First Pre Hire - US Xpress

So yesterday I got an email from US Xpress (submitted app on Wed through school) with a pre hire letter!

According to it I need to call them to continue the application process which has them run a driving record check, criminal background check and employment history verification. All of which should be no problem at all.

Once all that comes back good they can schedule me for orientation which includes passing a company physical (I just did one for school 3 weeks ago, now I gotta do it again), drug screen (did this too for school), and road test (i'll be doing this to get my CDL soon).

Provided I pass all that I should be hired and start training.

Anyone have any further info on that stuff, such as what kind of driving test they have you do and if the truck is manual or auto... stuff like that.

I heard us xpress is mostly automatics... any other decent companies out there like that. I know of several that have some but I don't know of any where most of the fleet is and how do they determine who gets one or not... do you request it or is it random. I'm hopping I get used to manuals and it won't bother me so much but I honestly feel like an auto would be safer and easier overall.

Are you going to be team driving?

Phox if your primary selection criteria is automatic transmissions, most of the larger fleets are moving in that direction.

We have two remaining automatics in the daycabs assigned to my DC and they have become spares. All of the Swift 2016s; daycabs, LWs and condo sleepers are 12 speed automatics.

I believe your options are quickly becoming unlimited.

Phox if your primary selection criteria is automatic transmissions, most of the larger fleets are moving in that direction.

We have two remaining automatics in the daycabs assigned to my DC and they have become spares. All of the Swift 2016s; daycabs, LWs and condo sleepers are 12 speed automatics.

I believe your options are quickly becoming unlimited.

Nope my primary critera is in this order:

OTR driving - I plan to live out of the truck... so no day cabs. using savings from not paying rent to put towards buying a house passenger policy pet policy - not getting rid of my cats, I'll sneak em on with a company that doesn't allow them before I get rid of them... I would hope to never have to do that though, could get in big trouble... I know this already. APUs / inverters already installed or allowed to have one installed (even if their shop has to do it and I gotta pay em... so be it). I have learned the APU is not so important as much as the inverter is. I want a mini fridge and a microwave... can't use the microwave on a 12volter. Pay need to be 30cpm or higher finally the transmission. I don't require it to be an auto but I would prefer it over a manual and that's why it's last on the list. If I can get everything else and still get an auto... great! if not then fine I'll deal with manual.

I don't want to team any more than I have to. From what I heard us xpress training has trainer in the passenger seat.

Also there's a few other things I look at when choosing a company but they are not priorities, more of weights on the scale. For example, having things like layover, detion and breakdown pay... not something I require but if I can get everything else and company a has it and company b does not... guess which one I'm choosing.... yeah company a cause the "weights" went in favor of them.

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.

Day Cab:

A tractor which does not have a sleeper berth attached to it. Normally used for local routes where drivers go home every night.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

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.

APUs:

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 believe your options are quickly becoming unlimited.

One of my class mates believes the same thing. He thinks in the next 10-15 years pretty much all companies will have autos... they're more fuel efficient, easy to drive which attracts more new drivers, safer because it's less distraction and allows you to keep both hands on the wheels... very little to hate about them. I know when they were a new thing they broke easily but from what I hear the newer ones are built much better. it's like anything made for a first time... they're buggy and have issues, but with time the manf. work out the bugs and kinks.

one of the newer trucks us xpress ordered last year had it set up nicely. you could use it in auto or manual mode and both the shifter and jake brake were on a lever under the right side of steering wheel. don't even have to take hands off the wheel to use it.

Eh, I'll stick with my manual transmission. I like rowing the gears, even in traffic it's really not all that bad and yes I drive in some insane traffic areas. Plus, I'm often off road going to or working on new construction sites where you need that additional control of the clutch and spend a few days a month working sand if a driver takes a day off. You'll never see manual transmissions completely go away but I agree for the most part, you'll see the majority of fleets switch over to automatics.

Phox if your primary selection criteria is automatic transmissions, most of the larger fleets are moving in that direction.

We have two remaining automatics in the daycabs assigned to my DC and they have become spares. All of the Swift 2016s; daycabs, LWs and condo sleepers are 12 speed automatics.

I believe your options are quickly becoming unlimited.

Nope my primary critera is in this order:

OTR driving - I plan to live out of the truck... so no day cabs. using savings from not paying rent to put towards buying a house passenger policy pet policy - not getting rid of my cats, I'll sneak em on with a company that doesn't allow them before I get rid of them... I would hope to never have to do that though, could get in big trouble... I know this already. APUs / inverters already installed or allowed to have one installed (even if their shop has to do it and I gotta pay em... so be it). I have learned the APU is not so important as much as the inverter is. I want a mini fridge and a microwave... can't use the microwave on a 12volter. Pay need to be 30cpm or higher finally the transmission. I don't require it to be an auto but I would prefer it over a manual and that's why it's last on the list. If I can get everything else and still get an auto... great! if not then fine I'll deal with manual.

I don't want to team any more than I have to. From what I heard us xpress training has trainer in the passenger seat.

Also there's a few other things I look at when choosing a company but they are not priorities, more of weights on the scale. For example, having things like layover, detion and breakdown pay... not something I require but if I can get everything else and company a has it and company b does not... guess which one I'm choosing.... yeah company a cause the "weights" went in favor of them.

I was answering the question in your initial post about other companies moving to automatic transmissions.

Glad you have it figured out...

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.

Day Cab:

A tractor which does not have a sleeper berth attached to it. Normally used for local routes where drivers go home every night.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

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.

APUs:

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.

As much as I would like to give swift a chance they don't allow pets :(

You mention that the new trucks are autos... who gets the new trucks... older drivers or new drivers?

As much as I would like to give swift a chance they don't allow pets :(

You mention that the new trucks are autos... who gets the new trucks... older drivers or new drivers?

That'd be the oldest drivers that want them Most drivers i talk to throw a serious frown at the first mention of an automatic transmission.

As much as I would like to give swift a chance they don't allow pets :(

You mention that the new trucks are autos... who gets the new trucks... older drivers or new drivers?

That'd be the oldest drivers that want them Most drivers i talk to throw a serious frown at the first mention of an automatic transmission.

Stubborn drivers who refuse to try new things... those are the same one who are mad about being forced to use elogs within the next 2 years... it's new so they don't like it...

I had to do paper logs for class (every day we used a paper log book and counted class time as on duty not driving, breaks as off duty, and had to do recaps and 34 resets)... I got pretty good at it but still would prefer an e log... it's quicker and you don't make mistakes that can cost you over $200 each... if you make a mistake in an e log... well you got bigger problems to worry about haha.

I hate seeing people say "if you can't drive a manual you're not a real trucker"... what does the tranny type have to do with being a trucker? lets look at what a trucker is... he/she is someone who drives a commercial truck to deliver various goods to various locations. that's what a trucker is. there are 2 types who prefer autos, those who can't drive manual cause it really isn't that easy to learn imo and then those who feel it's safer and more economical. with manual you gotta take your hands off the wheel to shift... auto you don't... safety... auto saves on fuel... manual... not so much... economical.

Truth be told at the moment i'm in the middle, I can't drive a manual (cause I have not learned yet, I have spent maybe 10 min trying to drive a truck so far and while I understand the concept of dbl clutch and the shift pattern of a 10 speed putting it into play is different) but I also would prefer an automatic cause it's safer, easier and better on fuel.