• Pulling a hopper trailer in FL and South GA
• Should expect to sleep in the truck 1-3 nights a week
• Work 1-2 weekends a month
• $900-$1100 gross weekly
• TWIC is required
• 2 years of experience within the last 4 years
• MUST Speak English

 Overview of Company and Position

Here at Schwend we pride ourselves on being a family-owned and operated company. Charles and Judi Schwend started our company in 197 6. If you ever stop by the terminal in Dade City, FL you likely will see Judi around as she still lives in the home on Schwend property. Jeff(Judi and Charles's son) took over the company after his parents retired and is now our company President and fearless leader! Since starting we have built a strong customer base in the Southeast, hauling many types of agricultural products. We have also grown since 1976, and we now have a total of 4 terminals! Our main office is in Dade City, FL but we also have a terminal in Tampa, FL, Jasper, TN, and Elko, GA.

 Hopper Pay starts at 24% of the gross, at the end of your first year you move up to 25%, at the end of your second year you will move up to 26%. We also pay $.25 per mile after 50 miles of dead head per load. Gross weekly average is currently $900.00-$1,100.00 Drivers are paid $30.00 per diem for each night they spend in the truck, if a driver spends the weekend out, they also will receive $75 .00 flat on top of normal night per diem. Employees are paid weekly. Pay week starts Sunday at 12am and ends Saturday at 11 :59pm/midnight.

We feel that your time with family and out of the truck is important; our dispatch team strives to give each driver as much home time as possible while still giving the driver the opportunity to earn what they need to make to live comfortably and keep our customers happy. 

Orientation & Training

Your orientation will be done at our Dade City, FL terminal. It typically lasts 1-2 days. Orientation is paid $100-$150, depending on how long it takes. It includes a road test, meeting the Dade City team, Training on ELD, Paperwork and lots more, Completing New Hire Paperwork, Equipment Overview and a Headset Check. If you have never pulled a hopper trailer, no worries, we will train you! Training is done in your own truck and trailer-you will not be riding with anyone.

Supplies

All drivers are required to have a working CB radio, a working handsfree headset, steel toe boots, basic tool kit and garbage bags in their trucks, always. Hopper drivers also need to always carry with them a long-handled shop broom and five-gallon bucket. We do not supply those items.

Benefits

• Vacation:
• 1 year = 1 week vacation
• 2 years = 2 weeks' vacation
• 4 years = 2 weeks' vacation, 1 week longevity pay 5 years = 2 weeks' vacation, 2 weeks longevity pay
•  6 paid sick days a year (1/2 a month)
• Simple IRA retirement plan after probation period (1 year) with matching contribution up to 3%.
• Nightly Per Diem
• Sign on bonus of $5,000.00, paid out weekly in $100.00 increments
• Drivers will receive uniforms (free of charge) after their first 60 days
• Drivers are eligible for quarterly fuel and safety bonuses
• We recognize the 6-standard holiday (holiday pay); Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability and Life Insurance are available after your first 60 days of employment.

Equipment Overview

A hopper looks like a box or van trailer, but instead of the top being enclosed, it is covered with a tarp. You roll open the tarp to load and offload ( and of course close it when driving and when loaded). There are two doors on the bottom of the trailer that you crank open, and the product gravity flows off the bottom. The walls inside the hopper trailer are angled wider at the top and narrower at the bottom so that the product is funneled down onto the doors at the bottom of the trailer. In the summer months it can get humid and some of the products that we haul may absorb some of the moisture from the air. Our hopper trailers are equipped with vibrators that can be used to help off load the product from the trailer. Since the walls inside the trailer are angled sometimes the product may stick to the slopes of the trailer walls, in this instance if the vibrators did not get all the product off of the trailer, we encourage drivers to crawl up through the bottom door and use a large shop broom to help push any remaining product out of the trailer. The chances of getting dirty are extremely high, and chances of falling are near zero.

This is a hands-on position. This is not a position where you will be bumping docks. If it is hot outside, you will get hot If it rains, you will get wet. It is common for drivers to get dusty and sweaty. While our trailers do have vibrators, at times sweeping the trailer out will be necessary. Being able to climb up and down the ladder that is attached to the back of the hopper is also a required part of the job. The tarp that covers the top of the trailer is on a roll bar; the driver must be able to cover and uncover the trailer.

Our hoppers have capacities ranging from 1600-2200 cubic feet.

Featuring:

• 24 x 3 6 door openings
• Vibrators for unloading ease
• 2 speed gear boxes on hopper doors
• Roll tarps