Would It Be Fair To A Company (Swift) To Sign On Knowing You Will Only Be There 1 Year Or So

I have to admit I hadn't considered Swift much before because I want a furry little (or not so little) co-pilot, and I had read about their accommodations and such during training and it really doesn't appeal to me like Prime or Roehl. I mean sharing a room with three other dudes with me on an S-Pap machine which I found out I needed in Friday's sleep study is going to be a bit tricky. An S-Pap machine is like a C-Pap machine but they're for people who have had issues like asthma or COPD now or in the past. I had a mild case of asthma starting up back when I was smoking two-three packs a day about four years ago before I cut way down, and haven't had an attack since but I do still carry a rescue inhaler just in case. The doctor who did the study insisted on S-Pap just to be extra safe. Anyway, S-Paps are louder than C-Paps and I doubt anyone is going to want to bunk with me. Maybe if I were to go with Swift I could work something out to pay something for a private room.

The reason Swift is suddenly in the running after having it narrowed down to Prime and Roehl as my hopes of choice even though I couldn't have a pet is that I read about their comfort zones and just how much of their freight is drop and hook. I am thinking this could be a real help for a rookie for a while. I just couldn't stay there forever though as I know I would get super lonely in that truck in time without a four legger to keep me company. As far as what comfort zone I would take I would be really flexible. I would just ask to try to keep me out of New England as much as possible and I would love trips out west from time to time when they can be worked in. The only thing I would consider actually turning down flatly would be NYC but I would be honest with dispatch and tell him/her if they're in a pickle I'll go. Is it fair to do this with a company, especially since Swift does charge for CDL School and I wouldn't be there long enough to recoup my costs they pay back in weekly installments?

Don't worry your conscience about planning to leave Swift after your contract time is up. You won't be the only one who does that!!

True, no pets allowed on a Swiftmobile.

I've seen the Swift "comfort zone" map. As far as my experience, it's not followed. Yes you can turn down a load, but you do need a decent reason. And for sure, if a driver starts getting picky, they get moved down the priority list. I wouldn't even bring up the "I'll go if you need me to" business, they already asked you to go, and if you don't like to, they will be in a pickle, and you just might have a few extra days sitting. This goes for any company. You hired on for a job, your best bet is to do it.

And ...

Swift does charge for CDL School and I wouldn't be there long enough to recoup my costs they pay back in weekly installments?

Nobody gets you truly free schooling. I'm just pulling these numbers out of my head, but it goes like this: tuition is $3400 (I think). There's a combination of deduction and added pay so that in 13 months you are out of pocket $1950 over the year and your schooling is paid off. You can walk away from Swift then. But if you stick around, Swift continues paying you for the next 13 months, then you have free schooling!

I would also get some time under your belt running solo before bringing a pet with you. At least a few months. You're going to have ten millions things to worry about and work through without having to take care of a pet on top of that. There are a lot of little considerations you'll have to be aware of so getting some time alone running solo will give you a chance to work some things out before trying to handle a pet.

We have some good information on trucking with pets here:

• Tips For Trucking With Your Pets
• List Of Trucking Companies That Allow Pets

A couple of thoughts here Bill...

The shared hotel room you referred to, tops that's 3 weeks. Not really a big deal...besides these same dudes will be sleeping on a moving truck, your machine should not cause them any issues.

Any company could send you to New England or NYC area and every company will quickly grow tired of repeated refusals. Our job is to move freight. The only viable time to refuse a run is due to bad weather, illness or if your available hours are limited. Especially as a rookie your attitude must be "can-do" at all times. Old School recently posted the risk of refusing loads, not sure if you read it...not a bad idea to check it out.

Actually there is ONE company that offers Truly Free CDL training, but you must live in Texas for it. Raider Express. I believe they have a review here on the site.

@Errol: OK, I am glad you were straight about the comfort zone map. I also read Old School's post about not refusing runs, but I was assuming (and you know what they say about assuming, so thanks) that with me being "extra flexible" on the comfort zone thing NYC wouldn't be a problem. I am happy to know up front that a refusal is a refusal like any other company. I was assuming (there it is again) that Swift was a little different. Thanks for the info. I wouldn't consider turning anything down then with that knowledge.

@Brett: You know, not going out with a pet until you have a good bit of experience makes a lot of sense. That's responsibility on top of responsibility. I am glad you brought that up. Thanks for the links also. One of them I have read; the other I will check out.

@G-Town: Thanks for bringing up the point that my fellow roommates are going to have to sleep on a moving truck, so they had better be able to tolerate my machine. I was envisioning a soap in socks party for me by the third evening. I guess it is fair then to expect them to room with me and live with it.

Overall, even though comfort zones don't work in practice, Swift still has to be considered for the large percentage of drop and hooks. Man that would be nice for year one and maybe two.