Trucking: What company should I hire onto?, grocery warehouses, jb hunt

Question
I'm living in Logan, UT, and looking for work.  I have 6 months CDL experience, with 3 months driving sod doubles OTR.  I'm looking for the best company that provides good pay with good benefits.  I'd prefer to stay local, but I'll go either regional or 48 if the deals are sweet enough.  I'm considering Swift, even though I know what it stands for and the flak I'll take at truck stops, I've also considered EA Miller Meat Company, England, and JB Hunt, Old Dominion, Werner, and other national companies.  I'd really appreciate some guidance here. Thanks.

Answer
Hi Tyler.

Many small companies, because of their insurance, can't hire someone with less than one year OTR.  Now if it's a local company, it may be easier.  I'm not overly familiar with local companies in your area, but I am fond of CR England for OTR.  It's a good bonus that they're very close to you and that means you'll get home more often.  Their pay and trucks are appealing too.  The only down side is that they haul a lot of refrigerated loads which means a lot of time spent at grocery warehouses.

I'm not too familiar with EA Miller, but have seen there trucks on numerous occasions.  They look like a solid company and could be a good match also.  

I worked for JB Hunt myself back, many years ago.  They are the butt of every trucking joke.  Now there trucks are nicer and the pay is better, but I had a problem with some of their policies.  We'll leave it at that.

Swift isn't horrible, but again, they wouldn't be my top choice.  They would be my "fall back" company if I had trouble getting work elsewhere.  Getting a truck from them without body damage of some sort, would be like winning the lottery.

Old D isn't bad, but I never liked dedicated.  Too boring.  The trucks and pay was average last I saw.

Werner isn't bad, but I'm biased.  For a dry freight company, I prefer US Xpress.  I use to run with them and all things being equal, I think our trucks across the board were nicer.  Dry freight (and USX) was great because I hardly ever had a driver unload or had to mess with a lumper.  Many loads were drop and hook.  I would pull into a receiver, he would sign my paperwork and then I'd drop the full trailer and hook on to an empty.  Then send an satellite message to dispatch saying I was empty and be out of there in twenty minutes.  Very nice.

I would write down each company down on a piece of paper and then make columns with the benefits.  What will I get paid?  How many miles a week will I average?  How often will I get home?  What kind of equipment to they run?  How good is their insurance and 401K?  What % of loads are driver unload or drop and hook?  These are only some of the questions you may have.  Ask away and fill in the areas.  Now you can evaluate each one on a point-by-point basis and it'll make your decision easier.  

Finally, look into these companies also...
www.jrschugel.com
www.maytrucking.com
Watkins and Shepard Trucking
www.pridetransport.com
TMC

Visit sites like www.bubbajunk.com and www.classadrivers.com for more companies.  I would look long and hard at CR England.  With even a year with them, many more opportunities will open up for you, both local and OTR.  Then you can write your own ticket.

Good luck!

Bob Stephens