Celadon

Discussion in 'Celadon' started by Smiles814, Jul 27, 2013.

  1. Smiles814

    Smiles814 Bobtail Member

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    Jul 3, 2013
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    Well I figure since this website has giving me a lot of information I would help by giving out information about Celadon from my experiences.

    Celadon offers a CDL training class for people whom do not have a Class A CDL. Here is what you need to know about that.
    *You will be going to orientation in Indianapolis Indiana.*
    *You will have to sign a contract of 120,000 miles at .29 Cents a mile in order to work for the company*
    *If you elect to quit or get fired you will have to pay a fee of either $4800 or $7200 however you will at that time have your Class A CDL*
    *Celadon pays for your Greyhound Bus to get to orientation. Sometime depending on how far away they will fly you. This is at no cost to you.*
    *They provide either 1 bedroom dorms at their facility or they will put you in a hotel when dorms are full at no cost. However if you elect to not take a dorm when available you will have to pay for your hotel.*
    *While in training they will offer you 3 meals a day. 7am, 12pm, 5pm. All of this they pay for.*
    *4-6 Weeks OTR with trainer @ $50 a day*

    Celadon also offers refresher class. Here is what you need to know.
    *You will be going to orientation in Indianapolis Indiana.*
    *You will have to sign either a 120,000 or 60,000 mile contract at either .29 or .31 cents a mile, depending on which mileage contract you have. (120=.29)(60=.31)*
    If you elect to quit or get fired you will have to pay a fee of either $1200, $4800, $7200. This amount will break away ties with this company.*
    *Celadon pays for your Greyhound Bus to get to orientation. Sometime depending on how far away they will fly you. This is at no cost to you.*
    *They provide either 1 bedroom dorms at their facility or they will put you in a hotel when dorms are full at no cost. However if you elect to not take a dorm when available you will have to pay for your hotel.*
    *While in training they will offer you 3 meals a day. 7am, 12pm, 5pm. All of this they pay for.*
    *4 to 6 weeks of OTR training @ 50 a day*

    Company Drivers
    If you have been over the road before and have no had a long break in between Celadon and your past OTR job you will be a company driver. I can not speak that much about this for I am a refresher.

    Owner Operators
    I have no information about this. I can not speak that much about this for I am a refresher.

    Team Drivers
    I have little information about this. All I know for sure is that if you sign a contract of either 120,000 miles or 60,000 miles in order to be hired on by Celadon. You're team drivers miles will count against you're contract as well as the miles you drive. However the pay raise will be only be every 120,000 miles at .01 increments.


    Overview:
    Well I came here with 4 months local Tractor Trailer Experience and spoke with people and they agreed to switch my contract from 120,000 miles to 60,000 miles. Not knowing but this gave me a .02 cent bump in pay. I was only offered the adjustment if I was able to do a 2 day refresher and pass on the 3rd day instead of a 5 days fresher and pass on the following business day. I passed and they honored the agreement. I am still very skeptical about this company. I have a positive attitude about it so far however I have not actually been with my OTR trainer yet.

    I will also post in here to give you to allow everyone to know how things are. I am a very honest person. I am not a person that goes around talking about I did this and did that. I joined this program with knowledge I would get a job and gain experience. I plan on applying for other jobs at my 6 month mark to see what is out there.

    If you have any direct questions to ask me send me a email personal message on here and if I do not know the answer I will ask around. Knowledge is power. (Dumb questions like can I smoke weed will go unanswered.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2013
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  3. yessir

    yessir Medium Load Member

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    Apr 17, 2013
    queens, ny
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    Thank's for the info and it's sounds like a better deal for students instead of going to crengland or so, Good luck with them and be safe out there.
     
  4. WA_Slim

    WA_Slim Bobtail Member

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    Jul 16, 2013
    Bellingham, WA
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    Yep, very good info and good luck on your "adventure" with Celadon!

    :biggrin_255:
     
  5. Smiles814

    Smiles814 Bobtail Member

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    Jul 3, 2013
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    Also some quick things I should add. If you are going through the schooling program once you get here to attempt to get you're CDL you will surrender your current state license and get a Indiana state license in order to take the CDL in this state. If you already have you're CDL you can keep you're current state license.

    Make sure you bring a few things:
    1. Birth Certificate
    2. Social Security Card
    3. 2 Forms of Residency.
    4. Current Drivers License.

    *People have been sent home because they did not bring this. Even if you're recruiter does not tell you to bring all of these just do it. The recruiter are not the ones worried about getting sent home for giving you mis information you are.

    They Offer Per Diem. I believe it is $52 a day. If you take the offered per diem your cent per mile will be a bit lower however you will not pay taxes on some of you're money.
     
