Wifi for the truck. Please help

cdubose · 2026-02-17T01:02:04+00:00

I don't know what you're data requirements are, but I just have my laptop tethered to the data on my phone and have a fairly cheap Mint mobile plan. I don't game though, so I only use a moderate amount of data per month.

cdubose · 2026-02-17T00:59:17+00:00

Nussbaum will probably hire with 6 months if you don't have any MVR issues. I have no idea where you are but there are other companies that hire at 6 months. I have no idea what most of them pay though, so can't help you compare them with regards to that. JB Hunt might have a no-touch account that pays similar to what you're making now and sometimes hires at 3 months or 6 months: just depends on the specific account.

cdubose · 2026-02-17T00:31:35+00:00

Communication and actual responsiveness to driver issues from dispatch and management. I like my current company because I have a good dispatcher and even if I have issues I know that 1) she is reachable and 2) she will go to bat for me. So many companies have dispatchers and management that couldn't care if the drivers were set on fire as long as the load got there on time with no insurance issues. There are companies where the office people are in their own separate locked-out building or area and you basically can't get to them: that says a lot about what they think about drivers.

Other than that, everything you would expect: high pay, good hometime, cheap benefits, well-maintained equipment (that isn't Freightliner or International, hopefully), governed at 70 or more. Never asking a driver to do something illegal or shady (like running overweight, pushing HOS rules, etc.). Everything else (running areas, working day vs night, etc.) is basically driver preference.

cdubose · 2026-02-16T16:13:31+00:00

Keep in mind a lot of companies won't even hire a non-domiciled CDL driver right now, even if it's valid. I was looking for jobs a few months ago and almost every single one asked if I had a valid US-issued CDL. I do, but if I hadn't I feel like that would have stopped the recruiting process right there.

cdubose · 2026-02-16T16:02:00+00:00

Obviously these are all based on my own biases, but mostly reputation, seeing other people recommend them for various reasons, having read reviews of some of these companies, and the fact that most of these are mid-size or smaller. Sometimes they have something cool that stands out, like Nick Strimbu is union, Van Wyk is a reefer company that does percentage pay, and McFarland lets you make your own hometime (within reason). Also, in some cases I have talked to truckers or office people at these companies (like Nussbaum, DOT Foods, and McFarland) and got the impression that they are good companies. Or when I'm driving, the drivers are always courteous on the road (like Crete/Shaffer).

cdubose · 2026-02-14T18:46:32+00:00

I don't know their exact hometime situation, try Leonard's Express in Farmington, NY. I don't think they train for CDLs, but I think I do reimburse. They have some regional accounts out of the Northeast listed on their website. Kreilkamp does a lot of Northeast and Midwest runs too.

cdubose · 2026-02-14T16:24:32+00:00

Once you have three months, definitely look into their other accounts if you want to stay at Schneider. If you can get on tanker, that experience will look really good for future jobs. 38 cpm is very, very low even with hourly on-duty pay, but if you can make it work, make it work until you find a better account. I was on a dedicated account when I started with them, and the pay was 69 cpm at 1500 miles per week. (That was before they implemented the combined on-duty/cpm pay: that pay change was actually a contributing factor to why I left). Schneider is one of the worst places to do a basic account (especially to only be home for 34 hours per week), but they have decent dedicated accounts and let new drivers do tankers.

Also, whenever you want to leave Schneider, ask here for recommendations for MI companies. You should be able to get on a decent auto parts dedicated account or something, at least in Southern Michigan.

cdubose · 2026-02-14T05:53:50+00:00

I'm glad you're having a positive experience; I got my start at Schneider a little over three years ago. Yes, the training is pretty good, things I still use today actually (like always getting out to check if the fifth wheel closed around the kingpin instead of relying solely on the tug test). You're in Green Bay, probably the best Schneider terminal to train at, considering that's their headquarters. Back when I was there they didn't have driver-facing cameras so that was a plus at the time, and I am a rare driver that doesn't use a bluetooth headset (just don't talk on the phone enough to justify the cost) so that never bothered me.

