Stevens Transport - Dallas, Tx.

Smokr

I am pre approved to star there on Jan 4th

 

Smokr
Did you go to Central 1st

 

Well, I haven't posted in a while, and hope everyone is doing good. I am now going on being a T5 (5th week on the road with a trainer) and rolling down I70 heading towards Massachusetts, using my trainers laptop and Sprint WiFi on truck 10077. Yes, I have a cool trainer- company driver. Been on his truck 2 weeks now, other trainer was Alliance abd decided to go home for T-Day, so they put me with another trainer.
To all of you considering Stevens, I have no complaints so far. The training is top notch, and the equipment is very well maintained. If you expect to come on and be babied and catered to, you will be disappointed. There are dues to pay, but if you have a good attitude all should go well for you.
I have gotten about 7000 miles so far, and that includes being broke down in Kingman,AZ for 6 days. yes, 6 days- broke down Thanksgiving night . Oh well, we've rolled about 2500 miles in the last 3 days so no biggie.

Smokr, good luck in your training- hope you get Brenda as your instructor. She is cool as all get out - so is Steve (John Denver, as he is affectionately known) and Tim. Listen, and you will learn alot

TLA Heart- question- did you work in Randalls office while you were on Med Hold at the yard?

 

I have never been on medical hold, so it was not me. I spend as little time as is possible on the yard. When i switched trucks, I was there for 6 days, and that was too long.

 

Yes, I'm here in Dallas right now, first day was today. Yup, went to Central first, as they were the first to reply and make an offer that wasn't CREngland, Prime or CRST or in that category. And Central was a disappointment. Guys showing up first day in wife-beaters and saggin their baggy torn-up jeans, TO REGISTRATION DAY! A couple of guys hadn't shaved in a couple of days, one guy needed to very badly, and another just screamed homeless and don't give a **** how I look, though he talked about how is daddy was paying his way. Another couldn't tell the truth if he was paid to do so, and that was obvious before class started.
Then the building itself was a cinder-block jailhouse affair with nothing near it and nothing for food or drink but vending machines or taco trailer that was exorbitantly overpriced. And the entire inside needed paint and some trim repair and light bulbs, not to mention the glass surfaces cleaned and the microwave steam cleaned.
Then there were some of the current drivers who came and went that were, frankly and honestly, quite nasty. I'm no neat freak, nor am I a clean freak or a snob at all, but I won't wear grimy clothes to a job, let alone the first day! And the language! I can curse a blue streak myself, but, out loud in every sentence as if we were drunken sailors on shore leave?
Today, our first day at Stevens, everyone at least was clean and tidy and we were warned more than once to keep it that way if we want to keep working for Stevens. No one used foul language to tell a simple story or to emphasize every sentence. Everyone was polite, holding doors open and saying hello, smiling and nodding in the halls. It was very enjoyable and very welcoming.
Our instructors used a bit of blue humor to break the ice, and then made it clear it was fine to do so, but abusive or extreme foul language would lead to a quiet talk in his office the first time and repeated talks of that nature would lead to a ticket home on your own dime.
The difference is truly night and day, and I'm so glad I left Central and that I waited until one of the decent companies processed my application and pulled my records and such before calling me for a phone interview.
If Stevens treats me fairly, I expect I'll be here for quite a while, and will be quite proud of where I work. Stevens might pay a couple cents less per mile, but I'll have an APU, an inverter, a newer, cleaner truck, reimbursements to keep it that way, and a hell of a lot of pride in where I work, and that all makes up for quite a few cents per mile in my book.
Now don't take me wrong either, Central has good trucks, and pays nicely, and their supervisors and such I met seemed quite intent on performing their jobs well and were clean and personable as well as seemingly quite professional, but the folks they accept in as new students was quite raggedy and a few of the drivers who came and went were not impressive, while other drivers seemed very much professional and such. Central isn't a bad company as I see it, they just seemingly have a far wider net with which they catch the new fish. For all I know, all those who were dirty and raggedy were released by second day. I just wasn't impressed with the barracks, the other recruits, or the misinformation I was given to get me there, and was willing to buy a ticket at the airport counter rather than stick it out and see.
Maybe if my recruiter hadn't answered with "We have kennels at all our terminals," when I asked how their pet policy worked, and instead had said, "We no longer allow new drivers to have pets," I might have stayed. And she didn't even mention the $500 pet deposit when they did accept pets. Maybe I would have given it longer. But also learning that APUs were frowned on unless you were senior or paid for it yourself, and that inverters were also frowned on even if you paid for it, and I could go on...
So far I haven't found a single lie my Stevens recruiter told me. But it is only day one done. But then I found half a dozen in one day at Central, so...

 

Hey Bigowl! . . . Usually the loads I get going to the west coast go to California. Partly because I have a girlfriend out there and can take a few days off. I can park my truck in the Colton yard and it is a secured, approved yard by Stevens. Loads go to San Diego, Ontario, LA. When you are empty you are usually sent north into the Central Valley.

I get a kick driving over the Gorman Pass (Grapevine) with an empty trailer. This is one of the few times I can fly by just about every other truck heading north on I-5. Just have to be extra careful going down the grapevine. The speed limit goes from 55mph to 45 mph and then 35 mph til you reach the bottom. The CHP is almost always there ready to catch speeders with their radar guns pointed out the window.

Stevens hauls alot of produce out of California. So there is a likelyhood that you can spend a day or two driving all over the Central Valley, depending on how many pickups you have. I've had as many as 6 pickups before.

There are alot of small towns tucked away in out of the way places where you pickup things like Trees, Flowers, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables.

You can very easily get loaded overweight by some of these shippers. Potatos, Onions and grapes are very heavy in bulk.

Sometimes, depending on how many pallets you are getting, If less then 24 (full load single stack), the guy loading your truck will ask how you want the pallets put on the trailer.

One in the nose then two all the way back. Or, one in the nose, then two, then one again, then two all the way back.

This helps you to decide how you want to distribute the weight in your trailer. Then you can decide how to bridge out the 5th wheel and trailer tandems to best balance your load and help with fuel economy.

Then you go to the scales to get your final axel weights. . .

Just thought I'd through in a tip for the day. Guess I can't stop being a trainer.

 

Smokr
Please keep me posted on what is going on as I will be there the 4th of Jan

 

Smokr
Thanks for the info on Knight - I had a feeling. I spoke with Sevens again about the training costs and how much of that I will be repaying and how much they will forgive for driving for them. One young lady told me that Stevens would cover 70% of the cost as long as I stayed on for a year. Thought that sounded a bit odd for a program that totals out at $5995.
So I called back a week or so later and another lady told me that she doesn't like to use the 70% number. She said it's very hard to explain how they come up with that figure and wanted to be upfront with everything. She told that the driving agreement is for a minimum of a year but that the note is for three years and will ultimatley cost me around $4000 including interest. This number is just if you take the tuition without adding the motel and food costs - I live in Dallas so motel and food aren't a concern.. There obviously is more involved with the program and who contributes how much - I just wanted to cover the main items.
Is this the way you understand the program. I don't know how I will take to being an OTR driver so I am checking and double checking all of my options.
Let me know what you think.
Curljack

 

I'm in dallas yard right now.
I got here 5am an at 12:30am I was all cleared. That was the fastest time ever.

Smokr: good luck.

 

Thanks Jerry C,
I was at a truck stop yesterday and saw a blue Stevens truck with a white trailer. What the deal with that? I thought Stevens ran black trucks. How's everything going? How are your miles. Tell me what's the best thing and the worst thing about driving for Steven's? Hope to talk with you soon. Keep up the good work and you are much appreciated here. . .