Question:
Hello all i've been reading posts here for about a week and i'm very impressed at the honesty and sencerity that replys have been made too posts here.
So heres my story i'm a 28 year old male married to a great girl and have two wonderful children boy 2yo and girl 5yo. I worked in a factory the last six years worked my way up from a grunt to a mechanic untill I was laid off(they closed our plant)last october. I can't find work that pays a decent living ,i'd have to take two 7 dollar an hour jobs to provide for my family. I've always wanted to drive a truck and the only reason I put it off was because of family time. well i'm not going to get family time working two jobs 80+ hours a week and wont make near the same money so i'm back to driving as my career choice. I live within 10 miles of Covenant Transport and i've decided to use there school and more than likley drive for them at least a year to get my OTR experience in but what i'm wanting to know is what kind of miles can I expect from them team and solo i've talked with my recruiter and she has told me average miles but i want to hear from some one that has driven recently or is driving now for them ive checked the posts and there are not very many recent posts concerning my questions about Covenant most of them are at least two years old also I want to know about problems and regular experiences with them.
Heres basicly what they told me 25 cpm for the first six months after training and then goes to 26cpm until my first year is up and then goes to 29cpm they say their teams average 225,000 miles per year and they average 1350 miles per trip out what I want to know are they for real or am I gonna really see smaller numbers? and what can I expect if I go solo?
Also they said seven days out one day home but that i'll be coming back to chattanooga frequently so i'll be close to my a family and can spend time with them when i'm here also which to me sounds pretty good. My dad drives regional for bi-lo and has never driven OTR but its hard anymore to get a driving job without OTR experience. Every where I check they want a minumum of one year OTR or five years driving time in before your even elligeble for a job there .So i've done my homework and i'm both exited and nervous about making my decison to drive but I just want to make sure im going with the right company and not going to be completly dissatisfied with them ( I dont want to get screwed)!
im going through tennesees' WIA program to get tuition paid for so im about three to four weeks away from going to school . Any info anyone can give would be appreciated.
Thanks for enduring my ramblings,
-Kevin
Kevin

Answer:
But in the 4 years or so that I have held a CDL I have heard very little good when it comes to Covenent.
The most common complaints I have heard from drivers in regards to this company are:
Company attempts to "force" them to drive unsafe equipment hundreds of miles for repairs. Threatens to fire drivers if they refuse to comply.
Solo drivers get lousy miles. They get the very short trips. They get pulled off longer loads and have to give them to the teams. They end up doing a lot of loading and unloading. End up doing a lot of city work. Have trouble getting home even after being promised by the company to be home within 3-5 days.
Covenent is a very team orieented company and the teams get priority. As far as how they treat their teams I can not tell you as I have never, knowingly, talked to a Covenent team. If you are really wanting to run solo I would look elsewhere for sure. USXPRESS would be a better choice for a solo driver, but the drawback there is that USXPRESS uses auto shift trannies so you wont get any experience driving a manual.
You mentioned your school tuition is covered by some type of grant. In this case I would definately do some research into all the schools in your area and go with the one that offers the most complete training. If there is a PTDI certifed school in your area this would be your best bet as it will offer you the most choices for employment upon graduation.
All in all you live in a good area as there are many companies that hire from that area. In my opinion do yourself a big favor and look into other options besides Covenent.
One thing you need to know about the industry. You will probably be lucky to gross $30,000 your first full year of driving, and during training all you are going to make is enough to cover your road expenses with little left over.
Only two things I know of are infinite. The universe and human stupidity, and I am not real sure about the universe.

Answer:
The above posters have given you some excellent advice. You best hear and heed!

Answer:
is great advice..I really can't say I worked for Covenant I just barely made it through their Orientation before I told them THANKS BUT NO THANKS..

