Profile For Jon Devault

As far as what kind of driver I am, I'm a good one. I run hard, show up on time, if not early, and I never complain. For that matter, my current DM and I joke around quite a bit while on the phone. (nothing unprofessional of course, just light banter between coworkers) I've stated before that I worked for Melton, which is true. I left for physical health reasons and given the opportunity, I would love to go back, but I simply can't. The detention pay is for sitting for 19 hours waiting for the load to be "ready" when it was already finished and they just forgot to tell someone it was no longer being shipped, and I was suppose to have been home 2 days before. I fully understand how the industry works, run hard, be on time, don't complain and drive safely. All of which I do. There is a serious lack of communication with heartland, its like even the smallest nugget of info is on a "need to know basis" and nothing gets to the right person in a timely manner. As far as asking for more miles, I've already done that, numerous times, and yet here I am, still getting crap miles. It's actually pretty common among the other drivers here I've talked to, some of whom have been here 10+ years. "it's just the way things are" they tell me. I would rather not jump to another company after being with heartland for such a short time, honestly I dread the thought of being branded as a "job hopper" but something has got to give, and if not heartland, then it'll be me. I've told my DM a few times about how many miles I need. At $0.40 a mile, I need at least 2000 a week just to survive. That will get the bills paid and little else.

And before anyone says "well just reduce the amount of bills you have!" I pay rent, cell phones, car payment, car insurance, home internet and utilities. And yes, the home internet is necessary, my wife has incredibly poor cell service at home so she uses the wifi to be able to text and make phone calls. My bills are already at bare minimum.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is, heartland has not been good to me, or many of their drivers I've talked to, so I have zero hopes of things getting better, in fact it seems they will only get worse as time goes on. Hence, my request for info on other companies which may be a better fit.

I have considered local companies, but most don't pay enough. I was offered a position with my father in laws current company but the pay was about $5 an hour short of what I need. My goal is to get enough experience to get on with loves as one of their fuel truck drivers, I've talked to a couple and they all spoke very highly of their job, and the company. They require 2 years of experience however, and if things keep up the way they're going, I'll have lost my house by then, at the very least.

I think I have replied to everyone's questions and comments, but I may have missed some. If I did, please let me know.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma, I'm currently with Heartland Express and honestly, I hate it. The company is horrible and the miles suck pretty badly. I think in the past month I've gone maybe 3200, and that's a high estimate. Also, I've been fighting for 19 hours of detention pay for over a month.

I need to find a new company, but it has to be a good fit. I have a year and 3 months OTR experience, no accidents, no tickets, no violations. Perfect driving record before I started trucking too. I'm looking in the southeast area, being as I live in southwest Florida, and I'd like to find a company that is based close to me, however, a main terminal in another state is totally fine.

I currently make $0.40 a mile, and I'd like to stay at that, or higher if I can, and more miles is definitely a plus.

I don't particularly care what trucks or transmissions the new company would use, as long as they're well maintained.

Hometime is important, but I don't mind staying out 2-3 weeks at a time.

I've looked at Carroll Fulmer, and they sounded promising, but a starting rate of $0.35 a mile scared me off, even though they "promised" 2700-3200 miles a week.

I would prefer to not do a lease program, but if the pay is right, I would definitely be willing to consider it! My father in law suggested Hirschbach, as he drove for them for a while and talks highly of them, but they aren't currently hiring out of my area.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

I'm looking into a few different options for staying warm when it's cold out, but I can't decide which one would be the best option. My truck is equipped with an APU and all that good stuff, but let's face it, things break. That being said, I'm looking for something g that could potentially be a long term solution if my apu heater takes a crap and I don't want to spend the time getting it fixed, because as we all know, time=money. I've been looking into different portable heaters, as well as electric blankets and even heavy duty sleeping bags, but I can't decide which would be the most effective, they all have their own pros and cons. So, if anyone has any experience with this situation, or words of wisdom/advice, I'm all ears.

TIA

I would have to suggest Melton for flatbeds, I've been here since August, they started me at $500 a week during training, $0.41 cpm when I got my truck, and I'll be receiving a raise soon. Also, pretty decent miles, I haven't run less than 1800 in a week since I've been here. They match the first 7% on your 401K, excellent insurance, a pretty new fleet with APUs and inverters in every truck, plus all the other benefits you would like. Hometime is 24 hours for every 7 days out, guaranteed home Christmas day if you want. It's a good company, and personally I'm glad I chose them instead of anywhere else.

