Holland reviews

My adventure with holland begins, my first 5 days ran a velocity run, out of Knoxville TN to Atlanta GA,great run grossed 1300$ on first week with trainer, second week I ran from Knoxville to spartansburgs SC
Then to Lexington, then went to bed at a hotel, then woke up drove to Louisville-then to Indianapolis for orientation, orientation is 18.17 an hour for me an I'm making .45 CPm full paid medical benefits, an I'm gonna be averaging about 3000-3400 miles a week legally an home on weekends, 
Only one company could beat this company an that's UPS.

Both my company, GPT and Holland clearly stated to drivers back when I first applied to them that you have to be out at least 3-4 weeks. Both companies run all 48 states which means some coast to coast running. Unless you are a team there is no way a driver can expect to get home every week. They're not that kind of company. Unfortunately some people can't get that through their heads. Where I work we have drivers that stay out months at a time, usually unless I have stuff at home to take care of I usually stay out 4-6 weeks. Which means I get home and I get a good 4-6 days. Funny part is usually after 5 days sitting at home I get itching to head back out. Both of these companies are a bit of the old school where trucking is a lifestyle choice. I still get people asking me about what running I do, telling me oh yeah I want to see those places....and then they ask.."do I still get home every week?"... Smh. It's simple. If you want to get home every night or every week, then a company that solely runs coast to coast, all 48 states isn't for you. There's plenty of regional companies out there. If you like getting out there, running both coasts, don't mind staying out for at least several weeks, and you like very long runs, then give a company like Holland, GPT, or whatever long-haul outfits that are still out there a shot.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Holland isn't for everybody. It's the kind of place where not only do you need to be prepared to be home less then 2-3 days/month, but you also need to be a classic "runner" if you want to stay busy and running 3,000+ miles/week. You will run into a series of bad runs from time to time, but if you've proven yourself and will work, fair weather or poor weather and make the appointments, you can make a little money at the end of the month/quarter.

If I had family or home commitments, Holland would not work for me. If I wanted to drive regionally, Holland would not work for me. But I like the never-ending change in scenery given their "all-over" hauling model.

My aging mom's health will probably require me to look for some other work to stay closer to her pretty soon (to keep a check on her well-being). Maybe I can work out some sort of dedicated circle that let's me check on her every 2-3 weeks for a few days, or I'll need to look for other employer, but for now Holland is a good fit for me.

Top pay is 40cpm now I think, plus factor in the 5cpm in bonus pay, 3 of which is easily obtainable

How is the equipment?

- They are bringing in new tractors, although the guys's with seniority I getting them. You could be in a Sterling, International, or Volvo. Depends on what your terminal has available.

As a new guy, can I expect steady work or will it be hit and miss?

- you will average anywhere from 2,500 to over 3K miles per week. No control on how many you get.

How long before I get full pay per the contract?

- you will be at full pay at year 3 anniversary.

Do linehaul drivers work the dock and if so, how much? 

- Yes, only have a bid that requires you to work the dock or your trip has you dropping freight in route. Bid drivers work the dock 2-3 hours give or take. Dropping freight in route is usually an hour as long as the freight has not shifted or poorly loaded.

Have there been changes to the pension plan?

- easiest way to to explain it is work 4 years to get one year.