providing it's not a Chicago day cab.. they slip seat all day cab's and the drivers dont show those trucks much love lol. Vacation is 1 week per year after your 1st anniversary, you'll have 5 days available and after 5 years you get 2 weeks per year. If you want to stay out longer, you can, but have to tell them in advance so they can have you planned. They automatically route you home for hometime so no need to request it. If you have an appointment or special situation where you want time off, they'll make it happen.

All the 2019 and newer trucks have refrigerator built in, and all have an apu. The volvos have built in microwaves. They have very few manuals, mostly autoshift, and will not be buying any more manuals so they say. All sleeper trucks are double bunk condos.

We don't run West much, Colorado occasionally, Arizona and Utah rarely. Mostly MidWest with some eastern (both north and south) and mid south runs.

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.

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.

Day Cab:

A tractor which does not have a sleeper berth attached to it. Normally used for local routes where drivers go home every night.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.