Need help in chosing a company to drive for

[waynesigmeister]

Awhile ago I posted a message about being offered to work for a very small company that pays 25% of the load. I am still in driving school but graduating next month, and do not have any driving experience. I have retired from a government and receive a retirement check, so I don't need the money from the driving job to live on. I am looking at driving as something that I always wanted to do but could not afford to until I retired.

The respone to my earlier post was negative and many drivers warning me that as a newbie, I should drive for a company at CPM basis while learning the business. After long consideration, I agree with these comments and am now looking at three companies to choose from. I need some recommendations or information on these companies.

I am looking at Gordon Trucking out of Pacifica, WA; May Trucking and Southern Refrigerated. All three are similar in pay, benefits and reimburse me for the driving school tuition.

Gordon and May both have yards near my home, I live in the Los Angeles area while Southern Ref will have me use the Covenant yard in Pomona. Gordon and May offer me western regional runs and the ability to be home every weekend while SRT will have me gone 3 weeks at a time. I am interested in your comments or recommendations, thank you. Wayne

[Uturn2001]

I have talked with several drivers who have went to work at Gordon in the past year or so and I have yet to hear any real negatives about their experiences there.

I really do not know anything about May Trucking, so I can not offer you any input on that one.

IMHO I would go with either May or Gordon since they can get you home more frequently if you want than SRT. I am sure you always have the option to stay out longer if you want at either of those two companies.

[Capt._Chaos]

I would stay away from May Trucking, as they have a reputation for being an outlaw company.

Have you checked out Interstate Distribution out of Tacoma, WA? They may have a training program, and I understand they are not a bad outfit to drive for.

Don't know much about Southern Refrigerated, other than they are owned by Covenant Transport.

[magicman]

I don't know if this policy is still in effect at May, but a friend used to work there and he had to call in and get permission to idle his truck in winter and summer. This was only good for a short period. I believe he could idle for 15 minutes and then shut it off for something like 2 hours. Not a good deal, especially if they still do it.

I do agree with giving Gordon a try. I rarely hear any negative feedback from the drivers I've met.

[vacavalier]

Check out this Gordon truckers blog....http://www.gordontrucker.blogspot.com/.... :)

[White Dog]

One thing to think about:

With Gordon, you will more than likeley stay west of the Rockies.
Good: Home Time

Bad: Same roads, over and over---no variety

(I have seen Gordon trucks as far east as Ohio, but few and far between)

With May, you will travel all over.
Good: Variety, see more of the country, longer runs, less work for the miles.

Bad: Less home time, running to parts of the country you may not care for (i.e. Northest, NYC, Chicago)

With SRT, you may see more home time than May, since I see SRT trucks in your domicile all the time. But you will see a lot of the Northeast too.
Good: Variety, see more of the country, longer runs, less work for the miles, home time possibilities are pretty good.

Bad: Meat packing plants and/or storage warehouses (long waits), more than your fair share of the Northeast and Hunts Point (Bronx) etc...

Gordon is a Van operation only.

May has both Van and Reefer.

SRT is a Reefer operation only.

Home time, and operation lanes are both way at the top of my list when researching prospective employers.
I have seen every square foot of the country by now, and don't care if I ever get back to the Northeast (who knows, you might like it---some do) so I wouldn't drive for anyone that forces dispatch to that area.

I have "put in my time", and only I know how much of the road I can take before going home---so I wouldn't drive for anyone that forces a policy of more than two weeks out before home time. (you may find that you can run longer)

Only after checking on those two things do I start to compare any and all other benefits of one company over the other. (i.e.- pay, insurance, bonus' etc...) (your needs may be different)

If I was forced to choose one of the three living where I live, it would have to be May Trucking. As the Captain said, they may be out-law, but it would be my best chance for home time, and the least amount of the Northeast.
Gordon could never get me home living where I live if they even hired me because of that.
And SRT would have me in the Northeast all the darn time living this far north in the Midwest, and would also have me in Chicago alot with freight through the house.

That's how I analize things.