Answer:
Now for my honest opinion. But you'll probably ignore it. Most do.
Seek out a better career field. One that will actually allow you to see your children grow up and enjoy your wife and family. Your chances of staying happily married and having a lasting driving career are slim at best to begin with. Hundreds quit driving because the pay is low, home time is poor and respect is low not to forget it is usually not what you think it will be. Basically it is a job that keeps you away from home and family and from doing the things your not only use to doing but like and enjoy doing as well. You are young and very capable of starting any career you wish. The sacrifices of schooling etc are not any harder than what truck driving gives to many new drivers. Just some thing to think about. In your shoes I wouldn't give driving much of a thoughT.
Best advice so far,I believe. Why people are basicly willing to waste any money,grants or tuition on a deadend job is beyond my thinking.
The wages/renumeration in"trucking"has been stagnant for the last twenty years and I'll dare say is not going to improve in the next twenty.
Mike
Answer:
I also suggest you read the Family forum and join the Loads group for an idea of what your family will possibly go through before making any decision.
Mike
Answer:
Originally posted by RABELAM:
Best advice so far,I believe. Why people are basicly willing to waste any money,grants or tuition on a deadend job is beyond my thinking.
The wages/renumeration in"trucking"has been stagnant for the last twenty years and I'll dare say is not going to improve in the next twenty.
Mike
I am going to play devils advocate here a little bit.
In some areas, mine for example, the job situation totally sucks. There have been several factories shut down, the local KMart was in the first round of store closings, and other local businesses have gone belly up in the last several years leaving many out of work. Even the fast food joints are not hiring due to be fully staffed based on the sales they generate. The only places that are hiring right now are nursing homes and the hospital and they are looking for RN's and other highly educated and skilled help. To find any other type of work means driving 45-60 miles one way to work for $7-$8 per hour. For this reason many people in my area are turning to truck driving to provide for their families, as they have immediate need for income and can not afford to wait 4 or 5 years to attend school to get a degree.
Granted if you factor in the added expense of life on the road, the real hours spent working every week, your rate per hour sucks, but at the end of the week being able to send home 300 dollars is a lot better than the $100 you end up making flipping a burger or ringing up gas sales at some station.
Only two things I know of are infinite. The universe and human stupidity, and I am not real sure about the universe.
Answer:
I am going to play devils advocate here a little bit.
I thought I was being that. -->
Your point is taken and reasoned. Unfortunetly most and I do believe most,judgeing by turnover,
find that it's no more rewarding financially than
that $8.00 an hour 45mile drive job and extremely hard on their families. I wish that everyone contemplating "driving" had access to this site to see the different aspects,positive,negative,
before making their move. What I really find disturbing is driving has become a last ditch effort to make a living in this country because of the lack of other jobs.
Mike
Answer:
Originally posted by RABELAM:
What I really find disturbing is driving has become a last ditch effort to make a living in this country because of the lack of other jobs.
Mike
Now there is a statement I can totally get behind. I just hope I dont step in anything else left behind.
Seriously though it is for this reason, which I feel is probably close to if not the number 1 reason, why there is so much turnover in the industry. People are getting into it not because they really want to but because they feel they NEED to in order to put food on the table, and as we all have probably been there and bought the t-shirt, there is little worse than going to a job you hate and feel trapped in.
Only two things I know of are infinite. The universe and human stupidity, and I am not real sure about the universe.
Answer:
My hubby drives and has driven for 4 yrs. He is gone for 5 days and home for 2, sometimes more, sometimes less. I'm not going to try to tell you that you should or shouldn't try trucking, but i'll try to let you know what you are in for, from a wife's point of view.
Trucking will be very hard on your family.. You will have to have an exceptional marriage to survive this job, the divorce rate is very high. We have a very good marriage, so i am one of the lucky ones.
You will not see your children as much as you think you will. You will miss out on alot of their childhood. I don't think my husband would have chosen this line of work if our children were small, ours were almost grown when he started driving.
Respect? Nope, you will not get any at all. The shippers and recievers out there will look at you like you are the scum of the earth and treat you that way. I really don't know how my husband and other drivers put up with it! And when your wife tells others she's married to a "trucker", she'll most likely get the same look as i do sometimes....yep, scum of the earth again! I worked for a securities broker for a few years, you should have seen our clients faces when they found out my hubby was a "trucker"!!!
As far as working for a major carrier...I know you'll have to start out there (OTR) and they have been known to lie. The money is sometimes good, sometimes not. Just depends on how freight is going that week. Usually he does ok. But, if you break it down, he's working for about $8 an hour and not sleeping in his own bed.
If you can survive the OTR thing for a while, you might make it to a local job. But as we found out the local jobs don't pay squat. He now works for an 0/0 and is happier doing this.
I know it is very hard on a driver that has small children at home. I also know that when a driver comes home sometimes they feel they don't "belong" b/c their wife has become VERY independant with child raising, fixing things around the house, paying bills, family emergencies, ect.
As for our situation here, he loves his job and we have adapted to his being gone. But we both would love to have him drive local, maybe the local jobs in your area are better than they do here? If we would have been younger (when he had to make a job change) and had sm children at home, i'm sure he would have opted for job training in some other field where he could be home more.
I hope this post will give you an idea of what you and your family will be in for. The first year is always the hardest, after that it gets easier, or maybe we just learn to adapt?

