New driver
Posted by F90MComp@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 38 comments
Hey everyone, I just got my CDL-A (manual) and have no experience. I know some companies hire new drivers, but I’m not sure where to start.
Any recommendations on companies that hire new drivers? Bonus points if they offer decent pay and good training!
I’m based in Florida.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
mrockracing@reddit
Depends on what you're willing to put up with. Swift are the friendliest I've worked for, even beyond the "starter" companies. However, they pay way too little and their equipment is junk.
Schneider steals from your paycheck, and watches your every move, so I wouldn't go there if I were you.
Roehl is okay. They watch your every move too, but they keep you running and the pay when I was there was 13cpm higher than any of the others I looked at, at the time.
US.Xpress/Variant/Whatever they call themselves these days. Excellent pay when I was OTR with them. But the miles were hit or miss, and the people you spoke to were just downright disrespectful. I was yelled at once by a lady who was having a bad day. They also probably won't take you back if you quit, even if you're performance was top, which for me left a bad taste in my mouth, but they did it to every other person I spoke to that tried, so I can't be too mad about it.
J.B Hunt are the literal scum of the Earth as far as I know, however there are guys who absolutely love it. Yeah, they pay ridiculous. They offered me 71cpm or hourly at 32$ an hour plus per stop plus touch plus overtime. But, and I can't stress this enough, there is a reason they are offering that kind of money, and a reason why they offer that seemingly regardless of experience... Everyone seems to quit J.B Hunt eventually. I did after just a few days. Worst experience I had at a job, full stop. I was yelled at for getting the flu, and then my "trainer" was such a bad driver, I didn't know if I'd make it home those nights unless I was driving, and when I was driving, he kept telling me I was driving too slow. Bruv, if 15 over is too slow, I don't want to know what your definition of speeding is.
LTL Carriers like Central or Estes are okay. I hear Estes is better than Central. I wouldn't know, as I only worked for Central. The equipment was quite bad, and the work was hard. With P&D work, there's lots of tight backs, street unloads, and lots of pallet jacking things that would normally require a forklift. You also have to be decently good at route planning, so some other delivery experience helps. With linehaul it's easier, but the equipment is still going to be in rough shape, and you'll probably want to go and get your doubles and triples endorsement.
Amazon requires 3 months experience. They're okay. Not great, not bad. Just okay. The cameras and nanny stuff is what makes it suck, and the pay is pretty low at 25$ an hour where I'm at. But the work is otherwise just about as easy as trucking gets. Press button, drive truck. Rinse and repeat five or six times, and then park truck and go home. Do that 4 days a week. They're the only part-time job around as far as I know besides UPS or Penske, which are notoriously difficult jobs to get, so that might be a consideration for you. The AFP I worked for allowed for as little as 2 days a week, however remember it's only 25$ an hour (Baltimore rate).
Strange-Ad2470@reddit
CR England also steals from your paycheck.
alphieboo@reddit
current fresh swift driver here, i do agree they’re nice to work for
the trucks is a gamble, u either get lucky and they’ll send u to arizona for a new 25 kenworth or they’ll give u an old truck with 500k.
they’re decently accommodating i’d say, and the staff is pretty helpful. pay is a little low, in cali on my checks it says .41/mile so yep 🤣
the cascadias do watch every move. internationals, volvo, and kw has a less sensitive sensor that doesn’t beep as often, so that’s something to keep in mind for smart drive
all depends on your driver leader, my first one was a little doodoo so i switched and now its getting better, im getting the assistance i need as a new driver and my questions answered by someone who’s more patient and wont snap with the “u didn’t leave anything from ur mentor??” attitude
Nero-Danteson@reddit
9 months in. Memphis also gives out unicorn brand new trucks. I will say it is 100% dependent on who you get as a driver leader. Of course as with anything if something isn't right to you say something. "Closed mouths don't get fed." As far as freight goes it's same as anywhere else in the industry, pretty slow. They did partner with Amazon so probably going to get pickup from that. Most of the time I personally will 'bunny hop' (i.e. grab a couple short loads to get to somewhere with a longer run). Run 50cpm West of the Mississippi and 51 east.
Chaddie_D@reddit
If the rumors are true and any company only has older trucks to pick from, pick the highest mileage truck you can find so you're next in line for a new one.
mrockracing@reddit
That is correct. They offered me a truck for trade to take to Columbus to try and get me to stay when I left. It was the highest mileage truck they had.
Nero-Danteson@reddit
I picked based on how the truck sounded.
Different_Mousse_564@reddit
Be very careful about by the load pay you’ll find yourself rushing to get a paycheck
Mobile-Ostrich7614@reddit
This is true, however I’ve had a good amount of loads that paid me over a dollar a mile. Depends what they give you
Mobile-Ostrich7614@reddit
If you’re young and feel like a pretty smart guy, I’d say try flatbed. Pays more and if you can do that dryvan will be easy if you ever gotta switch
Flashy_Broccoli4927@reddit
Try TMC or Cypress if you don't want to start out as a dock bumper, good luck driver!
yeroldpappy@reddit
Food service. If you don’t mind hard labor.
CR8Y_ol_Maurice@reddit
Megas hire first years. Still in my first year and I went with Swift.
