Which Mega Carrier Is Better For Regional/dedicated Loads?

I have been doing a lot of research on a lot of different aspects of each company. Some have better insurance, some pay for you to get trained and some dont etc. Went to a truckstop nearby yest. And talked to a few drivers.

One thing that does seem hard to find out is which are more OTR and which have more regional/dedicated routes?

One prime driver I talked to said he doesnt get home often with prime but he did with Schneider but he thinks Prime is better. Does anyone have any insight on this aspect?

My wife and I are very close but I would prefer to go with a company that has a better chance of getting me home weekly, etc vs. OTR

Thanks!

RIck

Forgot to mention, I am in the Kansas City area.

Rick

Like your other questions, the answer to this is subjective. One driver can be extremely happy at a company and another can absolutely hate it.

If you're concerned about home time, roehl offers a number of home time options, but they make it clear that the more you're home the less you'll make.

Because of this, they don't offer your standard 1 year contract. It's a contract based on how many miles you've run and it may take longer than a year.

The best home time opportunities will come from dry van and flatbed companies. They commonly offer regional runs where you stay within a certain region of the country and get home on weekends.

Refrigerated and tanker companies have far fewer opportunities to be home on weekends. You may find more home time opportunities for tankers, especially local ones that haul dairy or gasoline, but there aren't many refrigerated opportunities that can get you home on weekends. Tanker jobs often aren't available for first-year drivers, and we always recommend against pulling a tanker your rookie year anyhow.

I would look at dry van and flatbed companies for better home time opportunities.

Thx guys. Just doing research on companies at this point. I am not asking which is the “best” company. I was asking which one might have weekly home time in the KC area.

I plan on doing company paid training

Rick

Walmart contracts some of the major carriers for their regional routes. They run 5 to 5-1/2 days then home for a reset. Checkinto what company is helping out the Walmart fleet In your area if you have a distribution center relatively close to you. I know for sure Swift runs out of the one closest to me in PA, J B Hunt may help out as well

The best home time opportunities will come from dry van and flatbed companies. They commonly offer regional runs where you stay within a certain region of the country and get home on weekends.

Refrigerated and tanker companies have far fewer opportunities to be home on weekends. You may find more home time opportunities for tankers, especially local ones that haul dairy or gasoline, but there aren't many refrigerated opportunities that can get you home on weekends. Tanker jobs often aren't available for first-year drivers, and we always recommend against pulling a tanker your rookie year anyhow.

I would look at dry van and flatbed companies for better home time opportunities.

Completely agree with Brett's advice based on my recent experience. I have two offers from big companies once I can get my Fed Med card and upgrade to class A. Both carriers offer almost identical pay, benefits, equipment and home time options. The parity is due, me thinks, to every carrier trying to attract drivers. If company "A" offers something they think will attract drivers, companies "B through Z" will know about it and then the pressure is on to match company "A" I applied to company "A" and shortly thereafter company "B" had a recruiter call me with a better offer. How does one company know what another company is doing? I'm totally baffled, but I think you can go with any of the Mega carriers and not get a offer much different from company "A" I drove for Schneider before, and I believe that the only difference between then and now is home time and the rate per mile has increased. These companies have realized that home time, especially weekends, are a critical issue to drivers. Therefore, they have adapted.

I can only speak from my experience with Roehl on the east coast.

I went to their CDL school based out of Marshfield WI and got my license through them.

I was looking for something similar…home weekends.

I ran the Kraft Dedicated right out of school. East Coast…Maine to Florida.

I was set up to be home on weekends for my reset. A few times I stayed out for two week or 3 weeks trips but that was to book extra time off.

I know in KC they’d have something available. If you go to Roehljobs on the internet and put in your zip code …it’ll show you what’s available.

Good luck

I can only speak from my experience with Roehl on the east coast.

I went to their CDL school based out of Marshfield WI and got my license through them.

I was looking for something similar…home weekends.

I ran the Kraft Dedicated right out of school. East Coast…Maine to Florida.

I was set up to be home on weekends for my reset. A few times I stayed out for two week or 3 weeks trips but that was to book extra time off.

I know in KC they’d have something available. If you go to Roehljobs on the internet and put in your zip code …it’ll show you what’s available.

Good luck

There's a ton of info right on this forum, re: Roehl ; as well ~

Roehl Links and Information

Hope this helps!

~ Anne ~

Thanks for all the help guys. I believe Knight is based out of KC too. Looks like I have more options than I realized. I thought it would be a neat experience to do over the road for a few months or so but then I would want to get home at least every weekend if possible.

Rick