Shaffer Trucking reviews

This was my first company. When I was training with them for the first eight weeks everything seemed fine The best thing I can say is that their training program is really good. But it all started to go downhill as soon as got my first truck. As soon as I left orientation I was automatically on break down for two weeks. And for the next two months I was in breakdown every week. They claimed they had new equipment. I was not making any money with this company I made more money with training pay then when I was on my own. My terminal was based at new Kingstown Pennsylvania. A lot of other drivers have told me that this company was a good company on their downfall. If you're looking for home time then go to their dedicated Walmart fleet but if you want to make money then I suggest you stay away from this company. I was on break down once per week. They told me the best they can do

Q: Hi guys ..I was wondering if i can get some info on the Shaffer n/e regional gig ? they're offering .50 cpm right now.. I live in NYC will i be able to get home every friday or Saturday ? also..I know the apointment times will probably be crazy like 3 am or whatever but do they do a'lot of drop and hooks ?can i get like 2200 miles? any info is greatly appreciated !

A: Yea i talked to Todd i think ..He said .50 CPM and home every week..or weekend . All the trucks now have cameras in there i hear ?is that true ? more and more companies are doing this.. it's like annoying ..no privacy ..This company in NJ called White arrow i went in last week for road test and drug test and as i was doing the road test i see a camera looking at me..that was the end for that company .loll

A: not all trucks have cameras, in fact most don't.
When I was there most shippers were drop and hook but most receivers were live unload.
I was OTR but Northeast a lot though.

It wasn't "Shaffer" that was the reason why I left. It was the whole OTR company reefer driver that sucked for me... the lifestyle. Shaffer always got me home when I asked/was due 100% was the time and was on pace to earn over $50k a year when I had less than a year experience... which I felt was great and I was happy for.
They never let me sit and always have me miles.. so as for being a company OTR driver and making money it was great.
However I left for personal reasons, not because of anything bad Shaffer did but because after I got a year experience I looked for my own best JOB that would make me happy and earn more money.
Now I'm picking my own freight off a load board, paid % and do mostly all drop and hooks. Total freedom I have now and the ability to earn MORE with working nearly half as hard.
Last week I did $2500 after fuel and fixed costs on less than 2000 miles.

Everybody should do what makes them happy.
This thread was about numbers, I was stating a FACT that Shaffer pays more and you get the miles. If an APU and inverter is worth giving up .06 or more a year then hey go for it.
There's drivers with experience working for TransAm for .32 but they have auto Kenworths with APUs, refrigerators etc and to some a fancy truck is more important than money.
But when you made that decision it's you taking a pay cut for fancier equipment.
I mean I myself am leasing a Kenworth when I could have gone a shaker for less $ but I am paying for it and that's my choice.
I view it similar when a company driver works for less pay for a truck with more stuff on it.. it's you paying for it just in a different way.

From a purely financial I think Crete/Shaffer is a great OTR company because they actually run you and at a rate better than most all OTR company drivers. Which after all is the most important thing in my opinion, it is a job after all.
Yes you have a 62 MPH truck and aren't going to be getting coast to coast runs. Those coast to coast runs pay LESS so if I want a company that does those runs you'll earn less per mile.
If someone loves long runs that much it might be worth it to them. 
Everybody is different, this is a lifestyle after all.

Final Shaffer Experiment #s:

42,135 paid miles.
104 days worked.
61 loads.
16 full days off.
690.73 average load length.
405.14 average paid miles per day.

I transferred back to Crete. The numerous inversions per week of the sleep schedule and primarily night driving had me constantly fatigued. I commend the Shaffer drivers that are able to adjust to the short/medium haul reefer modality.

Crete and Shaffer are the same company.
Crete took over Shaffer and then merged the two forever ago.

Go to Dry Van, it's just not worth it to pull a reefer there.
Even at .55 a mile with Shaffer I'd still think .45 with Crete would be better.
Shaffer is less miles, less drop and hook and more Northeast along with crazy appointment times.
Screw that

 After looking at several companies, I'm going with the first one to contact me - Shaffer. Everything seems good so far. I pick up my rental car tomorrow and head to Lenoir City for 4 days of orientation, then out with a trainer for a few weeks to knock off the rust (haven't driven OTR in a year) then go solo. Starting me at 47 cpm, then 48 after 6 months solo, so we will see how this goes. 

Planning to keep a couple other irons in the fire, just in case.

May not be able to post too often once I leave orientation (have wi-fi for laptop atm but also have dumb phone lol), but will try to update as I am able...

Anyone have any suggestions for good backup plans? I have 8 months OTR, only 1 minor scrape, no tickets/DUI/felony...

Just finished Day 1. Passed physical and road test now for two days of orientation and a defensive driver class, then out with a trainer for a few weeks. Got a good feeling so far. There are about 20 in the group, including a few re-hires.

Finished Day 2 today. More paperwork tomorrow then the defensive class Thursday and hopefully out with a trainer shortly after that . Ready to start making $$$

It is. First two days was lunch from Publix, today was Domino's. Dinner last night and tonight was either Chick-Fil-A or Captain D's. Tomorrow should be fuel card, defensive class, and hopefully out with trainer. Had some Crete drivers giving me a hard time about Shaffer, saying it was a lot of sitting and live unloads yada yada yada. I've run reefer before, I have an idea of what to expect lol

Officially hired today!  Trainer is in Indy and has a load that is supposed to deliver in Knoxville tomorrow, weather permitting of course. So with any luck tomorrow evening or early Saturday I'll be rolling!!

I've got one week left with the trainer, then I go solo. My trainer has been driving since '96 and the last 4 years with Shaffer. He's taught me a few things and made a lot of things I knew a LOT simpler than what I had been taught at Stevens lol. As of right now, we are in Kansas City. The truck is in the shop for an oil change and some recall work. While they were taking care of that, they found the EGR valve was choked up w/ carbon so they are replacing that as well. Since it won't be done tonight, we are staying at the nearby Holiday Inn - in separate rooms - with a free breakfast buffet lol. I am REALLY liking it here so far...

We have been running mostly Northeast, but trainer tells me that he has only seen Northeast a handful of times in 4 yrs and is usually right back out. I'm assigned to the terminal in Marietta, GA and he's assigned to Columbus, OH so we will see how things go once I'm solo...

Appt times have varied, but that's the nature of reefer and you will see that at ANY company that runs reefer. We could run what Crete calls "super-solo", 19 hrs max in a day. We basically swapped days, or both drove if the need arose. Now that I'm solo, things are good so far. Will be a couple hours late for this run to FL, but had to get reworked on the 2nd p/u (shipper tried to put an extra 3,500 on the tail end - I scaled at 79,500 with only a 1/4 tank of fuel n tandems were over 37k lol) so I think that's where I lost the time, plus roadwork on I-40 in AR. Everybody had to stop n play rock paper scissors to see who got to merge first, or so it seemed...