Trucker Forum

Hello:

I am going to start training at C1 in Fort Worth next week and Im trying to find out which company I want to start out with. The government is going to pay for school on a WIA grant and I have a good driving record, etc.

I have a list of the following companies that hire recent CDL grads with a HazMat endorsement:

Werner
Swift
Trans Am
FFE
Roehl
Prime Inc
Carter Express
Conway
Cypress Truck Lines
Deboer Transportation
Decker Transportation
Gainey Transportation
KLLM Transportation
May Trucking
PAM Transportation
US Xpress
Stevens Transportation
USA Truck
Schneider National
Squire/Knight

Im trying to get a feel for which companies are good and which ones I shouldnt apply at. My license will be out of Texas and Id prefer not to have to transfer it. In addition, I plan to be OTR Solo and want an assigned truck and will need the company to pay for transportation to the training center and for a hotel while in orientation if its outside the Dallas area. I have no family so home time isnt an issue but Im a bit picky about the pay. I want to pull 2000-3000 a months after taxes. It's possible if I dont get stuck with a company that gives long layovers or screws with pay etc.....

Feel free to add any good companies that you know of that will take student drivers that I didnt list above.

Thanks for the info

I am trying to find the best among trucking companies. There are a lot of negativities out there. I guess it is best to read and make the right decision on your own. People are different and also experience differently. Best.

I'm currently with Schneider National and have been for 3.5 years now. Your assumption of sitting not much is probably very un-realistic right now. Freight tonage is down a lot and that equals more trucks then freight on the road. I know SNI will pay for hotel during orientation and transportation to and from. Your tractor is assigned as long as you aren't off any longer then 4 or 5 days ( not quite sure on that since I run Team so it differs for me). All large companies you are going to go to will all have their up's and down's but one thing to look at is the big picture. SNI is a $13 billion company with operations in like 16 countries. We have one of the largest truckload and brokerage firms and logistics company in the country so that equals your paycheck will be there every week as promised. I know that SNI tends to pay newer graduates more then Werner, Swift, and JB Hunt which is why I trained here and have been here ever since. As a new driver you can't expect anything as far as pay and I honestly don't care what the Trucking school told you. I hate to be so blunt but it's the truth and I'm shooting it straight. No matter where you go there will be delays and layovers and other issues. Do your research is all I can say but also US express just privatized their operations off the US stock exchange which equals most likely going broke so they could hide their losses from investors. They grew very big very quickly and maybe too much with this economy. Werner pays about .23 or .24 cents a mile to start and personally I wouldn't even turn a key for that. They just cut back on the size of their fleet by like 2000 or so trucks give or take. Anyways I'm not going to carry on any more and I also have bad things to say about SNI as well but all in all they have been very good to me and I can't complain and my check is deposited every week without worry of them being bankrupt like so many companies are having right now. If you have more questions let me know and I can try to help out.