Question - Potential New Trucker Here
Topic 32579 | Page 1
What's the closest truck stop to your home? What about a paid parking or paid storage area?
If it's a safe area to leave a truck for up to a week while you're home, a terminal location should make zero difference on where you are going to work. I've never driven for any company where the closest terminal wasn't STATES away from me, let alone a couple hours.
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.
Go Eagles! 😂
I'm from the Philly area of NJ. Gloucester County
Prime has a drop yard in Bensalem, but you can't leave a car there. You could leave the truck there a few days while home and get a ride to/from. Many "drop yards" are locations where companies rent space to use along with various other trucking carriers. Therefore it is not a Prime owned, nor well guarded facility.
My dispatcher was in Missouri but I lived in Jersey. I parked the truck at the TA in Paulsboro NJ for home time. I once paid for a self storage facility in Thorofare and parked the truck there for several weeks when I had surgery.
I personally don't like the Prime PA terminal in Pittston. It is our smallest and Prime has grown and there is no way to expand the terminal. It is just a pain in the neck to get in and out of there.
Dietz & Watson is one of our customers between the Tacony Palmyra and Betty Ross. I did a couple loads off Tioga & Allegheny area... And delivered across from the Upper Darby police station. Lots of freight in the area.
If you aren't planning on going home much .. or if you happen to give up your home, the truck may not be as big an issue as you think. I no longer have a residence there, but got a Hampton Inn suite in Swedesboro last month. Truck was parked there fine.
Unless someone gets repairs done or is a trainer, most drivers don't even go into terminals. I know drivers who only visit terminals a couple times a year.
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.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
We have terminals all over the country. Here is what we have in PA.
CFI trains for free. Millis trains out of Carlisle.
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.
We have terminals all over the country. Here is what we have in PA.
CFI trains for free.
NOT TRUE
A potential driver must sign a contract, then drive the time agreed upon for CFI in order to have the training costs covered.
Name an OTR company that will train a driver then let them walk away with zero costs. THAT WOULD BE FREE.
Get off the recruiter bandwagon for your company, Scott. Stop posting half-truths and just plain nonsense on here for every new member to see hours after they sign up. CFI does not offer any special training not found at any other training carrier.
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.
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.
Just about every major company that trains will hire out of the Philadelphia area, so talking about CFI, Swift, Knight, Roehl, Schneider, Prime, Millis, and probably others that I am forgetting.
As long as a company is willing to hire out of where you live and you have a place to park the truck a distance from where you live that is comfortable to you, then drop yard and terminal locations are a moot point.
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.
We have terminals all over the country. Here is what we have in PA.
CFI trains for free.
NOT TRUE
A potential driver must sign a contract, then drive the time agreed upon for CFI in order to have the training costs covered.
Name an OTR company that will train a driver then let them walk away with zero costs. THAT WOULD BE FREE.
Get off the recruiter bandwagon for your company, Scott. Stop posting half-truths and just plain nonsense on here for every new member to see hours after they sign up. CFI does not offer any special training not found at any other training carrier.
Raider Express is the only company that I am aware of that trains completely free of any obligation.
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.
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.
This brings up a good point. Know the contractual obligations of the company.
Roehls contract is $7,000 forgiven with 150,000 miles driven. So more than a year. Primes is $4500 forgiven at 1 year or 9 months for veterans. CFI is 1 year, Scott could tell us the figure.
The locations Scott posted are quite a distance from Philadelphia though.
Ryan.... The issue isn't hiring area. It is home time parking. There are few truck stops in the area.
Besides the TA in Paulsboro, I used to park in Carney Point on occasion. It's not far from the Commodore Barry. So your location in the city makes a difference.
Swift has two terminals about two hours northwest of Philly.
Many of the drivers at the Pottsville Walmart DC, running Dedicated took their home time in Philly. There are several Walmarts in the Philly area that allow overnight parking for Walmart PF and their Swift Partner.
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.
What about a Park and Ride?
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Hello all, I am almost certainly gong with one of the paid CDL training programs out there. Atm it seems I am down to Roehl or Prime for location reasons. I lean to Roehl because my main goal is thorough training and location. What I want to get an answer to is related to benefits of a drop yard vs terminal near me. Basically I don't see any of these mega carriers with paid CDL programs that have terminals near Philadelphia where I live. I do see that Roehl has a drop yard right near me, 30 minutes. I also see prime has a terminal that is near me but it's closer to 2.5-3 hours. I don't care so much about home time I care more about getting miles. Is it just as good to have a drop yard as a terminal or would that Xtra 2+ hours worth it for a terminal? I hope that makes sense. Basically I like Roehl's reputation for good training and I see they have a drop yard near me but their terminals are many states away. Will that effect the miles I accrue via routing and assignments. My main issue is with Prime I'd have to drive 3 hours home in my own vehicle for home time or park near my house which idk where I would for free. Any advice is appreciated
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices