Pet Friendly

H.O. Wolding allows a dog, $1,000 security deposit, taken out of your checks in increments. My dog is 65 lbs., and they were a little iffy about her because she's a pitbull. The safety people required me to drive solo a month without my dog, to let me get acclimated, and, I think, to get a feel for my level of responsibility. My girl is a therapy dog, I also sent them photos of her working with kids. I offered to bring her into the yard and meet the safety people to demonstrate her personality. I am fastidious about cleaning up after her, and anyone who sees us in the yard knows it. So be prepared to jump through a few hoops for a 100 lb. dog. You may need to house him with someone else for a few months while you get started.

Thank you for the info, Rainy D., especially about the "deposit." I'll change the spreadsheet I created for my comparisons to reflect the fee vs. deposit.

Prime is entitled to run their business as they want, but they should call it a fee, not a deposit, since it is actually a fee. Good to know.

This is what this site says in the Company Sponsored Training section on Pets re: Prime:

"Do you allow pets? Yes, drivers can have one dog or cat on their truck under 40lbs. A $1,000 deposit is required and may be payroll deducted over a 6 week period."

Thanks again, Rainy D., Stay Safe Out There, Colin K.

It has been great to get all the input from everyone on here. You guys and gals rock. It is interesting to see what some companies will do and some won't do. I will be looking into this much deeper. I see some will allow you a dog but no more than 25-30lbs. Heck my dogs head weighs 60lbs by itself. LOL

I also do understand the deposit as I was reading someplace where the driver was letting his animal crap in the truck and then just left it. I have OCD when it comes to cleaning so that can't happen. Again thanks for the info very helpful. Be Safe Out There.

Thank you for the info, Rainy D., especially about the "deposit." I'll change the spreadsheet I created for my comparisons to reflect the fee vs. deposit.

Prime is entitled to run their business as they want, but they should call it a fee, not a deposit, since it is actually a fee. Good to know.

This is what this site says in the Company Sponsored Training section on Pets re: Prime:

"Do you allow pets? Yes, drivers can have one dog or cat on their truck under 40lbs. A $1,000 deposit is required and may be payroll deducted over a 6 week period."

Thanks again, Rainy D., Stay Safe Out There, Colin K.

Yeah well.. Think about the cleaning. The hair clogs up the filters.,.. And I can say even with me vacuuming and using duct tape to get the hair off the curtains it is everywhere. And I have a short hair cat. My long hair would have been horrible and my Dalmatian unbearable even for me.

Then take into consideration the possible chewing...I admit my cat chews. I duct taped all the wires he could get to and put up fake wires hanging from his cat pole. Also realize we have APUs. Even when I'm not on the truck. The cat is....and the APU is left on for him. Burning up Primes fuel.

Some animals get sick or urinate while getting adjusted to the truck. They might scratch stuff up. It is true they should call if a fee, but hey....there might be a remote chance I could get something back.

But add in the fact that I got great training (despite some issues) at a higher pay than many other places....then went solo at a higher pay than others. I get great miles with the condo I wanted and an awesome FM. So...eh...$1000 isn't much when you consider I could have made much less elsewhere.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Company Sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

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.

We drive for Werner and have 2 large dogs in our truck. Neither weigh that much but combined they weigh more. Call and talk to them.

I totally get what you are saying, Rainy D. Given the potential damage that a pet can do to a truck, $1,000 does seem reasonable.

My only issue is calling it a "deposit" when it is, in fact, a fee. A deposit means that, if all goes well, you could expect all, or part of that money, back at one point. Finding out it is a fee at that point would make me very upset. Knowing that it is a fee going in is fine as I know what I'm getting into.

I'm very glad that things worked out for you and your cat.

Stay Safe Out There, Colin K.

I totally get what you are saying, Rainy D. Given the potential damage that a pet can do to a truck, $1,000 does seem reasonable.

My only issue is calling it a "deposit" when it is, in fact, a fee. A deposit means that, if all goes well, you could expect all, or part of that money, back at one point. Finding out it is a fee at that point would make me very upset. Knowing that it is a fee going in is fine as I know what I'm getting into.

I'm very glad that things worked out for you and your cat.

Stay Safe Out There, Colin K.

True. But my apt called it a pet deposit too...$500 and it was really a fee cause ewhat they do is put impossible standards. So it might legally be a deposit, but in reality it is a fee. The lease ops don't get charged but they hit them with a cleaning and damage bill that God knows could be much higher