Faciliy Locations

Im reading different companies and locations and drop off locations. where do i find where i would be deivering to? i either would like to go cross country east to west..mass to cali or mass to the south, when i went on the road with my kids father he did mass to illinois or ohio most of the time and i hated that run. is there a way to pick where i want to deliver?

Tammy, more than likely you will be going wherever the company dispatches you. Most rookie jobs are OTR (over the road) covering all the lower 48 states. That is how most of us get started.

Once you've proven yourself capable and dependable by being safe and on time consistently you can start having a conversation with your dispatcher or your terminal manager about other jobs they have available. Most of these companies have dedicated or regional jobs available, but they want to see you prove yourself reliable first.

I run a flatbed truck for Knight transportation. Most folks don't even realize Knight offers flatbed, but they do. It is a dedicated account where we only haul product for a company called "Hydro." Every load is aluminum products from their plants going to their customers, or sometimes raw materials going to their plants. They have 25 plants in the U.S.A. so I still cover a lot of area, but I don't just go to one or two specific places. There are all kinds of dedicated accounts available. Someone in our forum was just asking about a Kraft account, and we have seen people doing Georgia Pacific accounts. There are many other dedicated accounts available.

I think it doubtful you will find something that only runs from Massachusetts to California. That is pretty specialized, but I have heard of things like that. When I come across things like that it is usually an Owner/Operator who has taken something like that on for some reason. Those type loads are few and far between.

Part of the thrill of this job for me is the sense of adventure it brings to my life. I love the unpredictable. I love being surprised each day with where my dispatcher is sending me. One day it will be Miami, FL, another may be De Smet, SD. I take them all with a grin and enjoy the journey. That is what makes it enjoyable for me. It has never been about the destination, it's always the journey that keeps me engaged.

I agree! I just dont want to be doing the top states in the winter. I wouldnt mind a variety but i hated driving to just cold states in the winter

Tammy, more than likely you will be going wherever the company dispatches you. Most rookie jobs are OTR (over the road) covering all the lower 48 states. That is how most of us get started.

Once you've proven yourself capable and dependable by being safe and on time consistently you can start having a conversation with your dispatcher or your terminal manager about other jobs they have available. Most of these companies have dedicated or regional jobs available, but they want to see you prove yourself reliable first.

I run a flatbed truck for Knight transportation. Most folks don't even realize Knight offers flatbed, but they do. It is a dedicated account where we only haul product for a company called "Hydro." Every load is aluminum products from their plants going to their customers, or sometimes raw materials going to their plants. They have 25 plants in the U.S.A. so I still cover a lot of area, but I don't just go to one or two specific places. There are all kinds of dedicated accounts available. Someone in our forum was just asking about a Kraft account, and we have seen people doing Georgia Pacific accounts. There are many other dedicated accounts available.

I think it doubtful you will find something that only runs from Massachusetts to California. That is pretty specialized, but I have heard of things like that. When I come across things like that it is usually an Owner/Operator who has taken something like that on for some reason. Those type loads are few and far between.

Part of the thrill of this job for me is the sense of adventure it brings to my life. I love the unpredictable. I love being surprised each day with where my dispatcher is sending me. One day it will be Miami, FL, another may be De Smet, SD. I take them all with a grin and enjoy the journey. That is what makes it enjoyable for me. It has never been about the destination, it's always the journey that keeps me engaged.

Learn first before you make statements on where you want to drive, and in what weather.

Atlanta is nice and warm with no snow, but I'll take driving around Green Bay in February over Atlanta in any month. Phoenix is nice and warm, too. But I'd prefer OKC in July over Phoenix from May through September.

Riding is much different than being the driver, in charge of everything that happens.

Tammy, it is real easy to overthink this stuff. There would be no reason for a company to keep you in the north. We go all over the place. If you've noticed my avatar you'll see I'm folding my tarps in a snow storm. That photo was taken by my daughter who was riding with me at the time. We were in a snow storm in upstate New York. I wanted out of there. The weather was terrible. Guess what we got? We got our next dispatch from upstate New York to South Texas. Just go with the flow and enjoy the journey. You are going to find that there are basically two types of truckers out here. There are the ones who are "living the dream," and the ones who are "wanting to scream." You will make the choice of which camp you will be in. Learn to roll with the punches and enjoy the journey.

I actually enjoy driving in the snow and winter weather. But I have never been stuck in that area. I go up North often, but I also go South a lot. There is a lot of variety to this job. Freight goes everywhere.

I know thats why i dont want to drive in snow

Learn first before you make statements on where you want to drive, and in what weather.

Atlanta is nice and warm with no snow, but I'll take driving around Green Bay in February over Atlanta in any month. Phoenix is nice and warm, too. But I'd prefer OKC in July over Phoenix from May through September.

Riding is much different than being the driver, in charge of everything that happens.

I don't know about the reefer or dryvan divisions but Prime flatbed has a Texas regional that I would have been able to do right out of TNT training. It is Texas, of course, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, basically all the states that border around Texas. I chose to run OTR but that was my decision. As a result during last winter I spent a lot of time running back and forth on I-90 from North Dakota to Washington State and back. Tarped a load near Mount Rushmore in February when it was 10 below.

Tammy,

I love your great intentions, but .. you may want to broaden your spectrum & quell your fears. How you could avoid 'snow' behooves me... ie: training companies train... IN snowy places!!

From a 20 year plus driver's wife (and drove 2x on permits) .. don't limit yourself, and DON'T FEAR THE REAPER (snow) or you'll extremely limit yourself.

Wish you well, fellow female 'aspiring' driver.

Have you watched any of Kearsey's videos??? You 'really' should. She's all things trucking, Prime, and esp., all things female. Brett's site is the best; and our community & mods are rockin', always.

Wish you the best;

~ Anne ~

ps: Here's her channel.. not many q's go unanswered, mostly via Prime.

Kearsey on the 'tube.