Finding The Right Carrier. Manuals And Apus

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU , so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

Okay.

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.

How on earth is he suppose to give you “supporting details” Bruce? And if you reread his comments he said local. Which the percentage of local companies having manual trucks is probably higher than the percentage of otr companies having manuals.

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU , so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

JD, where are you located? Yemen? How did you get the notion that most companies in your specific area run manuals? That’s hard for me to believe until you provide supporting details.

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.

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.

Yes my plan is to go otr for 3 years straight running hard. According to my research and calculations even if I only make the rookie average during that 3 years I’ll have enough saved for what I need. I’m not even expecting to enjoy being a truck driver, BUT if I do I will go local after that. That’s my main reasoning for manual. Also as I stated earlier why would I jump into anything and limit myself? Also every used kenworth or Peter built I looked up was a 10 speed.

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU , so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

JD, there's a distinction that getting lost in your comments. You asked about OTR & manuals but referenced *local* as your source for companies that have lots of manuals. Most local companies do have manuals but they don't run OTR. Pick up and delivery mostly. As mentioned earlier, most large OTR companies, that offer paid training, have converted their fleets to autoshift.

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.

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.

I’m going to be honest Chris I completely ignored swift simply because of the negative things you hear about them. Dumb on my part because I know someone else’s experience and outlook can never be the same as mine. Plus when people decide to leave they’ll usually remember the negative first. I will definitely look into contacting a recruiter at swift. Thank you!

Take a look at the company reviews here or look at hiremaster.com. Alltruckingjobs.com (I think) the company profiles will have the info you need. For example as per this website Swift has standard transmissions and Apu's. Although they are ridiculed on many forums, youtube channels etc, they are still going strong. If I were to enter the business again, Swifty would be in my top 5 with company sponsored training. USA Truck has Standards and Apu's.

Company Sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

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.

APU's:

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.

So let me get this right. You want to get a CDL in a manual transmission so you don't have the restriction, most likely end up in an auto for 3 years in case you want to go local and they use manuals? Many local companies in my area with the exception of dump trucks/ construction and ODFL (old dominion) have an all auto fleet or are heading in that direction. If you're not using the new skill of shifting, which i must add is different than cars, you're going to be extremely rusty. Grinding gears during a road test is NOT a good look. Based on my location, as well as others experience in this forum many local companies will help you get the restriction off your license if it's needed. Not to sound like an ass but just get that CDL and deal with the rest later. You already seem to think you're not going to enjoy it.

How on earth is he suppose to give you “supporting details” Bruce? And if you reread his comments he said local. Which the percentage of local companies having manual trucks is probably higher than the percentage of otr companies having manuals.

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU , so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

JD, where are you located? Yemen? How did you get the notion that most companies in your specific area run manuals? That’s hard for me to believe until you provide supporting details.

Bird one, the ability to drive a manual is a nice skill but no longer a requirement to be a driver. If a new driver was stuck in concrete on that issue it would be like believing that a dial up phone was better than a cell phone.

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.

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.

Not saying one is better, everything has its place. I want the skill. Funny you bring up dail up, I worked in cable. It’s a reason why dail up is still around and used on alarm systems, old people’s life monitors, every major business etc..

How on earth is he suppose to give you “supporting details” Bruce? And if you reread his comments he said local. Which the percentage of local companies having manual trucks is probably higher than the percentage of otr companies having manuals.

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU , so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

JD, where are you located? Yemen? How did you get the notion that most companies in your specific area run manuals? That’s hard for me to believe until you provide supporting details.

Bird one, the ability to drive a manual is a nice skill but no longer a requirement to be a driver. If a new driver was stuck in concrete on that issue it would be like believing that a dial up phone was better than a cell phone.

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.

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.

Thanks for the information everyone. Have a good one. Stay safe otr gentlemen!

I honestly have no idea what you are taking about Bruce. Maybe go back and re-read what I said. JD said that there more than a few companies in his area that run stick. Yo asked if he lived in Yemen. Well I live in the Chicagoland area and can list 6 companies off of the top of my head that run stick. Very well paying jobs.

Sure it’s not technically a requirement to drive a truck but when it comes to local work. Yes you are going to somewhat limit yourself. ODFL is one example. All manual trucks.

How on earth is he suppose to give you “supporting details” Bruce? And if you reread his comments he said local. Which the percentage of local companies having manual trucks is probably higher than the percentage of otr companies having manuals.

I don’t know a percentage but majority of the local companies where I’m at have manuals in their fleet. I’m not overthinking anything

I have more appliances that those listed and never had an APU , so scratch that idea.

As for manual vs automated, 95% of the large carriers (500 or more trucks) operate auto transmission, so what does this tell you?

You're overthinking things with your research. Pick a large carrier that trains, and jump in with both feet. Stop placing the cart before the horse.

JD, where are you located? Yemen? How did you get the notion that most companies in your specific area run manuals? That’s hard for me to believe until you provide supporting details.

Bird one, the ability to drive a manual is a nice skill but no longer a requirement to be a driver. If a new driver was stuck in concrete on that issue it would be like believing that a dial up phone was better than a cell phone.

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.

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.

This guy is a waste of time.

The only waste of time here is your post, Kerry.

JD came here with a legitimate question, and what we do as experienced drivers is offer our opinions on the matter. That's kind of what we do here.

Truth bomb:

He doesn't have to agree with those opinions, and that's ok! There is still such a thing as free will, and he is free to exercise it as he pleases. Dissenting opinions are often the sparks that ignite interesting and robust conversations.

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