Melton says I have a job offer on the table, but my license is coming up as "withdrawn" through the dmv, when I contacted the dmv, they said child support in another state had set this status on my license, which I haven't had any issues with my license for the 4.5 years up to this point. (aside from prior suspensions during times of unemployment) Could it only be happening now because I just got my CDL? I just don't understand why it would be showing up now, of all times, when I just got my cdl and have a company ready to hire me and waiting for the issue to be resolved. I tried calling the CSEA in that state and I am awaiting a return call, but I figured I would ask here and see if anyone had any insight into this kind of situation and might have some kind of advice.

I've talked to a few companies I want to work for, and so far one has given me a definite no (werner), another, the recruiter is trying to pull some strings to see if he can get me on board, but it doesn't look good (cypress), and the other I have yet to contact but I'm sure I'm going to hear the same thing (Melton) I've got a perfect driving record except for three suspensions from child support since 2012 which were cause by my being unemployed and literally couldn't pay the order. But somehow this makes me unemployable through the eyes of their individual safety departments? If it didn't get drawn straight out of my paycheck I could see there being cause for concern of them suspending my license again, but they garnish my wages which prevents it from ever being an issue. Have companies just decided that any suspension for any reason is an automatic disqualification? Any insight would be helpful.

I went through the local career source and took advantage of the WIA (workforce investment act) which completely covered the cost of training, testing, physical and issuance of the medical card, and issuance of the license. Total cost to the state was just shy of $6500, but students there who paid out of pocket were charged closer to $6800. Supposedly the best trucking school in the state and after my experience, I'd have to say it's pretty accurate.

The course was a minimum of 3 weeks long, however if you needed longer, you got as much extra time as the instructors could give you to pass your driving test, which was done on site.

The course totals out to a minimum of 160 hours and primarily focuses on backing, (straight, offset, parallel, alley dock) some city driving to practice for the test, practice up and down shifting on very lightly traveled back roads, plus 3 or 4 days of class work, going over safety, regulations, and basic trucking theories.

Classes started every Monday, so there was very little waiting time, and because there were students there of a higher level of practice, they were encouraged to help those who had arrived more recently to assist in achieving the desired goals. There were 5 students in my weeks group, and around 10 to 12 from the groups before mine.

The equipment consisted of 4 freightliners with 10 speed manuals, and 2 freightliner day cabs with automatics. None of it was in perfect condition, but considering the abuse they received daily, I can understand why.

The instructors (Dave, Rich, Brian, Chandler) were all very knowledgeable and did their best to get the students ready and able to pass the test without any worries.

The test consisted of the pre-trip inspection, which included the in-cab as well as testing of air brakes; 3 basic maneuvers (straight back, offset left or right, and either parallel left or right, or alley dock left); and then the road test. Ray, the tester, was very easy going and would talk to me the whole time unless he was giving me instruction on what to do next.

After the test is over, if you pass, you return to the office where they present you with a certificate of completion and a voucher to take to the dmv to be issued your class A license. If you fail, you return to the office and schedule a retest date, no less than 24 business hours later. At this point, if you passed, you return to the training area to go over drop and hook procedures once or twice and to say goodbye to the instructors and your fellow classmates (if you choose to do so). If you failed, you continue training, paying closer attention to the portion which you lacked.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and if given the choice, I would always return to Suncoast Trucking Academy, and I plan on returning to say hello to everyone once I get placed with a company to tell them thank you and let them know how much I appreciate their time and instruction.

I kinda figured that's how it was going to be, but like I said, it was worth asking lol. ☺️

I'm a newbie, just graduated from a trucking Academy on Wednesday and I'm looking at companies to get into, primarily Cypress or Melton. But I was also wondering if there is a company out there that has a dedicated route from southern Florida to Ohio, as my wife lives in Florida with me and the rest of my family is back in Ohio, so it would be perfect as I could get the chance to spend time at both places without using vacation time. Of course I know it's a Longshot, but I figured it would be worth asking.