Profile For Lemmy_Lives

Just an update on hitting the road again...

I'm still with Fortune and don't plan to change that anytime soon. To be honest, up until the point I pulled the trigger on going back to Fortune I was kind of dreading going back to OTR (the stress, the weather, missing my family, etc). However, once I got back on the road I'd find myself driving with a smile on my face. Yeah, I missed it.

I also talked a friend of mine into coming to Fortune as well. We were roommates at the Swift academy in Memphis and have been good friends ever since. He had a rocky start since things are done differently here than at Swift, but he's gotten back into the groove and is doing well.

You can never go wrong by stopping if you don't feel safe. As my dispatcher once told me, "the receiver might get mad about their delivery being late, but they'll be even madder if it's scattered all over the interstate".

Well, after some misadventures in the local market I finally called Fortune. Within 3 hours I was told yes, they definitely wanted me back! Everyone from the owner to my old dispatcher said yes hire him back. On top of that, im receiving credit for my previously driven miles, and I also got a pay raise.

I'm in orientation (or re-orientation) this week and everyone is very friendly and welcoming. I definitely made the right decision coming back to Fortune...I just wish it hadn't taken me so long.

Wow, I completely forgot I had posted this.

I made the move to Fortune and stayed with them for 2 1/2 years. The only reason I left was due to family issues...I'd still be with them today otherwise. Being a smaller company, everyone knew me by name and would bend over backwards to make my job easier and help was available when I needed it.

Due to the all the bad things occurring now (Covid, shutdowns, etc) I'm currently not working. I'm hoping that I can work for Fortune again. They really are one of the best companies I've ever worked for.

I haven't been on here in a while, but back in June I hit my 1 year mark. No accidents, no late deliveries, so I was pretty proud of myself.

I thought about changing my status to Experienced Driver, but I felt that would be presumptuous and a little insulting to you drivers with much more experience than me. Plus, I still feel like a rookie because I'm still learning something new every day (which is never a bad thing).

The easiest way to remember the macros is that the 1st 6 macros are all trip related: from 1 (Arrived at Shipper) to 6 (Empty Call). Pre-trip is 32. The rest you just come across when you need em.

I also forgot to add they only run the central states, so no California or New York. Another plus for me...I'm sitting in California right now after fighting traffic, Donner Pass and crazy 4 wheelers.

Apparently I opened a whole can of worms.

I've talked to numerous people (including the driver and terminal managers) and was always told the same thing: Dollar Tree is the only other option in my area. According to Fortune's website (and no, I don't always believe everything I read), they only require 1 year of OTR experience, pay a flat .37 a mile, guarantee 2500 or over miles and weekend home time. My friend also verified this. As a company driver you are also allowed to bobtail up to 60 miles a day as a personal conveyance without using drive time (Swift only allows Owner/Ops to do this).

As I stated before, I'm just looking for information and/or experiences from other drivers. Not trying to start a mutiny here.

What are you looking for "out there"? In my first year at Swift I was in three different assignments. If you want flatbed, there are some. Intermodal? You've seen those boxes.

If you're wondering about pay/ benefits, keep this in mind: in a competitive industry (I'm talking about getting and keeping drivers here) the differences in benefits hardly make the changing worthwhile.

I have nothing against Swift at all; they've been good to me. I'm not against staying with them, but I'm interested in a dedicated route that would get me home every weekend, which Fortune has. The only dedicated route Swift offers in my area is Dollar Tree, which I'm not interested in because: I've talked to drivers who've had this route and there's a reason they have constant turnover. The problems outweigh the rewards. Plus, the dollar tree terminal is on the other side of my state from where I live, which would pretty much negate the home time.

I posted this to gain more information about Fortune. Nothing more.

Hello all. I've been with Swift for almost a year (11 months to be exact) and I'm starting to wonder what else is out there. I have a friend who drives for Fortune Transportation and he loves it...weekends home, 2500+ miles a week, etc. He's trying to get me to apply there once my year or so is up and I'm considering it. The little I was able to find online confirms most of what he's told me, but if anyone else has more info on this company I'd love to hear about it.