Rig Pig

🗺️ Garmin dezl — truck GPS

Car GPS will route you under a 12'6" bridge. The dezl knows your height, weight, and hazmat class, warns about sharp curves and steep grades, and shows truck stops and parking ahead. It's the standard in trucking for a reason.

🪑 Purple seat cushion

Ten hours a day in a stock seat adds up. Purple's grid cushion takes the pressure off your tailbone without going flat like foam — a lot of drivers swear by it for long hauls.

📋 How to read a job offer

• Cents per mile (CPM) is only half the story. Ask whether miles are practical (actual route) or HHG/shortest (zip-code math that pays fewer miles).
• Accessorial pay: detention, layover, tarping, extra stops. A lower CPM with strong accessorials can beat a high CPM.
• Home time: get the actual schedule in writing (e.g. "home weekly" vs "home 34 hours every 10 days" are very different lives).
• Training contracts — the big gotcha: "free CDL training" usually means you owe 9–12 months. Leave early and you owe thousands. Read the contract, not the brochure.
• Lease-purchase: be very cautious as a rookie. You take the expenses; the company keeps the control. Most experienced drivers say: drive company for a year first.

Schneider

Van, reefer, tanker, bulk · One of the largest US carriers. Runs paid CDL training academies and tuition reimbursement for school grads.

Swift Transportation (Knight-Swift)

Dry van, reefer, flatbed · The largest US truckload carrier. Operates its own driving academies and hires new grads at scale.

Prime Inc.

Reefer, flatbed, tanker · Springfield, MO. Well-known paid training program (earn while you train with an instructor). Also runs a lease program — read the fine print.

Roehl Transport

Van, reefer, flatbed · Wisconsin-based. Known for paid on-the-job CDL training ("get your CDL while getting paid") and newer equipment.

J.B. Hunt

Intermodal, dedicated, truckload · One of the biggest US carriers. Strong on dedicated accounts (regular routes, regular home time) for newer drivers.

Werner Enterprises

Dry van, dedicated · Omaha-based giant. Hires new grads and runs its own training; big dedicated-account network.

Maverick Transportation

Flatbed (glass, lumber) · Known for thorough flatbed securement training — a real skill that pays. Hires and trains new CDL grads.

TMC Transportation

Flatbed · Iowa-based, the black Peterbilts. Respected new-driver training program; performance-based pay structure.

Melton Truck Lines

Flatbed · Tulsa-based. Hires new grads with in-house training; known for decent equipment and a driver-focused culture.

Stevens Transport

Refrigerated · Dallas-based. Runs its own driving school and hires new grads; temperature-controlled freight runs year-round.

❓ Questions to ask any recruiter

• Is the pay per practical or HHG mile — and what's the average weekly miles for new drivers?
• What's the training contract length, and what do I owe if I leave early?
• Exact home-time schedule — in writing.
• Pet and rider policies (matters more than you'd think).
• Detention/layover pay rates and when they kick in.
• What does the benefits package actually cost per paycheck?