Any Other Suggestions For Choosing A Trucking Company...

I am starting swift training . and from what I understand it's rated one of the best in the country. But everyone thinks different tho. So good luck with your choice

Doesn't matter how good they are. They have a No Pet policy, which makes them not an option for me.

Prime would love to hire me, but I'm so far away from the terminal in Salt Lake City that they will only hire me as a Leaser, not a Company Driver. That is a deal breaker to me. I have no interest in running my own business again, and certainly not a business about which I know so little.

Hey man I don't know where you got this information but that's total bull. There is no such thing as this. Heck, there was a former TT member that went to Prime and he lives in Louisiana, his terminal is in Salt Lake City, UT.

If this came from your recruiter then get a new recruiter as soon as possible because the one you talked to is a dummy.

Please go into more information about this so that we may help. I know all about Prime and their hiring students, I'm an Instructor/ Trainer here - and I can assure you that paragraph is dead wrong.

You need to decide if you want to be true to you or your need you pets. If the pet policy is a deal breaker then you need to do a lot more research to find the right company. It's not hard east of the Mississippi, but in the west is a lot harder from my research

Try CWX or Google "left coast" trucking companies. I'm sure there is some that are pet friendly

Well, this has been an adventure, and not the type I was hoping for. As background last week I finished shutting down my 18 year business to start my new career. I have been studying and researching for 6 months and got my DOT medical card and CLP in early December. I sold my house last year and am all set to load my dog into the truck and that will be our home (after training/probation, of course). I live in a small town about 100 miles north of Phoenix, AZ. I'd prefer to drive Dry Van , but I am willing to start in any fleet (except Port, see "dog" above).

I reported to Knight Orientation on Monday. Halfway through the day my (3rd) recriuter emailed me to say that there was an item on my application from December 3rd that disqualified me from Knight. Serious bummer, especially since I had 3 separate recruiters and updated my application 3 times (not changing said item) and all of them seemed to miss it. I was so psyched to drive for Knight. I had even toured their training and corporate facilities.

Bummer, but life is like that sometimes. Not too worried, since I had several backups. Or so I thought...

Roehl is only hiring Flatbed in AZ (OK, I can do that), but I'm not in Phoenix and therefor out of their hiring area. "Missed it by that much."

Prime would love to hire me, but I'm so far away from the terminal in Salt Lake City that they will only hire me as a Leaser, not a Company Driver. That is a deal breaker to me. I have no interest in running my own business again, and certainly not a business about which I know so little.

Western Express would love to hire me, I'm even in a great location, but... their school in Nashville is new and currently they are not hiring students from West of the Mississippi.

FFE only accepts Texas residents to their school.

Yesterday I applied to Con-way/XPO, Stevens, and USA Truck. Of course I don't expect to hear from them until Monday. None of these were on my A List. I've heard that Stevens pushes lease hard and that USA Truck isn't really long haul, mostly short/medium runs. Not ideal, but I can put up with either to get my 1 year behind the wheel. I just discovered yesterday that Con-way/XPO has both a school and a pet policy.

So, can anyone think of anybody I have missed? That is literally every company I can find that has both a school and a pet policy except for MCT who never hire from AZ.

I spoke with Southwest Truck Driver Training, the private school that Werner recommended. They couldn't find a finance option that didn't involve a $2000 deposit. Here in AZ the grants seem to be County based, and my County doesn't offer any. Did I mention I have bad credit and am cash poor?

I am willing to "move" to another state. My friends and family are scattered all over North America. Home time really is moot to me, geographically speaking. It wouldn't be easy financially to move and transfer my drivers license and vehicle registration to meet the residency requirements. Still it's likely less costly than a $2000 school payment. I am a bit concerned because in the past 15 years I have moved 3 times, all in 2015. I worry about being disqualified because my residency is considered unstable.

Hopefully Stevens, USA Truck, or Con-way/XPO will take me on and that will be the end of it. Or more accurately, the beginning. In the meantime if anyone has any suggestions they are willing to offer I would be grateful.

Try Henderson Trucking out of Illinois. I believe they hire out of the 48 states

Prime would love to hire me, but I'm so far away from the terminal in Salt Lake City that they will only hire me as a Leaser, not a Company Driver. That is a deal breaker to me. I have no interest in running my own business again, and certainly not a business about which I know so little.

Hey man I don't know where you got this information but that's total bull. There is no such thing as this. Heck, there was a former TT member that went to Prime and he lives in Louisiana, his terminal is in Salt Lake City, UT.

