crst orientation

That is amazing that a new truck could use that much oil. It should only take a day at the most to change out a turbo. Some of these dealers really milk a repair job. I am glad that you got a new truck. I hope they get the problem with your old truck fixed before some unsuspecting new owner operator buys it from a dealer.

 

I have been around this business for a number of years. I am glad that you got another truck. It can be a real pain when you have a truck that has a chronic problem.

 

I only hope that the masses are listening Temptinfates. Just a couple of other CRST facts that I will throw in:

CRST does NOT use the EZ pass system in their trucks. So, trainee making $350 a week is expected to pay tolls and be reimbursed later. Believe me. You will not know what is coming or going regarding the meager pay that you are receiving. Ex: Run from New Jersey to Chicago....starting at Walt Whitman bridge will run you approx $193.00. CRST will advance you the tolls to you COMDATA card. Guess what? They also charge you a $4.00 wire transfer charge (check your pay stub. oh that's right! they won't send pay stubs. you have to check it online!) Tack on the circa $4.00 ATM fee at truckstops and !!!YOU GOT IT!!! You just financed at least 8% of the tolls on that run! LOL \

What if you only need $40 for tolls and ask for an advance to pay CRST's tolls? Hmmmm $4 wire transfer fee, plus $4 at the ATM (again) and congratulations driver! You have just personally financed 20% of the tolls on that run for CRST. A benevolent bunch, that crew at Cedar Rapids....

CRST in practice does not run toll roads unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, you will learn every dog path and by-way across the 48 states. Those (toll avoidance) routes are a joy! Expecially for the new driver. Just ask Temptinfates about US 30! LOL However, when you are routed via toll roads..........be ready. Nothing like showing up at the Chicago I-294/I-80 west toll booth w/o money.

I can confirm the 22CPM rate when running solo as opposed to having a co-driver on board. Anybody here online that listened to the fleet conference call a couple of weeks ago? LOL Poor fella (experienced driver) was hired in at 40CPM. All was well until his co-driver quit and CRST sent him out solo........and paid him 22CPM..............and didn't tell him........and he didn't have any idea..........until he was paid!! He (rightfully) was so pissed! I loved the answer from that schmuck, snide management type. 'Uh, well, uh, uh that's a situation we've been looking at. That policy is in place to motivate the driver to find a new co-driver as [we] are a strictly team concept company.' So they nearly cut his pay in half? I wonder how that ### would feel if they gave him a 50% cut without notice. Nice, salt-o-the-earth folks over in the heartland, Cedar Rapids.

I am short on time and a bit weary about making my first post on the board a 'rant.' Yet, the truth should be available to those seeking it. I will be happy to discuss my personal experiences/qualifications to comment on CRST in posts to come.

Temptinfates? I hope that you have walked from the nightmare and have found a decent trucking job (again). You sure as hell gave it the ole sophomore try and had more knowledge and a superb attitude for sure. No matter how hard you try to suck it up and move on, the constant CRST beat down is just too much for most people. Godspeed.

By chance, if you are a newbie/rookie considering teaming with a total stranger TO COMPLETE YOUR 8 MONTH CONTRACT...........and being with a trainer for 28 days who might have as little as 6 MONTHS experience (or less in some cases).

Read on:

Trucking community mourns driver’s loss in Wyoming crash


By Clarissa Kell-Holland, Land Line staff writer
Investigators are still trying to piece together what led to the death of a truck driver in a fiery crash involving two tractor-trailers on Interstate 80 between Laramie and Cheyenne on March 25.
Funeral services were scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, for Jerry Roberts, 48, of Omaha, NE. Roberts, who drove for Fremont Contract Carriers Inc. in Fremont, NE, died at the scene after the 2007 Freightliner he was driving rear-ended a Volvo truck driven by CRST trainee Welton J. Seawright, 51. Seawright’s estimated speed was 5 mph in a 75 mph zone on that stretch of I-80 at mile marker 335.
Upon impact, Roberts’ rig “became immediately engulfed in flames,” according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol press release issued by Sgt. Stephen Townsend.
Townsend told Land Line on Tuesday, March 29, that there’s no new information to report until investigators complete their crash report.
According to the WHP report, Seawight stated to troopers that he “thought he was going up a steep incline.” Townsend said the area where the crash occurred is “fairly flat or slightly downgraded.”
Townsend said there was “good visibility, dry roads and clear skies” at the time of the accident, which occurred around 5:40 a.m. on Friday.
“That area isn’t known for a lot of accidents,” he said.
Townsend said troopers interviewed Seawright following the accident and the driver stated that his trainer, Otis B. Willson, 40, of Anton, MI, was in the sleeper berth.
The Laramie Boomerang is reporting that WHP Trooper Troy Marrs, who is investigating the crash, stated that the “inexperienced CRST Trucking driver who was disoriented and driving too slow caused the wreck.”
“He’s a brand-new driver; he had only been driving a truck for three weeks,” Marrs told the news agency. “He got disoriented in the dark, going up and down the hills, and his truck was bogging down.”
Roberts was traveling approximately 65 mph and applied his brakes and “skidded just prior” to hitting the rear of the CRST trailer, according to the WHP report.
The other driver, Seawright, was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident. He was treated and released from Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie. His trainer, Willson, refused treatment at the accident scene, according to the WHP report.
“Once the crash is completely investigated, they (troopers) will turn over all of the reports to the Albany County District Attorney’s office and they will make that final determination if there will be any criminal charges filed,” Townsend told Land Line.
Copyright © 2011 OOIDA

