My life at SNI ... grc

Hey Bigcove...congrats on graduating..Can You tell me what school you attended ? Im in Nashville and starting to think I might follow your path to trucking...Thanks !

 

I once would tell you that Roehl was the way to go but if you are looking to stay with a company long term then I would say Schneider. Roehl has been ticking a lot of drivers off lately.

 

Chance Masters >>

I am attending Transport Training Center in Lebanon. I feel I am getting a pretty good education on learning to get my CDL (remember, that is all they are going to teach you - not how to be a truck driver). If I would have had the time available before needing to secure employment, I would have attended - I think it is Vol State CC (Don't quote me on that). Do your research because I do know there is a community college in Nashville with a CDL program, or maybe it is a vo-tech in Nashville. It is about a 6 to 8 week class and less than half the price of these CDL mills (under $2000), and I have heard the instruction is geared more toward the industry - not just obtaining a CDL and then out the door. But if time is a factor, I would recommend TTC in Lebanon. They have been in this area since 1992. My cousin attended there in the mid nineties and I have a friend that got his CDL through them 3 years ago. I test out in Columbia in the morning at 7:30 AM. The instructors are going to let me drive the truck down to Columbia to give me more training before I test. Really, the only thing I am concerned about is the parallel parking - I have the rest of it down pretty good. By the end of May, they said the state testing will be held on premises at TTC and that would be an advantage to future students. Their course is set up just like the DOT course.

One thing, stay away from United training in Murfreesboro as you do your research. They were shut down as Volunteer a while back and reopened as United recently. They were accepting and training students who were not hireable (sp) due to criminal and DMV history just to get the students money. The state had shut them down and they reopened in the name of a relative of the original owner. CDI/TDI in Murfreesboro I hear is okay, but I chose TTC.


GWD >>

Thanks for your input. I have been following (er lurking?!?) your experiences with Roehl and have been keeping that in mind as I have been weighing my options. I do feel blessed to have had as many pre-hires as I have, and could have probably gotten more if I had applied, but deciding between these two is hard enough at this point. My uncle has drove 45 years for FFE and if he would have trained me, I would have went there, but he is already running teams with a partner of 15 years. I am now leaning SNI for various reasons, but the 26 cents/ per mile "indefinitely" is really putting up a red flag. I do really appreciate you relaying yours and your husband's experiences.

As I read previous threads about Roehl and their lack of freight, I am not so concerned about the cents/mile they quoted me, but at the same time, I read other posts that freight has picked up and drivers are running like scalded dogs. I am about to the point that I don't know what to believe anymore. I do know that this forum only represents maybe 1% of most drivers for a given company. I will be hitting my local truck stops this weekend hoping to find some fueling pumpkin trucks and Roehl drivers. I see the Roehl trucks going through my area, but have yet to see any stopped in this area. Are there specific stops (brands) where they fuel?

 

Thanks for the update!!

 

I thought I would share that I did pass my CDL today and should have one more day of class tomorrow to get my time in. I think it should go smoothly with one exit test and then graduating paperwork. I got an average percentile of 96% between my pre-trip, backing, and road trip, which that and $5 can get you a coke and bag of chips with change left over. Just like my other graduations, it will be more about how I perform at my first company more so than my CDL class GPA.

Unfortunately, SNI will not reimburse me for my school tuition like Roehl does. Roehl bases reimbursement on mileage driven, so it may work out that if there is not enough freight, I may not be paid back for my tuition anyway or the payments could come very slow.

I am still leaning more strongly towards SNI's regional run, but I am not yet counting out Roehl in case SNI falls through for some reason.

 

hi guys and gals.....welcome to sni..for those who are comming in to the co. i have been here since dec./09 and started out as long haul, i didn't make much money at first but then i got to know my dbl and we started to make some miles. i did it for 3 mos. and had to take some time off (3 weeks) they gave me no hard time about it in fact they helped me with the matter..i am very thankfull to the sni dbl team at the houston o.c.(my home term.) they did what they thought they had to to help me out..well neatless to say, i now have a gravy run..because of my situation at home they got together and decided to put me on what they call a dedicated relay account.(usesauly for their retired drivers) all i do is go from houston,tx. to laredo,tx and back..i get all miles paid at my starting rate (.37 p.m.) pluse local pay ($25.)pluse short mile pay (.10 cpm on top of my regular pay) i run 4 days on (sometimes 5. totaly up to me) and 4 days off.i run 2480 miles in 4 days thats 14 hrs. a day ( full turn) and if i want to stay out the 5th day another 620 miles. they teamed me up with one of their retired drivers. a very good person and clean, i never get the trk dirty when its my turn to run for the 4 days..and i do the same in return for him..i really like working here, we will be getting a new trk in june as well..i have no complaints about sni..you do your job, treat your fellow drivers and office personal with respect and you'll have a good company to work for..this is my experiance with sni....cant complain.. good luck to all of you starting here may it be as good an experiance to you as it is to me..(my trk# 41474)

 

Hey, Well congrats on passing Your CDL test ! Enjoy your Chips and Coke lol. I am following Your and the original thread posters reports with alot of interest and I appreciate the posts, being from TN now (moved from Michigan) I am considering driving as an employment option, and the regional or dedicated runs seem like something I would consider over being out out for a month and getting home for two days. I hope you will continue to post your experiences !

 

Hey,
Thanks for all your great posts in this forum..used to read you over on the Roehl thread..glad to have the good info. I'm new to Nashville and am considering driving as an employment option, I would be eager to know what kind of regional/dedicated runs SNI has near Nashville..well hope to keep reading your posts about SNI and the TN area opportunitys ! Thanks !

 

ChanceMasters

I am not trying to direct a person's life for it is each individuals responsibility, but if I could suggest one thing, when you have a firm date set for starting school, I would begin applying to companies then. I would not wait and see only what companies the school has to offer. I had two pre-hires waiting for me at school the day I arrived from doing that. Also, I was just told yesterday that Western Express out of Nashville just contacted TTC and are now hiring students grads. Much to my wife's unhappiness, I have probably put in 40 + hours of researching companies and this industry over the last six weeks to try and give myself the best informed opportunity to gain experience. I do understand that actual experience is golden, but I like to have a firm grasp on what I am getting myself into. Life experience has shown me that the one's coming to seek me out (recruiters) don't have my best interest in mind. I am the only one that can control that.

If you decide on Schnieder, you need to fill out the application through their website, and be patient. It had been almost three weeks since I applied before I heard from them.

Also, if you are more worried about the home time then the degree of work, you might check into flatbedding. Many of those companies state that you will be home most weekends. I have a freind that drives OTR flatbed for a local company - Huff and Puff out of Bradyville - he is home every weekend and sometimes through the week. He loves it there and has been with them 2.5 years after leaving TTC. They do recruit from that school and they are a small personable outfit. I would have gone there myself, but at this stage of my life, I just really do not want to do all that flatbed requires. I did enough of that type of work driving tank haulers in the National Guard, and we didn't even tarp.

So there is my two cents left over from getting my Coke and chips.