  6. worldtrvlr

    worldtrvlr Medium Load Member

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    Nov 29, 2011
    Hope Hull, Alabama
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    Yes, but why do they pay 29 cents per mile today for new drivers when MS Carriers, Carretta, APL and others were paying 26-30 cents back in 1992? Seems unfair that 20 years later drivers are making 1992 wages. Now this rate for the above mentioned companies was for new drivers-not just experienced. Part of this low wage issue was the promulgation of the CDL which inevitably led to driving schools in contrast to years ago when you could either drive or not drive a rig and get a chauffer license. Point being; that rate is far out of date no matter what the driver's experience is.
     
  7. Smiles814

    Smiles814 Bobtail Member

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    Agreed however what are you gonna do? Sit around after contacting 50 companies and continue to look with bills stacking up? Or say hey. I am new and if I want to get somewhere I got to start at the bottom.
     
    newbietrucker007 Thanks this.
  8. Smiles814

    Smiles814 Bobtail Member

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    Jul 3, 2013
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    Well I figured I would get back in here and post what has been going on... Today is Thursday and I am suppose to be done with training next Thursday. So let me go ahead and give you an update.

    Places I have been picked up or delivered loads to: Richmond, Memphis, Macon, Dallas, OKC, Laraedo x2, LA, Odessa, Indianapolis. I am sure there is others. As you can see I have been coast to coast but have not been very much in the Northern States. We have not rejected any load that we could not do or not in a safe possible time frame.

    My Trainer has been great. I am his tenth trainee so far and he thinks I am the best but I always want to push push push and rush everything. He tells me to slow down but never has issues with my driving. I was nervous for about a half hour meeting him because I did not want to get stuck with a cowboy who plays country music all day and wears a rebel flag shirt. Sorry I do not mean to offend anyone but that is just not me.

    You make 307 Dollars a week net (take home) until you finish with training. It is basically 50 bucks a day and then they take taxes out, so it could be a bit different for you as I am single with no dependents.

    I have got to see friends in LA, PHX, Mobile, and family in Dallas during these 5 weeks so far while making money during this time. So considering this is my first OTR job it is not that bad.

    Now I will tell you the bad side....

    So far I noticed OUR truck have many issues. First the radiator, then the A/C, and now a few other things that will keep us behind. Now during training it does not really matter to me because I have a really good grasp on driving and I make 50 a day anyways but if I was done with training this could be a huge issue for me.

    Side note: I want to tell you this right now. Regardless of whatever you ever want to do in life you NEED to go do it. You can not wait around hoping and praying for the best. Life rewards proactive people. When you want to know about something and ask. If they seem to sound weary or not know. Go above them and get the answer. The whole time during Celadon Orientation I never noticed anyone walk around the building trying to find information out. I doubt I will be with this company in 8 months because of other opportunities however you need to go get what you want. Go ask. Go DO.
     
  9. Smiles814

    Smiles814 Bobtail Member

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    Jul 3, 2013
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    Well it has been almost 6 months since working for Celadon so I figured I would come on here and give everyone an update to further help people make logical choices. I have so far enjoyed my this company but I would not say I am jumping for joy either. I make about .29 cents a mile which in comparison to many other companies is crap but I had to start somewhere. During my 6 months I am at about 42000 miles of my 60000 contract but also my miles did not start until after training which I include in my 6 months. Only issues I have had with celadon is their lack of true leadership in the company and vision on how to run this company properly and efficient. Sometimes you get a paycheck late or arrive home a day later which I am not to happy with but I am not ready to jump ship yet due to this. Celadon has a new training program now from when I came in. They now require 240000 mile contract/team drivers which I would have never signed up for but I when I came in it was not forced teams and I had only a 60000 contract. If anyone has questions about the training program call recruiting and talk with scott in quality. He is a good guy and will help you out.
     
    04 Stroke and Alrock Thank this.
  10. JustNva

    JustNva Light Load Member

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    May 9, 2014
    Virginia
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    Why the heck do they MAKE you team with another student for a YEAR?!?!?! That's insane! Who would agree to that?? Everything was sounded good about this company until I read that. shesh
     
  11. Alrock

    Alrock Light Load Member

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    May 26, 2014
    NYC
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    I've been out of driving big trucks, doing something else for 7 years. Now few companies might take me with a refresher course, and Celadon is the one of them. So now I know what I need to ask a recruiter- to email me a a contract I'd have to sign- to see all the fine print. It sounds scary though. Because one of advantages of being a company driver versus owner operator is that you can make some money, quit, have some rest and go back whenever you want to. There are no truck payments to make, no insurance payments, etc.etc. I see Celadon found a way to hold a company driver. Wow. :yes2557:
     
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