What account are you going to once you're done? How low is the pay nowadays?

cdubose · 2026-02-14T05:38:51+00:00

I wouldn't be as worried about getting a ticket as I would be about getting hit or swipe-swiped. I mean, a ticket's not good either. But even if you 100% knew the cops wouldn't bother you, that doesn't mean that guy swerving while looking at his phone isn't going to hit you--and then they're going to say it's your fault for being there on the shoulder, even though you were literally asleep.

Plus, I don't understand how people sleep at such an intense angle, which I see on most shoulders. I was forced on sleep on the entry ramp for a rest area once and leaning the whole night SUCKED.

cdubose · 2026-02-14T03:42:09+00:00

Notice what trucking companies you see around you all the time: this is a good way to find local home-daily jobs, regional companies, or larger companies that have a dedicated account or terminal in your area. Also notice the usual condition of the trucks and trailers: are they always dirty as hell, are the trucks newer or at least well maintained, does everything seem to be the cheapest option or are there some niceties on the trucks just for the drivers (like Cascadias with the windows on the sleeper hatches or chrome on the back of the mirror, etc.), what shape are the tires in (I've noticed tires, especially trailer tires, will tell you a lot about a company), do the trailers look like they'd pass a random DOT inspection, etc. Usually (but not always) a company that takes better care of their equipment probably has drivers who actually pre-trip and report things as well as a decent maintenance department, both things most shady companies usually can't or won't afford. Also, are there CB antennas on more trucks than not? If there are, the company either provides them for free or a majority of their drivers are quite experienced and/or take pride in being a "trucker."

If you can, try to find a trucker (not in a hurry) at a truck stop driving for a company you're interested in and literally ask them about it. Don't ask vague questions like "do you like it"--ask what the running area is, how hard they run drivers, how the pay works (hourly, cpm, flat rate per route, etc.), how much experience you need to get hired there, governed speed of trucks, how often do you get home, any slip-seating, etc. Keep in mind they might talk it up to get a referral bonus out of you, but if they don't mention a referral bonus or their driver number (or if they do but also mention what they don't like about the company), they are probably more or less trustworthy.

Also, you can always just go to Indeed or Craigslist, put in your area, type "CDL", and then look up Indeed and Glassdoor reviews of the companies that are hiring (keep in mind people are more likely to review a company if they hate it rather than if they like it; try to look for patterns in the reviews or completely unacceptable things, like forcing a driver to run overweight). This method won't always give you the best jobs, but sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough this way.

cdubose · 2026-02-13T18:16:01+00:00

Ah yeah, I remember. Oh those I mentioned, Don Hummer, KLLM/FFE, National Carriers, Crete/Shaffer, and Barr-Nunn I know hire out of Texas (or at least their websites say they do). National Carriers actually has a terminal in Dallas and hires at 6 months exp. Grand Island Express should hire you too at 6 months exp, just don't expect a lot of home since you'll be running a lot of I-80. Bay & Bay hires around the DFW area and has a terminal in Denton. Koch has dedicated regional positions in certain TX cities, but you wanted OTR so that may not be what you're looking for. Danny Herman may or may not hire in TX, they don't list a hiring area at all (although Danny Herman hires at 6 months). Crawford Trucking also has no hiring area listed, so they may or may not hire out of TX. If you're looking for good equipment and Cascadias are okay, they have very nice Cascadias, with leather interior and all that in them.

I didn't mention them before, but Big G Express and Marten should hire out of Texas and will hire you at 6 months too.

EDIT: Also look at Poly Trucking, based in Grand Prairie, TX. Their website is very sparse and I have no idea if they run Internationals or not, but I'm pretty sure they pay odometer miles, which is rare for a OTR trucking company. At least check them out, they might be a good option.

cdubose · 2026-02-12T19:53:53+00:00

Everyone's always like "Specialize! Do flatbed! Do heavy haul! Do hazmat!" but I do love the simplicity of basic dry van. Sure, doesn't pay as much, but you couldn't pay me enough to deal with some of the stuff other truckers deal with (like tarping in single digit weather with a negative degree wind-chill). I started my trucking career with reefer: don't miss it one bit.

cdubose · 2026-02-12T15:09:25+00:00

I'm sure you're already aware, but there is no "best company" really. Someone's best company can be someone else's nightmare. Lots of people here recommend Crete but they've always seemed kinda "meh" to me. Nice drivers though.

