QuestionI would like to get into the truck driving career. Who would be the best company and is the lease program the way to go. I live in Denver area.
AnswerHi Thomas.
The first thing I would say is don't jump into a lease program right away. If your new to trucking, you should get your feet wet first. A new, long haul trucking career can be overwhelming. Add to that truck payments and everything else, now your adding to the pressure. I tell guys to wait at least 6 months to a year before looking into a lease/purchase. You may decide in 6 months that trucking isn't for you. This profession has a HIGH turnover rate. I'd say get settled in first.
After that, yes, take a look into it. There are some good deals out there, and it's great owning your own truck. Look into OOIDA (www.ooida.com). They help keep companies honest with the lease/purchase and you can learn a lot.
If I were to go into it again, I would look for company paid truck driver training. It would of saved me a few thousand dollars. You should look into it. You get your CDL and if you leave within a certain amount of time (say, 6 months), you have to pay some of it back. It is a great deal, though.
In Denver, you have a lot of trucking companies to look into. The one I love is Western Distributing in Denver, but you need 3 years experience. Past that, look into CR England (www.crengland.com), US Xpress (www.usxpress.com), Werner (www.werner.com), Heartland Express (www.heartlandexpress.com) and Trans Am Trucking (www.transamtruck.com).
It will get overwhelming looking at all the companies. What you should do is make a list. See what each one pays, what is the average miles per week, what is the percentage of driver unloads, how are the benefits, what kind of truck will I drive, etc. Writing any question that you may have down, and getting it answered, will help you later. The companies I list are good, large companies. They.re not perfect, no company is, but they will treat you right and pay you well. Most of them have their own training facilities, too. The nice thing about large companies (besides pay, benefits and miles) is that everyone in trucking knows them. So years down the road, if you want to work somewhere else, your new employer will know Werner. They may not know ABC trucking out of Topeka.
I had a hard decision, myself, years ago. I couldn't decide between two companies. The pay, mileage, benefits, etc. were the same across the board. I ended up with US Xpress because they're trucks had bigger sleeping berths. It may sound petty, but when you live in those things, you want it as big as possible. Now, with most big companies, everyone gets a "condo". Keep a list with columns, like I said before, and it'll make your decision easier.
I hope I've helped and good luck in your new career! Welcome to trucking!
Bob Stephens
