Question:
moderator feel free to move to a swift subject if better.]
A little about me first
I started with Munson Transportation~Monmouth, IL the day I turned 21. I was their youngest driver, came from a really good school-college TruckDriving101. Not a mill but a real 12 week course and all day saturdays, even a three day 'skid pad" facility field trip.
Munson started out as a reefer and grain hauler. 400 truck operation running midwest beef east and produce and FAK back. Their Niche was beef to Maine and further, and fish and perishables back to the high plains. In the early 90's the reduction of Atlantic Seafood made this niche tuffer. Some idiot got the idea to start buying 53' dry vans and haul $.97 pmile paper products out of Maine, eventually phasing out reefer loads. I left when the company was sold to dry freight "Heartland Express" aka Heartless Express.
Can you tell I have a bias against paper loads?
After Munson I hired on to Swift Transportation reefer division Springfield, MO.
this 250 truck division of the monster Swift-phoenix was all broker loads, assigned trailers, when freight was slow(reefer broker can be) I pulled trains accross the high desert of the west. Swift had a lot of doubles in those days. You can get a lot of kitchen cabinets in two little trailers. Lots of stops and fun to back up into parking spaces to the amaizment of others.Then Jerry closed down the reefer division, a month later sold my 72mph377petercar and gave me a 57mphFLD. This I tried for a month before my pride had enough. Looking back it was a good company then,but 57mph was just too much to take, and remember the national speed cap of 55mph had been lifted.
Then I found ATI American Transport Inc ~Omaha,NE. Everything I wanted in a trucking company, it was perfect, lasted 2 months.
sold to Navajo Express~ Commerce City,Co what a let down.
Navajo Express is known by all old school drivers, the history of this company is deep and goes to the beginning of trucking. The old man built a well respected and stable monolith corperation.
Then he gave control to his kids. Rather then invest in infastrucure and real estate the kids bought toys and "wined & dined"clients. When they weren't participating in truck shows with garrish custom trucks they were spending time vacationing in matching 45' luxury motorhomes with maching trailers containing toys of the super spoiled. When I left in '96 the main terminal (home to a fleet of 800 trucks) still only had a single unisex toilet/shower. This shower was so gross that it was painted...tub and all... repeatedly. Some drivers, myself included, actually took pity on it and cleaned it ourselves. One of the biggest mistakes in my life was not to join Navajo's LTL division. In 1995 This division was sold for cash money to OLD Dominion. This was great for Navajo LTL as finally a responsable owner could update 1960' equipment and Old Dominion gained 13 western states, some VERY valuable real estate/terminals and great clients. I have yet to meet a digruntled "Old D" driver, All seem happy cats and content except when you bring up the subject of Navajo's junk equipment. Most has been expunged.If you want to try doubles, try Old Dominion.
In 1994 I had a right turn squeeze in L.A. I was not sited, and was "held harmless" by CHP. But Navajo tried to deduct$1000. I quit before that happened. My dispatcher at Navajo also "quit", started his own company and leased to Navajo. D.J."crash" Calvin was the best Boss I ever had the pleasure of working for. Though he was younger then me, he had the brains and maturity that dispachers/managers twice his age fail to gain.
All that in his favor was still not enough to keep his fleet of 25 trucks from folding in late '96. After much problems in Navajo book keeping and short changing. Company imploded.
still reading, I'm getting to the point
After 5 companies in 7 years I went on a soujurn. I visited my birth land (I"m Alaskan)after 6 months I returned home to family to a medical emergency. I being unemployed took the job of wetnurse/ day care provider for my step father-now bed ridden. After 2 years of this I began my own "handyman" service
I never returned to trucking.
Till now.
I"ve looked high and low and applied to many, but only 2 companies will even look at me. I hold a CDLtx. I am accident/ticket free. But the insurance companies say I am green because i havent driven in a while. Appairently driveing skills must wear off after time. at least to them.
ENTER SWIFT
swift and another company offered me a position, the other pays better but whos' terminal and background I consider suspect. Swift I know Good and Bad, At least they do 62mph on the cruise/65 footfeed.
I went thru recruiting at Richmond, Va. still waiting on a trainer/mentor. As has been mentioned on other swift postings here, The management is more concerned with paperwork then skills. I had to verify my UNemployement with these paper queens. I have never applied to unemployement ,lived on a subsidy or lived in a jail. The paperwork I had to endure was worse then getting a NASDAQ traders' permit
Swift has a very rigouruos -tough pre hire physical. Of the 28 that attended the first day orienteering, only 16 made it to day 3. Of the 56 students who started Swift Driving Institute here last week only half could complete the exersizes. Most were 25age something and may have been fit in high school but now were so out of shape as to be sweating and panting after a 5 minute exersize, most rejects were from high blood presure and diabetes. Three could not climb into the cab!
Richmond terminal is everything I expected in a large company. clean safe and full ammenities
I'll update my progression from greenhorn thru mentorship if people respond to this posting, on this thread.
Swift is nearly all Volvo's, and they are having problems with them. I suspect now that Jerry Moyes has reaquireed the company he will return to freightliner, I hope. These new trucks from Volvo are standard 10 speed ,no trolly valve, on-off idle and 68+ even drifting downhill on gentile grades is a dismisable offense.
thats all for now. I think I might leave in the morning with a mentor
Regards. MastiffMunson Transportation-Monmouth,ill; Sold
Swift Transportation-Springfield,Mo;Reefer Closed
ATI-Omaha,Ne; Sold to..Navajo Express of CommerceCity,Co; Followed dispatcher/owner to
Calvin Transport- Greeeley,Co ;Closed

