Bad Reviews...

I need some help here. I'm scheduled to start my CDL training on Monday. I've been researching companies that I might want to work for, and that seems to be a very bad idea. I'm reading reviews on Glassdoor and trying to educate myself on legitimate issues, while setting aside emotional attacks on a company.

It's very hard to not let the negative reviews affect me. For example, I've been looking at Knight. One reviewer said his truck at Knight had 'no amenities'; no fridge, no microwave, no APU , no inverter. Another said that trucks aren't assigned; if you take more than 2 days home time, you'll be switched to a different truck.

One of the ways I'm planning on dealing with the expected loneliness and alone-time is to make my truck my 'rolling home'. It would make life much more difficult if I'm driving a different truck all the time and/or the truck isn't comfortable to live in, and I can't personalize it at all so that it feels like home.

I'd appreciate some feedback from you experienced drivers. Is this a reason people go the owner/operator route?

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

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.

Well, any time I'm considering a company to work for I will question the recruiter to death even to the point of wanting to know all about the equipment, home time, dispatch speed, is the truck assigned to you, what can be done to the truck and so fourth, etc. Most companies I know of give 1 day home per week out. Only thing I could really offer is talk with the recruiters and ask some of the drivers for that company.

Buying a truck for a longer home time could easily turn into losing your truck, but yes it does give you the freedom to make what ever customization you want.

You will find that most of those reviews are posted by people that could not keep water in a bucket with a lid. There is an old saying....

A happy customer will tell a friend and an unhappy customer will tell 10!

The lack of good reviews does not mean that it is a bad company to work for. A lot of drivers are type A personalities and have issues taking directions from anyone. They more often than not do not want to be told what to do. Even worse are the ones that think that there is nothing that they can learn.

Hey Seldon. You don't want to worry about people's opinions of a company. We always tell everyone that a company wouldn't exist if it didn't have enough freight available to keep their trucks moving efficiently so you know the freight is going to be there. And of course the overwhelming majority of companies that hire new drivers are companies with huge fleets of beautiful equipment so you don't have to worry about the quality of their equipment, either. That's not to say you won't wind up with a truck that has a good bit of miles and needs some work in the beginning, but you don't have to worry about avoiding a company because their equipment isn't up to par.

So you know the miles are going to be there and the equipment is going to be solid at any of the major carriers, right? Those are two major concerns you don't have to worry about.

So what you want to focus on at first is two things:

1) What type of freight do you want to pull?

2) How often do you want to get home?

Once you answer those two questions it's going to narrow the field considerably. Then you simply compare the companies you have left based upon other measurables like pay, benefits, potential opportunities available in various divisions, and any perks the companies may offer.

What you don't have to worry about is going to work for a 'bad company'. That's the fear, right? That's what everyone fears. They start thinking, "I'm going to find the best company out there for myself" but once they start reading people's opinions it quickly begins to sound like every company in the trucking business is a mess and should be avoided at all costs. Then you start thinking you had better watch out for these 'bad companies'.

Forget about all of that entirely. It's baloney. Now what you do have is a legitimate concern that will help you choose a company:

One of the ways I'm planning on dealing with the expected loneliness and alone-time is to make my truck my 'rolling home'. It would make life much more difficult if I'm driving a different truck all the time and/or the truck isn't comfortable to live in, and I can't personalize it at all so that it feels like home.

Perfect. What you don't want to do is called slip-seating where you're driving different trucks all the time instead of being assigned your own truck, right? Excellent. That's something you ask the recruiters about. Now fortunately you'll find that pretty much every regional division (home most weekends) or OTR division (out at least 2-3 weeks) assign trucks permanently to drivers so you won't have to worry about slip-seating most of the time. There are a few exceptions though. For instance, some companies have special home time options where you can still run regional or OTR runs but get home far more often than most people but you're sharing a truck with other drivers in order to make it work. And of course the recruiters will tell you this if that's the case.

We have some resources that will teach you how to choose the right trucking company:

Article: Category: How To Choose A Trucking Company

Truck Driver's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Company

Read through those and you'll understand what to look for and who to speak with to get the information you need.

Seldon read about Knight:

if you take more than 2 days home time, you'll be switched to a different truck.

Remember, rolling trucks make money. Sitting somewhere while the driver is on home time means that truck is making $0.00 for the company. BUT, the trade off is the assigned driver is getting some rest. It all depends on the company (and Knight has several home time options), but at Swift, I have been "off" for up to 4 days without losing my truck.

That's one of the questions a recruiter may be able to answer, but it's also a question your recruiter may fudge a bit.

I appreciate the feedback.

I'm working on my list of questions for the recruiters. I'm also going to a local truck stop where I'll watch for drivers of the companies I'm interested in, and ask them some of my most important questions.

Seldon

Here's a Questions To Ask Trucking Company Recruiters

Questions To Ask Trucking Company Recruiters