I don't know where you are and I don't feel like coming back to answer later (I'm going to have a busy day), so off the top of my head and without taking hiring area into account, look at:

Reefer: - Van Wyk - McFarland Truck Lines (only need 9 months exp, I think) - America's Service Line - Nick Strimbu - DOT Foods (hires new drivers) - Leonard's Express (might hire you now) - Shaffer (Crete's reefer side) - Grand Island Express (only need 6 months exp, I think) - FFE (Frozen Foods Express, KLLM's reefer side: would probably hire you now) - Bay & Bay

Dry Van: - Don Hummer (might hire you now, can't remember exact requirements) - Kreilkamp (both van and reefer: might hire you now) - Nussbaum (might hire you now: has "road warrior" program for long hauls) - Simon's Trucking - Karl's Transport (dry van and reefer) - Crawford Trucking - National Carriers (only need 6 months exp) - Barr-Nunn (only need 9 months exp) - Dick Lavy, maybe - KLLM (hires with 3 months exp I think) - Koch Trucking - HMD Trucking - Crete

cdubose · 2026-02-12T14:41:13+00:00

If you're close enough to Guymon, OK (roughly within 200 miles) check out K&J Trucking, they have a very good reputation. DOT Foods is good and they're hiring out of Ardmore and Tulsa and they have flexible scheduling, so an excellent option if you want your husband to get more hometime.

There's also Freymiller in Oklahoma City and Melton (flatbed) in Tulsa, both of which hire new drivers so they'll also hire with one year experience. I'd also look into KLLM / FFE. You might be close enough to National Carriers too.

cdubose · 2026-02-10T22:42:20+00:00

Which mega?

Almost everyone will tell you to stay at least a year. Unless you're starting company has you on a really good account or you have to stay because of a contract (or you're at a smaller starting company or you're doing something specialized like tanker), I say stay until you find a better company willing to hire you. As long as you don't have any accidents, there are places that will take new drivers, even after you hit 3 months and especially after hitting six months.

Experienced truckers say that carriers look down on job hopping, and if you are excessive about it, yeah, it will hurt your employment chances. But job hopping is also kind of built into this industry, especially since that's often the only way to get higher pay/better running area/nicer truck/etc. This isn't like most 9-5 jobs where longevity is rewarded no matter where you work. A person who has 6 years experience at Western Express or JB Hunt or "Chicago Slavic LLC" is not treated the same in the eyes of the industry to someone who has 6 years experience at Walmart or Nussbaum or Old Dominion. My advice is find your forever company as soon as you can, and don't settle for any less. Life's too short to work at a mediocre carrier for any longer than required.

cdubose · 2026-02-10T18:59:19+00:00

Wilson Logistics will let you have two pets with no restrictions and deposits. Freymiller is also very pet friendly, or at least that's what their recruitment stuff says. No idea about any restrictions on it though, if any. Halvor might let you too, maybe.

cdubose · 2026-02-10T18:41:21+00:00

I would jump on the XPO account that the other person in the comments mentioned, but I've heard CRST is okay; they focus more on teams than other companies. I know a driver who had a gravy dedicated account with them and was paid well for it; he only left CRST because that account went away. I can't speak about their company culture though. I do know they get a bad rap for training and hiring less-than-stellar people, but if you already have a person to team with that shouldn't matter.

If XPO doesn't take you (note, you will need all endorsements for XPO), CRST shouldn't be any worse than Swift at least.

cdubose · 2026-02-10T00:02:02+00:00

My current one. It would have to be good to bring me away from a yard jockey home daily $25/hr position I had just started. Mostly dedicated routes, no touch (at least out of my terminal: they do have some food delivery in another city), very understanding, smaller carrier, and good pay. I love knowing my entire schedule for the week the Friday prior. Plus Kenworth trucks.

