Question:
After 20 + years, I am going back to the road. I used to run LTL and TL reefers in the northeast back in the 70's. Spent the next 20 years in distribution / logistics management jobs and recruiting for the same. The logistics job market bottomed out, so I am going back to where I started and wish I never left….trucking!
Started training with IITR in Redmond, OR today. Seems like a good school. My question is this: what companies are good to work for that will hire newbies, (my experience is so long ago that I consider myself a newbie), and might get me home to Central Oregon on a somewhat regular basis. Gordon Trucking (GTI) is at the top of my list. Any feedback about them and suggestions for other worthwhile companies would be most appreciated.
Mucho Gracias
Geno

Answer:
May Trucking straight over the hill from you in Brooks on I-5. There's another that runs all over the state called something like EOF...Eastern Oregon Freight. Watkins/Shepard over in Missoula Mt. They run up and down the coast also east/west.Living in Bend you might do better looking for a small outfit between La Pine and Madras. Check the Oregonian Sunday edition. Lots of ads every week. Use a Google search..never know what it will spit out. IITR is a good school. I went to the one in Portland. They'll make sure you get your CDL. Don't short change yourself about long ago experience. It will count with some co.'s just for the fact you've been out there and done it....BOL
Character: Doin the right thing when nobody's lookin..JC Watts

Answer:
Gordon seems like a good company. You might want to check out Interstate Distributor and Knight. They both have Wilsonville and Portland terminals respectively. I've been in bend area a lot lately and I also saw US Xpress and Swift trucks roll through there as well. Hope this helps. Drive safe!

Answer:
Geno, I recently finished at the creswell campus. School wasnt too bad but i sure wish I was able to go down the road more often than I did. Would have liked to hone some of those new found shifting skills. Spent lots of time backing though and got pretty good at 90, 45 and blindside. I got prehired by all the companies the school promotes. I also did some local searches, one of which was Eastern Oregon Fast Freight. I got hired the day I was interviewed. Unfortunately the pay is low and the finishing program isnt very good. I selected Gordon out of Pacific Washington. They seem to have a good "Finishing" program, they want you to do all the driving and work nec. to do the job. The trainer seldom drives, he instructs and offers advice. They dont run you like a team! The pay, and benefit package is better than most of the other training carriers @.27 to start. And 70% of the freight runs up and down the I-5 corridor. This is good for me because I get to see my family quite often.
I just attended a 2 day orientation, and everyone was very nice, polite, respectful, and pleasant to talk to.(except for one lady, but I won't get into that!) The owners of the company still take loads occasionally. Steve Gordon even took an hour out of his day to come in and talk to us. Anyhow...... I will end my rambling. If you have any questions email me. Perhaps I can answer them, if not, I can give you the emails of some of the drivers that I spoke with before I made my decision to go with GTI.
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Alt

Answer:
You might also want to check out Sherman Brothers in Harrisburg, OR. Excellent reputation and good pay. http://www.sbht.com

Answer:
Hello GB,
Here is the list I pulled from www.everytruckjob.com ! Based on no exper. and that run into and or out of OR. Hope it helps?
1. Swift Transportation Phoenix, AZ
Swift Transportation Is now the Largest Publically held Truckload Carrier in...
2. Stevens Transport Dallas, TX
Monthly Performance Bonus Program!!
3. Arrow Trucking Co. (Company Driver Div.) Tulsa, OK
4. USF Glen Moore Inc Carlisle, PA
Single - Regional - Team - Owner-Operator - Drivers
5. Southern Refrigerated Transport Ashdown, AR
SRT is an over-the-road motor carrier, located in Ashdown, Arkansas, which is...
6. Schneider National, Inc. Green Bay, WI
Schneider National is the world's busiest truckload carrier. We provide...
7. USA Truck (Company Driver Div) Van Buren, AR
We use our own drivers, and we train them to be the best from the very start....
8. Watkins and Shepard Trucking , Inc. Missoula, MT
Hiring experienced drivers and school graduates that live within close...
9. Smith Transport Roaring Spring, PA
10. Cressler Trucking Inc. Shippensburg, PA
truckload- dry van and /or flatbed freight(flatbed optional) 48 state...
11. Dias' Sierra Trucking Foresthill, CA
11 western state operation. Home on most weekends. Good pay. Good equipment....
12. Washington National Guard Olympia, WA
13. Roads West Transportation Phoenix, AZ
14. Pacific Coast Building Sacramento, CA
Class B Drivers Needed / Class A Drivers Needed / Dispatchers Needed...
15. Capitol Warehousing Corp. Windsor, WI
WISCONSIN REGIONAL DRIVERS CAPITOL WAREHOUSING CORP IS SEEKING EXPERIANCED...
Randy

Answer:
can give you the emails of some of the drivers that I spoke with before I made my decision to go with GTI.
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Alt[/QUOTE]
Alt: I would greatly appreciate those contacts at GTI. Everything that I have heard about them is positive and my gut tells me they are the way to go, but nothing beats talking with those in the thick of it.
I am pleased with IITR so far. No BS and the instructors are highly experienced and know their stuff. As far as the driving time goes, I doubt that any school will offer enough. I think they are all geared toward getting you the CDL and knowing enough so that you won't be dangerous out there. One thing I do know for sure: this training is a lot more thorough than the diploma mill that I went through in my prior prior short driving career.
GB

