Choosing A Company When Your Options Are Limited..

Since this site seems to have many honest and knowledgeable professional Truckers, I would like to ask some advice. Knowing some pros and cons including tuition, if you had to choose between Swift, CRE, CRST and PTL, which would YOU choose?? I have the to pay up front if needed. These were the companies I was trying to stay away from based on research, but since I have a couple of not so preferred things on my DL, I may have settle for one of these...Thanks in advance..

All of the above companies are good companies to start off with.

But since you're asking for me to put myself in your shoes, I'll give my feedback.

If I had only these few companies interested in me.

I wouldn't go CRE. They push the lease way too hard and I've experienced that before and don't want to go through it ever again.

I also wouldn't go to CRST. I'm not a fan of team driving and the pay is very low starting. But mainly because I refuse to be forced into team driving.

I would rank Swift above CRE and CRST. Swift pays better than CRST and pretty much the same as CRE. Except Swift has many more divisions then CRE with great opportunities for dedicated runs.

However, If I was in your position I would rank Paschall Truck Lines above the other. Here's why:

I'm not positive, but I think they pay better than Swift does.

They offer more frequent hometime, I think its like 10 days out?

No forced NYC or North East from what I've heard.

They have APU's unlike the other carriers. Not a must have, but definitely a giant convenience feature.

Equipment isn't as great as the other carriers though but they have a lot of positives that the other carriers just don't have.

So this would be my order, if I was in your position. Now I'm not saying one company is better than another. They're all fine companies. But like you requested, I'm putting myself in your shoes.

PTL-Swift-CRE-CRST

Dedicated Run:

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."

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.

APU's:

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.

Really not sure what the 'undesirable' things on your DL are, without you mentioning them, but I'd go w/ Prime. I know that wasn't on your list, but that would be my first choice amongst major carriers - if I was in your shoes. I'm trying to make an educated guess on why you chose the companies you listed, but why isn't Prime on that list? Daniel B. runs for Prime, not sure why he didn't plug his own company, save for the reason that it wasn't on your list. He has a lot of good points on why he chose his particular order of preference, based on the companies you listed.

Bill, this is the thread where floyd talks about his background.

Floyds Thread

Bill, this is the thread where floyd talks about his background.

Floyds Thread

Gotcha.

All of the above companies are good companies to start off with.

But since you're asking for me to put myself in your shoes, I'll give my feedback.

If I had only these few companies interested in me.

I wouldn't go CRE. They push the lease way too hard and I've experienced that before and don't want to go through it ever again.

I also wouldn't go to CRST. I'm not a fan of team driving and the pay is very low starting. But mainly because I refuse to be forced into team driving.

I would rank Swift above CRE and CRST. Swift pays better than CRST and pretty much the same as CRE. Except Swift has many more divisions then CRE with great opportunities for dedicated runs.

However, If I was in your position I would rank Paschall Truck Lines above the other. Here's why:

I'm not positive, but I think they pay better than Swift does.

They offer more frequent hometime, I think its like 10 days out?

No forced NYC or North East from what I've heard.

They have APU's unlike the other carriers. Not a must have, but definitely a giant convenience feature.

Equipment isn't as great as the other carriers though but they have a lot of positives that the other carriers just don't have.

So this would be my order, if I was in your position. Now I'm not saying one company is better than another. They're all fine companies. But like you requested, I'm putting myself in your shoes.

PTL-Swift-CRE-CRST

Thanks Daniel, I agree with all your points and have them in almost the same order, PTL, Swift, CRST and CRE.

I've heard some good things about PTL mostly that pay is at the top for new drivers, they have lots of miles and that people are generally very nice, but the talk is also that their equipment/trailers are in really bad shape which makes them a DOT target. Another negative is that I'm going thru Truck Driver Institute and I don't know how much that's going to cost me yet.

Swif--I don't much about, just a lot of negative reviews on the net and tuition is very high compared to others, but you point out some good reasons.

CRST--I like only because their tuition is very low, I could pay up front and leave after a few months if I didn't like it. I also don't like the idea of teams, besides personality compatibility, you are not always in the same truck so that would make impossible to carry personal stuff(cooking items/food..etc) around. That's something a really want, to be able to prepare my own food, I don't want to be eating at rest areas or fast food joints. Also I'm an Ultra Runner and need to do daily training runs of about 10 miles and running as as team that would also make impossible I think since the truck is basically always on the move..

CRE--I just hear horror stories about a lot of stuff, but I hear that there school is actually pretty good.

My other option is to LCCC in lehigh county PA....thanks for posting

Dedicated Run:

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."

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

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.

APU's:

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.

My list would look just like Daniel's for many of the same reasons. I will not team drive and more frequent home time was at the top of my list of priorities.

Even with limited choices I think the overall selection process should still be the same. As I'm sure you have read on here many times most companies are really pretty similar and your success ultimately falls on you and how you handle things. So list out the variables that are important to you and choose the company the tics the most of your high priority boxes.

Woody

Really not sure what the 'undesirable' things on your DL are, without you mentioning them, but I'd go w/ Prime. I know that wasn't on your list, but that would be my first choice amongst major carriers - if I was in your shoes. I'm trying to make an educated guess on why you chose the companies you listed, but why isn't Prime on that list? Daniel B. runs for Prime, not sure why he didn't plug his own company, save for the reason that it wasn't on your list. He has a lot of good points on why he chose his particular order of preference, based on the companies you listed.

Yeah Billy, I have a DWI in 1998 and have a couple suspensions for non-payment of an insurance surcharge in the past 3 years, I also had an employment gap, but have resolved that. My DL is in good standing now and have NJ CDL permit with all endorsements.

I called PRIME but was told that they have a hiring freeze in NJ at the moment. I am moving to Bethlehem PA in April, so maybe I should call them again..thanks

So far the folks at PTL have been wonderful. When u upgrade here the pay is 33 cpm. There's not a truck in the fleet older than a 2011. The one international prostar I've driven drove real sweet. Granted that was with no load though. One more thing is that PTL is 100% employee owned. Now that's not gonna mean squat to anyone that doesn't stay for quite a long time but ESOP is about the closest thing you're gonna find to a pension in this industry.

Just thought I'd mention that at PTL you will be forced to team for 30k miles as part of your training. You are paid 15 cpm for that period and all miles The truck runs count toward your 30k and both drivers are getting the 15 cpm. Although I too have zero interest in team driving, It's only 30k miles and I didn't see anywhere that was offering the potential to make 1/2 decent money while still in training.

Also, since tuition costs seem to be a big factor you're looking at, PTL Does not Offer tuition reimbursement like most other medium to large carriers.