If this came from your recruiter then get a new recruiter as soon as possible because the one you talked to is a dummy.

Please go into more information about this so that we may help. I know all about Prime and their hiring students, I'm an Instructor/ Trainer here - and I can assure you that paragraph is dead wrong.

Daniel is correct, your recruiter with Prime that you talked to is way out in left field. They do hire from AZ, do have a pet policy, and do not require you to be lease driver unless you want to be. Call the main Prime recruiting number (800)224-4585 ext 6657. Julie Kepes (she is the one I am dealing with), great lady. Explain what you have been told by the other recruiter. I am sure this can be worked out.

Now, I will tell you it's a very good chance that you won't be able to bring your pet right away (count on that being true). But once you are solo, I see no reason why that should/will be an issue.

Ernie

Buster's Buddy said,

my (3rd) recruiter emailed me to say that there was an item on my application from December 3rd that disqualified me from Knight.

What's the hangup? Since three recruiters checked it out (they are not the final say, anyway), is it something you could explain with more information? You should be able to talk to Knight's Safety people.

Check out Watkins & Shepard

Prime would love to hire me, but I'm so far away from the terminal in Salt Lake City that they will only hire me as a Leaser, not a Company Driver. That is a deal breaker to me. I have no interest in running my own business again, and certainly not a business about which I know so little.

Hey man I don't know where you got this information but that's total bull. There is no such thing as this. Heck, there was a former TT member that went to Prime and he lives in Louisiana, his terminal is in Salt Lake City, UT.

If this came from your recruiter then get a new recruiter as soon as possible because the one you talked to is a dummy.

Please go into more information about this so that we may help. I know all about Prime and their hiring students, I'm an Instructor/ Trainer here - and I can assure you that paragraph is dead wrong.

Daniel is correct, your recruiter with Prime that you talked to is way out in left field. They do hire from AZ, do have a pet policy, and do not require you to be lease driver unless you want to be. Call the main Prime recruiting number (800)224-4585 ext 6657. Julie Kepes (she is the one I am dealing with), great lady. Explain what you have been told by the other recruiter. I am sure this can be worked out.

Now, I will tell you it's a very good chance that you won't be able to bring your pet right away (count on that being true). But once you are solo, I see no reason why that should/will be an issue.

Ernie

I originally spoke with my Prime recruiter in July. At that time Prime was my #1 choice and I planned on starting in September. We spoke at great length. Only the Springfield MO school was discussed. There was no mention of Lease Only. My notes do not indicate if the subject of Company Driver was addressed specifically, I believe it was. I will say my Recruiter at Prime is one of the least personable recruiters I have dealt with.

In early December I got my CLP and DOT medical card and updated my application to Prime and contacted my reciter again. He sent me a message he would call me in an hour and never did. By then I had discovered that Knight and Roehl had pet policies and was focused on them, so I did not pursue the matter. It helped that I liked their recruiters more. I'm not one to let my opinion of a recruiter have a significant impact on my opinion of a company, good or bad, I'm just demonstrating I've never felt comfortable with this fellow.

On Wednesday I renewed my application with Prime and sent a message via Drivers Pulse that I was interested in speaking with him. Friday morning there was no word so I called and left a message. I was hoping to get everything confirmed for a February 8th start date. Again Friday at 1:00, along with another message via Drivers Pulse. By 2:00 I called the main number and that recruiter updated my file. She mentioned transferring my CLP and I responded I had heard MO doesn't do that anymore. This is first time Salt Lake City was mentioned, since Utah will accept my AZ CLP. She assured me my recruiter would get in touch with me soon. No mention of Lease/Company.

My recruiter called me back at 3:00 while I was on the road. I pulled off and took the call. He asked for the nearest big city to Sedona and I answered Flagstaff. He then informed me that he therefore couldn't offer me Company Driver as there would be too many deadhead miles for home time. He mentioned a specific number as well as the max allowed, but I didn't have anything to write on and I was in a bit of shock so I don't remember. I mentioned I don't really have a home and have no interest in "home time" as commonly defined. His response was that he had spoken with 64 potential drivers that day and that 1/3 had told the same story. He informed me that the computer would only allow Lease as an option. I asked if I moved to SLC would that allow me to become a company driver, to which he responded in the affirmative. At that point we disconnected.

I drove for Prime. My experience with them is they love to push people into leases any way they can. That's just my experience.