Answer:
Mastiff, I too am an old school driver, drove from '74-81 and got out of the biz for 22 yrs. Came back in 8/03, been with Swift 3-1/2+ years now. If I can answer any questions, feel free to PM me.
PS I'm anything BUT a company man.

Answer:
what do you mean . three could not climb into the cab ,? were they in there 70s maybe . or missing limbs.
iam trying to give them the benifit of the doubt. i would hate to find out that they were under the age of 60 had all there limbs and were just lazy fat chicken fried steak eating slobs.

Answer:
Mastiff
Good Luck on the return to Trucking. I will be returning nearer to 2008 into Trucking.
We do have another thing in common, Navajo. Now a Useless company. I never cared for Swift. But after riving for Navajo, they made Swift look good..
zooterr
I agree, But I hope if you see me you would not think that, lol.. I have had a hard time getting in and once a Harder time getting out. of a Truck. I am out of shape, but that does not stop me. Infact climbing is good for me in that side, lol..
I was on my way back to Georgia. I stopped at the littel Truck Stop in NC at Exit 5 on I 85 one night. My left Knee was hurting pretty bad. But the time I got to the Georgia /South Carolina Line I was getting tired so I stopped at the Ga Rest Area. and rested a little while. When I woke my left knee was pins and needles feeling. Made my drop in Norcross, and then deadheaded back to the yard. I could not get out of the Truck. normally. I had to hop out with one leg. I had to ask some of the other drivers to disconnect the trailer for me, for I could not take the pain I was in. I also had to hop across the yard to the office to turn in my paper work. The Dispatcher was happy to see me, but got slapped down by words when he offered me a load I been begging for for many weeks. "Dave, I have you a Load to Az.." My reply was Reggie, does it look like I can drive to Az right now? Heck, you been running me on the death run for all this time, now I can not even walk.!!!
That Night I was admitted into the Hospital till the following Thrusday. But I can say this for the company I was driving for. The owner came up and visited me in the Hospital, brought me a fruit basket to boot. Very unlike Navajo, they just gave me a Boot.Honoring and Remembering Our POW - MIAs
Home of the Forget Me Not Challenge Coins
http://www.powmiaforgetmenot.com/