A lot of ppl will knock swift, but I’ll tell you straight up that everyone in the office is always super professional, friendly, never talk down to you, treat you with respect and as an adult, want you to be safe over being their on time… so yeah, my recommendation is swift. Plus I heard we’re now offering a sign on bonus.
Once you get 12 months in, there are other companies that pay better.
xxenoscionxx@reddit
Am with you , Swift, the people were great. It was an excellent place to start.
Alerted_King_4869@reddit
Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Cheney Brothers, Sysco, 7Up…there’s plenty all depends on what part of Florida you live in… definitely try CCBF that’s where I gain my experience
Strong_Wasabi8113@reddit
Schneider
GroundbreakingSir386@reddit
XPO hires new drivers. I got my CDL A in Oregon and got hired and trained for a month. Previously from Florida.
yolo_2345@reddit
I would stay away from mega carriers they micromanage her every move and are very annoying and pay as little as possible to the new guys especially. I would go to all your local steel supply lumber supply masonry supply if you're in good shape you could do food and beverage distribution they usually hire with no experience. I would call people tell them you're a hard worker willing to learn
redsn0w10@reddit
See if Swift has Walmart dedicated account near you. It pays a little more than an OTR spot. Mileage plus stop pay and back haul. JB Hunt might have a local account too. They hire right out of school.
Traditional_Deer5569@reddit
This might be a long shot but not a lot of wanna do this type of work cuz it a bit of labor involved, try safety kleen GFI ,clean harbors, my company hired me 34 years ago with 2 years experience, if you're not lazy and willing to pay attention to regulatory requirements it a good job, made 160k last year unfortunately we have nothing in Florida but those are our competitors
CaptainUnderpants_91@reddit
Seeing all these posts puzzles me. How do people commit and pay to get a CDL with absolutely zero direction?
F90MComp@reddit (OP)
Who goes to search for a job without a license? Hi can u hire me ? Yes sure U got license? No .
Okay you hired ?
Live-Door3408@reddit
I’m no expert but from what I've been hearing from people lately the marked is real tough rn, I had to settle for a gig with CRST and I have nearly two years of experience. I hate to say it but you may just have to take what u can get for now until you get some experience and the market turns around
FantasticAd410@reddit
Look for Bunzl Distribution. Or aka R3. I knew a couple guys got hired right out of school. Zero experience. Also the one near me pays $31/ hr and OT after 40
Additional-Ad2886@reddit
Do not join a mega carrier! Find a company that values you as a driver. I can offer you two companies one where I got my start and one where I finished my Otr career before I went to LTL. I started with empire express based out of Memphis which did a lot of Florida based freight when I started and JM Bozeman based in Arkansas which also did some Florida based freight. Empire Express took me on fresh out of diesel driving academy and also helped me pay for my tuition and the terms were simple. We’ll pay .04 cpm towards your tuition for all miles you run (and believe me I ran plenty) for as long as you work here. No contract, no you owe us if you quit. I started out with low cpm but within a year I was making top based just based off my performance. This was in 2015-2018 and they’ve undergone some changes so I can’t really speak for the company they are today. JM Bozeman was another company that treats the driver with respect, and they have damn good looking equipment to go along with it! Loved my time there but in the end after 7years otr I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I say all this to say don’t join some mega carrier where you’re just a number for low pay! Find someone who will treat you well and show it with pay and top notch equipment and miles!
hesslake@reddit
Indian River hires new drivers if you have tanker
Cardinal_350@reddit
It will never not be weird to me to see Manual on a license
Baddy001@reddit
It's not on the license. You either have the restriction on it or not.
Cardinal_350@reddit
Besides the point
Airstrikeayers@reddit
Where in Florida?
F90MComp@reddit (OP)
West palm
Airstrikeayers@reddit
If you were closer up north, cocoa has a swift Walmart dedicated account. I was on it for 3.5 years. Good money, no touch freight. There’s also Arcadia but that’s probably a hike from west palm
Zeirvoy@reddit
OTR has been covered, if you want local you'll probably be stuck with beverage (coke, pepsi, beer) or one of the food service guys, sysco, pfg, Gordon etc for a while
kazikv@reddit
Depends on what you want, if it’s local being a new CDL holder it can be a slight challenge, but being in Florida AND being a new CDL holder you’re basically going to be OTR. I’m from Florida and I moved out to Arizona like 9 years ago, been local since. But if OTR is cool, you’ll find something. Check Schneider, Werner, big names etc.
Iliketrucksandguns@reddit
State or local government
Cfwydirk@reddit
Time to move to where the freight is. There is little freight going out of Florida.
https://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/threads/question-on-freight-lanes-in-and-out-of-florida.212529/
https://www.truckingtruth.com/truckers-forum/Topic-7129/Page-1/why-is-there-no-freight-in-florida
12InchPickle@reddit
Try all the typical mega carriers first.
Capn_T_Driver@reddit
You're most likely going to end up with one of the Megas; depending on where you're at in Florida, Werner has a couple terminals in the Tampa/Lakeland area, and a pretty solid customer base up and down the state. I'm almost positive Schneider, JB Hunt, Swift, and all the rest have a presence there as well. Definitely recommend you call up the recruiters and see what they have to offer. I haven't been a company guy in years, but I started with Werner and had a good experience, so I'm biased towards them.