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Willie B.'s Comment
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What company will honestly route me home every week or two?

Jamie's Comment
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I was going home every two weeks with Schneider(I'm employed by Schneider), but decided to stay out three weeks at a time for a little while to make more money. But a lot of the mega carries will get you home every week or two depending on what you're doing.

Omar C.'s Comment
member avatar

I've been driving for Knight for 2 months now. I've requested home time twice and I was routed home quickly. I just requested to be home for a wedding in December and I was quickly approved.

TWIC:

Transportation Worker Identification Credential

Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.

Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

Willie B.'s Comment
member avatar

Ok great!! Thanks Jamie! Would you recommended team driving for new drivers?

I was going home every two weeks with Schneider(I'm employed by Schneider), but decided to stay out three weeks at a time for a little while to make more money. But a lot of the mega carries will get you home every week or two depending on what you're doing.

Big Scott's Comment
member avatar

Unless you and your teamate live in the same city, it is generally more difficult to get teams home when they want. If you need to be home that often for kids under 18, my opinion is wait until the youngest is 18 before going into trucking. Going home every two weeks will deeply lessen your pay. There are companies that have more regional and dedicated routes to get you home more often. Good luck.

Dedicated Route:

A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

Old School's Comment
member avatar

Hey Willie, welcome to our forum!

You might want to consider working for a flat bed company. Flat bed freight can be managed very successfully in regional areas of the country, and you live in a pretty decent area for flat bed freight. Some of the flat bed companies have gotten very good at working a schedule that gets their drivers home on weekends while still making very good money. You'll have to hustle, but I'd be willing to bet you already have that kind of work ethic and mentality.

Here's three flat bed companies that run in your area and can probably get you home most weekends.

TMC

Maverick

McElroy

You can put any of those names in the search bar at the top of this page and find a bunch of information on them.

Keep in mind that getting home for the weekend as a trucker is not your typical weekend like a factory worker might experience. It's basically going to be something like 34 hours. Once you and your dispatcher get the hang of working together there will be times that you can get a little more time at home if needed. It will take about four or five months of doing this to learn the little secrets that can help you work that schedule to it's maximum potential, but it is quite possible to run flat bed loads this way and still create a nice balance between earning good money and still enjoying some quality time with your family.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

Dispatcher:

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.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Willie B.'s Comment
member avatar

Thanks Big Scott that's very good advice.

Unless you and your teamate live in the same city, it is generally more difficult to get teams home when they want. If you need to be home that often for kids under 18, my opinion is wait until the youngest is 18 before going into trucking. Going home every two weeks will deeply lessen your pay. There are companies that have more regional and dedicated routes to get you home more often. Good luck.

Dedicated Route:

A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

Willie B.'s Comment
member avatar

"Old School" Thanks a lot, I desire to work for a flatbed company when I was in trucking school a youngman came out to converse with us from a company called Cypress are you familiar with the company? Thank you and I am learning a lot just from being on "TT"!!

Hey Willie, welcome to our forum!

You might want to consider working for a flat bed company. Flat bed freight can be managed very successfully in regional areas of the country, and you live in a pretty decent area for flat bed freight. Some of the flat bed companies have gotten very good at working a schedule that gets their drivers home on weekends while still making very good money. You'll have to hustle, but I'd be willing to bet you already have that kind of work ethic and mentality.

Here's three flat bed companies that run in your area and can probably get you home most weekends.

TMC

Maverick

McElroy

You can put any of those names in the search bar at the top of this page and find a bunch of information on them.

Keep in mind that getting home for the weekend as a trucker is not your typical weekend like a factory worker might experience. It's basically going to be something like 34 hours. Once you and your dispatcher get the hang of working together there will be times that you can get a little more time at home if needed. It will take about four or five months of doing this to learn the little secrets that can help you work that schedule to it's maximum potential, but it is quite possible to run flat bed loads this way and still create a nice balance between earning good money and still enjoying some quality time with your family.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

Dispatcher:

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.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Willie B.'s Comment
member avatar

"Wow" Knight appears to be promising. Omar I really appreciate the info, going to do my research ASAP. Thanks!

I've been driving for Knight for 2 months now. I've requested home time twice and I was routed home quickly. I just requested to be home for a wedding in December and I was quickly approved.

SAP:

Substance Abuse Professional

The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

TWIC:

Transportation Worker Identification Credential

Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.

Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

Parrothead66's Comment
member avatar

Hey Willie, I’ve been with McElroy for 3 1/2 years and I’m home every Friday, usually between 4-6. Leave out Sunday usually mid afternoon but they guarantee you get home every weekend. Plus flatbed is fun.

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