Answer:
Thanks to all that replied to my prior post. This is a great board!
KJ - I am thinking about May, but heard mixed stories about the. I am interested in Watkins - Shepard but heard that you have to park it at the terminal. Any truth to that? It's a long drive home from there to Bend.
BigTimber - I heard that Interstate is currently only hiring teams. I would be interested in them if they would consider a solo newbie. Knight is on my list of possibles, but not at the top.
AirCargo - I've heard ggod things about Sherman too, but not interested in flatbeds....dry van or reefer only.
Randy - Thanks for the list. I am sure all of them run through the area, but all you have to do here in Bend is keep an eye on Jake's Truckstop to see who does so with any frequency. There is a lot of GTI, Swift, Werner, Knight, Crete, ( they have a lot of dedicated out of here, but experienced drivers only).
Altair - I'm filling out the GTI application tonite!
Again, thanks to all for the info.
GB

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Say Hi to jerry for me too will ya. I will get those contacts to you via email soon. Best of luck to ya!!! --> -->
Alt

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I started. Went right into flats because of 10 yrs. from the '70's. I took the truck home every time no problem. Dropped the trailer loaded or not at the local market and bobtailed home. Don't know about the van side. Maybe they operate different. 10 day orientation at Missoula and you're out and solo. Not a program for the timid but it sure worked for me. I've heard good things about Gordons pay package. They used to slip seat new drivers. Not sure about that these days. I'm seeing a few COE's up and down I-5 with Gordons name on them. It appears they are pulling a few out of mothballs? Gordon runs Freight Centuries and W/S runs Volvos. There should be some info on Gordon here in the archives. Likely not much on Watkins/Shepard. I would suggest you hold your nose and call these outfits and get some answers from them. Reqruiters being who they are can still give you straight info on basic stuff...BOL
Character: Doin the right thing when nobody's lookin..JC Watts

Answer:
Altair - Thanks. I will look forward to seeing the contacts.
KJ - Thanks for the info about W-S. It was someone in the recruiting department at the school who told me that you can't bobtail home. She might have been mistaken. I heard that the van division runs a lot of furniture. Do you know anything about that?
GB

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on what I saw while in orientation in Mt. If you happen to be empty in Missoula you will likely haul paper rolls from there down into Ca. The I-5 running generally runs furniture and carpet. Can't say which direction the stuff goes. They have a drop yard in Portland. Not sure if it's a terminal with shops and such. Another down in L.A. with shops. I've seen day cabs in the Sac area so they must have something going in that area. The reqruiter in Mt. should be able to say if they can occasionally route you thru Bend for home time. Make it clear this has to happen for you. They won't waste the time on you if not. This can be a problem with many carriers. You're getting bombarded at school from both the schools placement people and Co. reqruiters. Let em know what you need. I'll repeat the suggestion to keep looking in the Bulletin there in Bend and the Oregonian. Hit the phone book. Chances are there will be small outfits up and down the 97 corridor to talk with. The option I went with was 6 mo. with W/S then the same with a Co. closer to home till I found a dedicated that fits good for me. Just keep looking...it will happen. I think Gordon has a yard in Wilsonville and a yard down at this end in Medford. The small outfit I drive for out of Grants pass has hired school grads so they are out there.It just occured to me you might use the computer phone book and check trucking co.'S up there in the tri/cities area across the river in Wa. Lots of fruit and veggies come south from there and they run down 97 to Ca....BOL
Character: Doin the right thing when nobody's lookin..JC Watts

Answer:
KJ - thankd for the continued info on W-S and all your other ideas. Given me more to think about.
Your comment about the school recruting department and recruiters - they aren't very active with us here in Bend / Redmond. It's a small branch campus for IITR. They leave the recruting up to the local manager / trainer. He's a very straight forward guy and suggests applying to only 2-3 companies that hire trainees because you'll probably get offers from all of them. He won't say bad things about any companies, but will sure act favorably about those you bring up that he feels postive about. As far as recuiters go, I guess Werner shows up with some regularity and others very sporadically. I guess it's one of the advantages, ( or disadvantages depending on one's perspective), of Central Oregon being kind of off the beaten path. Personnaly, I would prefer to do my own research and contact the companies that interest me rather than hearing a sales pitch from a recruiter.
GB

Answer:
You stated that you use to haul truck load refer. There are a few carriers that want drivers out of oragon and that area. I have never worked for them, but looked into. R and M in lincoln Nb. Pride transport and England out of Salt Lake I think takes new drivers, I also think England will pay you back for school after one year. Good Luck
_________________
Wood's Country Store
202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
daytrader - reefer is a definite option due to my prior experience. I know how to operate them, load them and don't mind the noise.
I will look into the company in Nebraska. As far as England goes, I've read too many negative things about them all over this and other boards. I also know a couple of ex-management people from that company, people who have moved on but have no axe to grind, who pretty much confirmed the driver slash and burn attitude that I've read about.
GB