Answer:
You know, everybody's experience will be different. I personally havn't had a terrible time driving and I rarely have had problems at a shipper/reciever on issues as far as respect...even DOT is nice to me...well somewhat. I guess it depends on how you carry yourself and talk to people. I mean true, maybe they were just smiling in my face and talking behind my back...but oh well...my feelings ain't hurt.
It would be hard on your wife and kids, it'll take a too on you too cause you're use to being there for them everyday, and now you're spending most of your time alone in a truck. I have a 5 y/o daughter who lives with her mother, so it's not really an issue for me. Cause when I was home all the time, I only saw her on the weekends anyway. It's sad to say that over time that the pay vs. the sacrifice isn't worth it.
...but if your long-term goal is to get the OTR exp. so that you can drive locally. Maybe you and the wifey will be able to bare it for the moment and work things out. I too will personally recommend US Xpress, though people tend to shy away because of the Auto-Shift trans. After driving a 10-speed manual in Chicago, Toronto, and NY/NJ area traffic...I was glad to have it. Well, it's just another company to look into. I wish you good luck on whatever decision you make. -->
"If the rubber ain't burning then I ain't earning!"

Answer:
Are there any dirt jobs in your area? When I say dirt jobs I mean dumptrucks or T/T end dumps?
It's coming to that time of year where all the dirt companies are looking for warm bodies again, and I belive (cause thats what I do) thats a good way to go. Examples: I get the winters off, although I have a good bartending job for the winter time, and there is more flexible time with your kids.........Bonus
I am home every night, no exceptions, and when my wife has an orgasam, I am there. The reason I say this is because I am your age, 28, and those kind of things are important weather you or anyone else chooses to belive it or not. When you are on the road, how do you expect her to "handle" things sexually????? Most say they could handle this, but they never could, thus the incredible divorce rate.
I have a killer set of gardens, all 8 of them, where I grow many different varieties of vegetables. This is my hobby, something I enjoy very much, whats yours? Answer: none. Your hobby is trying to find a spot to park at night in a T/S to sleep, or mabe those video games in the driver lounges could be one.
I love to fish, how bout you? This also works out for me because I am into Ice fishing, winter=icefishing. I doubt there is any icefishing in TN, but you fill in the blanks.
Like dirt racing? I do (so much there is a buddies car in my garrage we are building his new one for this year, there was one in there last year also) you can forget making it to any of your local tracks on a friday, saturday, or sunday night.
Is there a paving company in your area? I am sure there is, call them, they hire people all the time, and some are union. You could drive for them, or become an equiptment operator over time.
What I am saying is this, there are many options available to you, just look at the different aspects of everything instead of the obvious. I can relate well to what you are going through as we are the same age, we are both married, and we both have kids (although my kids are from a previous relationship). Dont give up the roll or father, husband, friend, and sexual partner. Please re-consider your decision to go over the road, ALL your relationships depend on it. Just a thought.
TJ