Truck drivers..

[feellnfroggy]

Swift's safety rating is crap. Avoid them if you can. You can, and WILL, starve.

I spent 3 years watching truck drivers make more money than I did and I was a salaried driver manager with the ocala terminal. The only ones who starve at swift are the lazy assholes who complain more than they drive. If more of their drivers did less bitchin and more driving they could be even bigger. Yes their safety rating is crap but its gettin better. I personally implemented alot of the new training subjects concerning safety when orienting new students.

Why is it eveyrone wants to post in absolutes, lately.

 

[mattpresley]

well u can only drive like 620 miles a day and if all they pay is by the mile u would at the most make $ 155.00 a day and chance's of u driving 620 miles a day all week not going to happen

My grandfather was a truck driver for many years. He said he always kept 2 log books. One to show a cop and the real one to show the company he was driving for. he made a killing! Don't know if thats doable nowadays but it sure as hell worked for him. You gotta bend the rules

 

[MagnaV30]

Hard to bend the rules nowadays, most companies (up here anyways) are running GPS and electronic logs. No cheats.

 

[Jason]

I spent 3 years watching truck drivers make more money than I did and I was a salaried driver manager with the ocala terminal. The only ones who starve at swift are the lazy assholes who complain more than they drive. If more of their drivers did less bitchin and more driving they could be even bigger. Yes their safety rating is crap but its gettin better. I personally implemented alot of the new training subjects concerning safety when orienting new students.

Why is it eveyrone wants to post in absolutes, lately.

Produce me recent pay settlements showing a newer swift driver pulling more than $600 a week gross.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Produce me recent pay settlements showing a swift driver pulling more than 600 a week gross.

Can you post one showing they all don't?

If I was actually still with tehm or stupid enough to post protected information I would. I left in january to go to school. Now I am in knoxville with the nearest terminal in memphis. But like I said before, my trainees made 500 a week during week 5 and 6, Mentors, dedicated, owner ops, and quite a few of the company drivers regularly made 900-1500 a week. Obviously not everyone can pull those numbers, but quite a few of them did.

I dont know what else you want me to say, just because you didnt make that much, or someone you know didnt make that much, it dont speak for everyone.

 

[Jason]

Can you post one showing they all don't?

If I was actually still with tehm or stupid enough to post protected information I would. I left in january to go to school. Now I am in knoxville with the nearest terminal in memphis. But like I said before, my trainees made 500 a week during week 5 and 6, Mentors, dedicated, owner ops, and quite a few of the company drivers regularly made 900-1500 a week. Obviously not everyone can pull those numbers, but quite a few of them did.

I dont know what else you want me to say, just because you didnt make that much, or someone you know didnt make that much, it dont speak for everyone.

Well of course I can't post one statement to show that they all make crap money. I am not new to this trucking game and I talk to many swift drivers. They all tell the same story about crap dispatch and $300 checks. I found one guy that made over $40k a year and he was a trainer. The only other way to get paid working for them is to get on the dedicated fleet for Costco. Good luck with that. LOL

Go to www.thetruckersreport.com and search for swift info. There is plenty.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Well of course I can't post one statement to show that they all make crap money. I am not new to this trucking game and I talk to many swift drivers. They all tell the same story about crap dispatch and $300 checks. I found one guy that made over $40k a year and he was a trainer. The only other way to get paid working for them is to get on the dedicated fleet for Costco. Good luck with that. LOL

Go to www.thetruckersreport.com and search for swift info. There is plenty.

Actually florida lost the costco fleet as well as the family dollar,(too many new companys that can run cheaper) but they have kmart, supertarget, GP, and couple other dedicated runs that do really well on a regular basis.

Keep in mind the only ones who really talk openly abou their money are the ones who are dissatisfied. Like many other jobs. Swift also has a high turnover rate, so alot of the people you will be talking to have less than 3-4 yrs with swift, and we all know the better money comes with more time with the company. This is exactly because alot of guys start with swift and move on to the ones who pay better immediately, too many wont suffer through the hard years to get to the good years. (I can understand the sentiment) but everyone wants their due now.

There is a reason Swift is 22000 trucks strong, they didnt get that way by screwing drivers. Otherwise the rep would have burned them, kinda like the safety rep.

By the way, swift has taken quite a few national awards in teh last 5 years. Look those up too.

 

[Jason]

Actually florida lost the costco fleet as well as the family dollar,(too many new companys that can run cheaper) but they have kmart, supertarget, GP, and couple other dedicated runs that do really well on a regular basis.

Keep in mind the only ones who really talk openly abou their money are the ones who are dissatisfied. Like many other jobs. Swift also has a high turnover rate, so alot of the people you will be talking to have less than 3-4 yrs with swift, and we all know the better money comes with more time with the company. This is exactly because alot of guys start with swift and move on to the ones who pay better immediately, too many wont suffer through the hard years to get to the good years. (I can understand the sentiment) but everyone wants their due now.

There is a reason Swift is 22000 trucks strong, they didnt get that way by screwing drivers. Otherwise the rep would have burned them, kinda like the safety rep.

By the way, swift has taken quite a few national awards in teh last 5 years. Look those up too.

Swifts fleet didn't get that big by paying drivers. Like any other huge company they kept as much cash as they could. That is why I don't recommend them. They pay low ass mileage and frankly play a role in ruining the professional driver and their ability to earn a living. Of course you didn't drive, so I wouldn't expect you to understand.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Swifts fleet didn't get that big by paying drivers. Like any other huge company they kept as much cash as they could. That is why I don't recommend them. They pay low ass mileage and frankly play a role in ruining the professional driver and their ability to earn a living. Of course you didn't drive, so I wouldn't expect you to understand.

Your right, I didnt drive. I was the one who went in and fixed my drivers pay problems when things got messed up.

You obviously experienced them firsthand and had a bad experience so its no use arguing with you, but dont speak in absolutes, cuz someone else might have a different experience.

You must also have alot of experience with trucking in general, so assuming you learn from your mistakes with these companies, your making good money now. Instead of shooting down the bad companies why dont you suggest some good ones. And tell these kids how to make it big.

 

[Jason]

Your right, I didnt drive. I was the one who went in and fixed my drivers pay problems when things got messed up.

You obviously experienced them firsthand and had a bad experience so its no use arguing with you, but dont speak in absolutes, cuz someone else might have a different experience.

You must also have alot of experience with trucking in general, so assuming you learn from your mistakes with these companies, your making good money now. Instead of shooting down the bad companies why dont you suggest some good ones. And tell these kids how to make it big.

Good point. Crete Carriers takes new guys and generally has a good reputation. TMC transport is also a good choice even though there are some grumblings since they lowered the governed speeds on the trucks and got rid of the prepass. If you aren't afraid of driving flats, that may be a place to look at. Also give a nod to Stevens Transport. They are a reefer (refrigerated) hauler. I don't see too many angry guys from there and the equipment, like TMC, is top notch.

 

[Will]

Nice work keeping it civil and useful. Both of you. I respect it.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Good point. Crete Carriers takes new guys and generally has a good reputation. TMC transport is also a good choice even though there are some grumblings since they lowered the governed speeds on the trucks and got rid of the prepass. If you aren't afraid of driving flats, that may be a place to look at. Also give a nod to Stevens Transport. They are a reefer (refrigerated) hauler. I don't see too many angry guys from there and the equipment, like TMC, is top notch.

Do they have any terminals in the knoxvill, tn area? I cant drive, but I do need another job. Preferably DM.

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Nice work keeping it civil and useful. Both of you. I respect it.

Thanks, I seem to have inadvertantly had lots of practice lately.