Choosing A Company
Choosing a trucking company is no small task because there are so many trucking companies to choose from. You should have already narrowed down your choices some by deciding on which
type of truck driving job you want.
For instance if you know you want to eventually haul heavy equipment, why not start at a company with flat beds. If you know you want to haul produce as an owner operator later, make sure the company you start driving at has refrigerated trailers.These small proactive moves help to turn your trucking job into a trucking career that makes you happy as soon as possible. Have a plan to get to where you want to end up and follow the steps necessary.
What to look for in a trucking company
Make sure you look at many trucking companies that fit your needs and compare them to each other. A list of some of the things that may be important to you are...- How they dispatch loads
- What things they pay you for...layover, stop pay, loading/unloading
- How much they pay you aside from driving like layover pay, Stop Pay, Unloading and Loading Pay
- Whether they pay using HHG, Zip to Zip, Practical Miles Actual Miles or Hub Miles
More and more companies now use practical miles. This usually cuts less than 10 percent off actual mileages you drive on each trip. After a year's time it adds up to some nice change. Some companies are paying HHG which is household goods miles. You will get cheated even more if you go to a company that pays you using that scale. You will get shorted closer to 10 percent of your miles driven more frequently using this standard. Zip to Zip is also a huge rip off. Large cities can span 30 or more miles from one end to the next as far at the address to the destination is concerned. Avoid these if you can. Actual or Hub miles is preferred but you might not find a trucking job that pays you that way as a new driver but keep your eyes open for comparison.A company that voluntarily pays actual miles is sending a good signal of how it feels about fairness. - How often you will get home
- What type of equipment you will be operating
- How they dispatch loads
- Retirement and benefits plans
- Insurance cost and coverage for you and family
- Tuition Reimbursement
- How they dispatch loads
- If you have assigned equipment or slipped seating
- Driver Satisfaction
There are too many truck driving jobs to start off at one that doesn't meet your needs and you end up as an unhappy driver. Some recruiters will lie to you, sometimes intentionally and sometimes ill informed of actual company operation or trucking life in general. (Other than trying to get you into...and them paid) Once you eliminate the companies by what they offer, (or don't offer) then you need to talk to drivers that work for the companies your are seriously considering. Make sure what they (the drivers) are saying about the company is the same thing the company recruiter is saying about the company. You know, the things that matter to you and your specific needs, pay, home time, lay over pay, etc.
What may be most important to one driver, may not be important to another driver. If a retired vet wants to drive simply to travel the country and doesn't need good benefits, he may opt for a company that travel all states. A family man may need to get home every two weeks so the home terminal and travel lanes are important to him. Benefits may be more important to him/her than just pay for mile. On the other hand, a single young man, might care less about the benefits, instead the highest pay may be more appealing. So I have provided some things to compare company for company to see which one meets your needs the best. Remember, no company will be perfect for everyone and most likely not perfect for you. However, you are more likely to make a better decision is you put some type of system in place for choosing. Now if reality happens to work against you and you can't really get what you want in a company as a new driver, you will just have to deal with you options until you get that year in. You option after that point will increase dramatically if you keep your record clean.
Note: If you bought the my little book "A Career In Trucking", at the back there are pages with these questions and room for taking notes as you talk to drivers for your convenience
Driver Recommended
Choosing A Trucking Company
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