Best 2nd Company Suggestions

Hello all,

I've recently completed my first year OTR. What a ride. Clean record, no accidents or moving violations. I did get a ticket from Oregon DOT for not carrying enough chain sets at the beginning of winter.

I wonder if you ladies and gents have any recommendations on where to go with my young career. It's my understanding that companies requiring drivers with experience typically pay more. I don't really have any big issues with Knight trans, but the name of the game is making money right?

Preferably companies that work out west, as I am a Utah guy.

I've recently completed my first year OTR. What a ride. Clean record, no accidents or moving violations. I did get a ticket from Oregon DOT for not carrying enough chain sets at the beginning of winter.

Sounds like you did pretty good at Knight. Don't you think you'll get some CPM raises if you stayed there?

If a company wants experienced drivers, that means they just aren't interested in training, that's all.

We have several Knight drivers here. They might try to talk you into staying on.

Refresh my memory. Are you doing dry van? What are you looking to do if you changed companies? I switched from dry van to reefer and have made considerably more money and it has worked out well.

Hey, I've got a lot of guidance I can give on this subject. It's a favorite topic of mine. Unfortunately, I'm going to bed right now, and I'm under a ridiculously demanding load. Haha, that's my life.

The planners think I'm Superman. That's great when it comes to my pay, but it sure makes me short on free time.

Don't be hasty with this decision. I want to give you some guidance, but it may be this weekend before I can find some free time.

Ooops! I forgot...

Congratulations on a stellar first year!

And to add, this is NOT a good time in trucking, to look for greener pastures !! You're at 1 of the top carriers already, so why bail out ?? For me, it took nearly 2 years to see a big jump in my pay, from my starting out fresh.

Errol, I'm in no way set on leaving Knight, they treat me reasonably well, put me in a brand new Freightliner after only 4 months in. I'm just curious as to what opportunities might be out there now that I have some experience under my belt. I'm not a job-hopper. I was with the same manufacturing company for 17 years before I became a trucker. I'm just not willing to do the same job for less money for the sake of "loyalty".

BK, I've actually done a bit of several things in my short career. Started out in ports, then due to low volume there ran dry van for several months, and then about 4 months ago switched to reefer , all under the Knight umbrella. I'm down to do whatever, I just want to make more money. I've got a little brat to put through college starting in the fall. I've noticed a couple companies that advertise minimum weekly pay. For example Marten claims 1,400 weekly minimum. This other outfit, K&B Transportation, claims 1,750 weekly minimum.

Old School, thanks for the congrats. I look forward to hearing your advice.

Congrats on getting another milestone completed!! That is a big deal..

As already said in this economy its not a good time to be changing jobs, unless you have too.

Be careful when looking or talking to companies about compensation and look closely. Some throw out what I call a headline, but when you dig a litte deeper you find more detailed info what the quals are to qualify for the headline info.

I have a friend that works a dedicated account. He has a guarnteed min pay of 8500 a week. Sounds great. That is the headline. However to make that there are several requirements he has to meet to make that min pay. If he doesn’t meet every one, then he is just paid the normal rate for each load. Of course they didn’t tell him all of the mandatory requirements until after he agreed to the job.

Look and listen very carefully to not get sucked in by a headline!!

Scorcthednuts,

I would not believe what you are hearing about the so called guaranteed minimum at these companies. Look at the real world drivers and filter thru the hype. Yes you could make these pay claims but depending on the poor freight and real world it varies week to week.

It seems like you are doing quite well at Knight and to go somewhere else blindfolded could be a huge mistake. Do you realize that so called loyalty is noticed by the ones at the top of most of any of these companies?

You would still be at the bottom of any seniority list and have to fight for any good runs and equipment all over again. Be patient and keep proving yourself in this tight economy and you will be glad that you did.

A few cents more a mile that would be "promised" might just prove to be a disaster for you. Good luck to you.

Glad to hear you are doing reefer. Reefer is a safe bet right now. I heard dry van is down 28% from a year ago. Reefer miles have been very consistent for me during this economic and transportation downturn. One of the nice things about reefer is that you can haul dry loads as need be to stay moving. I delivered a dead cow load to Ohio and got a back haul dry load of dog food going to Denver. The company has more options with a reefer trailer, I believe. Switching companies is almost always problematic to some degree, so carefully consider any options and get as much advice as possible. The danger comes from just making a lateral move rather than a move that really improves your current situation.