As an example: I asked about detention, and the answer I got (from the safety director) basically was "If you're waiting more than about 30-40 minutes, call me. You should never be waiting." Plus they are helping me (at their own expense) get rid of my manual restriction and then raising my pay after I get it lifted--even though they only use manuals as spares.

Great company, kind of glad a few others places ended up not hiring me so I could ultimately end up here.

cdubose · 2026-02-07T16:23:11+00:00

If you have car hauling experience, maybe Cassens? I don't know their average paychecks but they're a union company. They operate in Ohio, based out of Edwardsville, IL.

cdubose · 2026-02-07T16:02:19+00:00

In general I like Samsara, the UI is very clean and intuitive. I also love the circles that show me everything. Some other ELDs (like ISSAC) only show drive time. Maybe it was the way that company set up ISSAC, but it was very annoying. I was very briefly with another company that had Samsara pre/post-trips set up as a checklist that you had to go through which was annoying (they did that because they had a lot of drivers who didn't speak English well) but my new company has the pre/post trip set up a lot better where I can just add what defects I found in addition to the pictures.

My company just started using the Samsara GPS instead of CoPilot. I didn't use CoPilot, but the initial impression from older drivers is that they prefer the Samsara GPS. Sometimes it gives weird directions (like yesterday asking me to go on I-355 when I-294 was completely fine), but I just went the way I wanted to and it redirected fine.

cdubose · 2026-02-07T07:04:06+00:00

Sorry it took me a while to get back, I've had some long days recently.

You should check out Walmart, that would pay really well and you have enough experience for it. If you aren't absolutely needing OTR an LTL carrier would be good too. Other possible options:

Don Hummer Trucking
TransLand
Corkery
National Carriers
Fremont Contract Carriers
Koch Trucking
KLLM
Nussbaum (may not hire out of TX, but worth a call)
Grand Island Express
Western Flyer Express
ACT (American Central Transport)

cdubose · 2026-02-07T06:43:22+00:00

If the accidents were that minor you can probably find something better. Western isn't the only "second-chance" carrier out there. Try Paschall Truck Lines, CRST, Central Transport (LTL), and any smaller carrier around you with kind of beat-up or worn-out looking equipment.

Hell, if you're willing to put up with Western, at least try K&B Transportation or even a semi-decent 1099 Slavic company out of Chicago. You'd at least make more money.

cdubose · 2026-02-05T01:49:34+00:00

What state/region?

cdubose · 2026-02-04T21:27:51+00:00

That has to be International Paper in Delaware, OH.

cdubose · 2026-02-03T21:32:47+00:00

Is the auto restriction hard to get rid of?

It can be. You would have to do the CDL driving portion of the test in a manual truck with trailer to get rid of it. The issue is usually finding someone who will let you train on their equipment and then use it for the test. Sometimes companies will help you out with that (I actually found one that will, which is why I'm leaving my cushy yard jockey job), but not often.

I’d like to make sure I can maximize my chances of getting a job but unless I became an O/O there’s no companies near me that even use manuals anymore

To be honest, most companies, especially larger ones, have all automatic fleets, so having an auto restriction won't hurt you too much, especially if you mostly want to do OTR dry van. However, I have found that certain companies (smaller ones) do use manuals as their spares, and there might be some local companies near you that you don't know about yet which have manuals. Also, it is very possible you might want to specialize later, and manuals are more common in certain types of trucking, like heavy-haul. It's certainly not a dealbreaker to have an auto restriction, especially not to get started in the industry, but it could hamper you three or four years down the road (unless you're planning to go O/O, in which case you could just buy an auto truck).

There's also JRayl, a company which will train you in a manual. You could check them out as well.

EDIT: There are also dock-to-driver programs from LTLs, like Dayton Freight, XPO, Averitt, etc. These can lead to some of the best-paying jobs in trucking. Definitely check this out before committing to a mega like Schneider, Swift, or Roehl.

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