Gettin' Down to the Wire.

Okay I have worked to glean knowledge from all the truck drivers I know and now, as I am getting down the wire, I wanna check for advice here. I graduate from a good Truck Driving School (240+ hours) in a little under a week. I have a good driving record (no tickets, no accidents) and am an Army Vet. I have been in Law Enforcement the past 7 years (not D.O.T. - though they did try to recruit me and I turned them down because the pay was too low - ha). I have been pre-hired with several companies and I am nervous about making the right decision.

I know that I have to learn the ropes and I don't expect to jump right in making gravy. My plan is to do my time with an OTR company and get that experience under my belt so I can open up my choices a bit. I want the miles and I understand the sacrifice to home time. What do some of you suggest for someone like me? I can accept home a couple of days a month - I just don't want to end up sitting somewhere and not getting miles.

I don't mind hard work. The companies I have been pre-hired for and am considering are:

Roehl - I have heard good things about them from several truck drivers. Their pay plan looks good and they seem to have good bonuses. It doesn't seem they will let me west of Dallas for my first year though.

Interstate Dist. - The truck drivers I have asked don't know anything about them. I will get to drive 48 states with them, primarily in the West and they SAY miles will not be a problem.

Paschall Truck Lines - Not a lot of information on them, I like the way they do their home time (with rollover) and the pay is decent. No one has told me anything bad about them.

TMC (Flatbeds) - Like I said, I do not mind hard work. They advertise 60k for first year drivers and they have a custom pay (mileage or percentage of load) that they say is great. I have heard from a couple of drivers that TMC is a good company.

Trans Am Trucking - Seems pretty standard. Refer units (which a truck driving friend told me to stay away from) and the company is based in Colorada - I live in Ga.

What do you guys and gals suggest? What should I look for? Can you give me any tips or heads up?

I want to get my experience with an OTR company. I am 33 years old now and would like to get as much knowledge of the industry as possible so I can eventually move into Owner-Operator status in 2-5 years. Any advice would be helpful.

SCJ