© 2011, . All rights reserved. ​

Source: Landline Magazine (OOIDA)

 

Hey Temptinfates.....I hope that you don't mind that I am going to parse your post a bit. Just wanted to make sure that I didn't miss anything.

You should have seen what I went through getting off of that truck. I gave them a full one week notice. (note to newbie reading this and wondering why not two weeks......1 week notice is perfectly acceptable in the world of Bottom Feeder Trucking. Actually, one week is about.....well one week more than these Bottom Feeder companies get from most drivers). I almost busted a hernia when, after I sent in my notice via Qualcomm, the clueless fleet manager responded. "Need two weeks professional notice." Both myself and co-driver almost fell out of the truck laughing. What in the f### did they know about professionalism? At least we were having a pretty good time in the truck about the entire debacle. If only to add insult to injury............24 hours before I was to permanently depart the truck. COMMAND (and I am using that term very loosely) switched over to evening shift. As best I can surmise, the day shift FM incompetent for some reason left notice to the evening shift (partial incompetent) that I was getting off of the truck w/o any further info that I had resigned and was finishing up the load back to my home domicile. Within only minutes, there came the DAC ABANDONEMENT on my record threats from dispatch. We (co-driver and I) were sitting there in disbelief! I was doing everything the right way!! (So I thought anyhow). To credit the evening FM (dispatcher) a phone call rather quickly took care of the situation as a complete misunderstanding due to the day shift not communicating to the evening shift. What a mess.

Smells to me like the work of Midwest Operations Manager Bret Heisterkamp. Bret is company all the way. (probably because he is in too deep now and could have used his talents and great personality to do so much more in life.......gonna be too late soon,Bret ) He has that easy going style that matches exactly to the conversation you mention. A few years ago, Bret was dispatched to Indianapolis to try and save the ill-fortuned CRST Premier Transport (solo) division on 86th Street in Indy. Nothing that he could really do as CRST was not equipped to operate solo loads (even while paying the solos next to nothing). So they folded, and Bret was given a bone to Ops Mgr in Cedar Rapids. (That will explain those CRST Premier Transport 900xxx trailers (black face) in case you care).

You are excused for the rant, kind Sir! LOL Please excuse me also! Back to business. HAZMAT endorsement? OMG, I cannot tell you how many miles we lost because we were a HAZMAT team! We would be pre-planned from the left coast back to Jersey etc. Lo and behold......load would be canceled and off to a 300 mile HAZMAT load for nothing to Salt Lake (then an entire day doing city loads for $15.00 each move....we'd each make $30.00 apiece for 12-14 hours of work!) Never failed. I lost more money because of that HAZMAT endorsement than I care to admit. Doubles and Triples endorsement? I almost hit the floor when I read that you got to pull them also. Nothing like pulling those R&L doubles huh? Total extra compensation to CRST driver to pull HAZMAT or Doubles? Zero POINT Zero!

Truer words have never been spoken Temptinfates. I remember last summer reading your posts while riding along on the Gold Rush. LOL I hope that the O/O that you schooled has managed to make a go of it. Keep in touch!

majortom

 

Update for me...Orientation yesterday, today, & tomorrow w/CRST in Cedar Rapids, Ia. I still need a tainer & co-driver. I thought I had one lined up but it did not pan out. He found him a girlfriend going through the school...need I say more-lol! Anyway school is over, got the CDL, & NOW I am just itching to get out of this compound!

 

Good luck, Lookingat18wheels. I hope you can get a trainer soon.