[Trapper]

White Dog; Gordon does have a midwest regional now. They have a terminal in Green Bay or close to it. They hire out of WI, IL, IN, OH and the Eastern half of IA. I see Gordon trucks coming through or stopped in Prairie du Chien a few times a week. They say Midwest Regional is home weekly according to the ads in the Madison paper and their website. They also say no Northeast. According to that blog that guy comes to the midwest quite often then heads back west.

I'm sure you're not looking for a job but if you ever do you may want to look at them.

[tommy]

https://gordonapps.com/profile/Q85NEV/etj

[Bryan]

Gordan has reefer and SRT has dryvans

[tommy]

Gordan has reefer and SRT has dryvans



???????????????????????????????????? what you been smokin?? :harhar:

[Bryan]

Gordan has reefer and SRT has dryvans



???????????????????????????????????? what you been smokin?? :harhar:

:rofl:
ment to say Gordon pulls both reefer and dryvans but most dryvans i think
And SRT has some dryvans but prdomitly pull reefer is that better MR.PACKER :harhar:

[tommy]

I knew you would see you just had it backwards, no problem! :harhar: :harhar:

[waynesigmeister]

I have been talking a lot with the recruiters from Gordon Trucking and May Trucking. They both offer western regional 18 state van operations and 48 state refrigerated. I am mainly interested in the refrigerated division, so that is where I will do my training.

Gordon's refers run western area and lower southeast area, basically the I5 corridor and I10 or I40 runs. May runs mainly I80 to the east coast and northeast areas. May requires chaining during the winter and Gordon will also require chaining but prefer you do not run if chains are needed. Both have a strong anti-idling program. I need medical coverage for myself and spouse, Gordon's plan is an 80/20 PPO with a $100 deductible per person, May's is a 70/30 PPO with a $1000 deductible. Gordon offers a 28 day training program which is very specific, the student does 85% of the driving and must complete each training segment before progressing to the next level of training. May's training is you continue training until the instructor feels you are ready to go alone, no set time frame for completion.

Both companies have a reputation of pushing the drivers to run the maximum hours but state they emphazie safety first. May allows the driver to pick his truck, FLC 120, Pete 387 or 379, Gordon assigns FLC 120. If the driver for May stays with the truck until it is removed from fleet service, the drivers receives a bonus of 1 cpm for each mile he drove the truck, whether 100,000 miles or 600,000 miles.

I met with the Gordon recruiters in Fontana this week and gave them my application. Gordon is my first choice of companies and May is my second choice. I gave notice to my employer that I am retiring from my current job on 7/29/06 and plan on starting being an OTR driver by late August since I will take some vacation time off before going back to work. I just took my DMV written exams and passed the general knowledge and all endorsements the first time I took the exam. I cannot wait to start going on the road. Wayne

[Bryan]

read that gordon blog its VERY informative and u most likely will start in a older columbia when i say older i mean 2-300,000 miles on it or a classic or a old dick simon fld if they still have those :wtf:

[Gator]

I was in orientation with a team,that came from souther ref,they said they were there for over 5 years,but recently things really got wierd there for them,along with paychecks not clearinbg thier bank on the first go around,more than once.Besides they are owned by Covenant,which ought to be scarry enough.

[Range Rider]

Have you checked out Interstate Distribution out of Tacoma, WA? They may have a training program, and I understand they are not a bad outfit to drive for.
Capt.. you may want to rethink that. Interstate has autoshift transmissions. Considering your opinion on such, that is...

Myself, I'd say go for it, just for that reason. :harhar: ;) :D

[Capt._Chaos]

Have you checked out Interstate Distribution out of Tacoma, WA? They may have a training program, and I understand they are not a bad outfit to drive for.
Capt.. you may want to rethink that. Interstate has autoshift transmissions. Considering your opinion on such, that is...

Myself, I'd say go for it, just for that reason. :harhar: ;) :D

I never knew Interstate went with the Auto-Shift transmissions.

Personally I'm a bit "old school" when one considers I don't like auto-shifts, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure the later model auto-shifts may not have the same problems that the other ones I drove in the past did.