Why are all reviews on trucking companies

I can almost guarantee that EVERY company is going to have atleast one driver that talks bad about them. Some people get to caught up in the hype of "freedom on the road" Some fail to remember that it is still a job and you aren't going to always have your way. That's life, right? Alot of us were lied to by recruiters at one point or another, "35-45k your first year. Home every week. 2500 plus miles a week" etc etc. Truth is, you can't always have family and feast. Most drivers had to start with low pay, multiple weeks away from home, crappy eqiptment(except the very few that were handed the "golden seat") lol. I feel as if some people still believe that truck drivers are rich. lmao, (i'm not one of em) You have to take the good with the bad, and when the bad outweighs the good, then it's time to move on. Most entry level jobs aren't going to be wonderful, you have to have the mind set and the heart to be a truck driver.

 

KeepOnTruckin1- It is scary reading all of the trucking horror stories. Scary because many of them are true. I was in the same situation when I started out too. Good job on doing your research instead of just starting out with whatever company accepts your aplication first. I got my start with Millis and they treated me fairly. When I started the payback schedule for the training was 1 year. May be longer now. Trained at the Trenton, Oh. terminal. Drove for them for over two years. Found a job with a company closer to where I live. Gave one week's notice and they allowed me to take my assigned tractor to the terminal closest to where I live. Left on good terms. Good luck in your search.

 

Just another sheep being lead to the slaughterhouse !!:smt117

 

Yeah...and another "old pro" chiming in!

I don't understand why people don't realize that some can't afford to pay the excessive tuition that CDL schools charge for what(?)...basically nothing when you look at the scope of what a school is offering. Just enough "instruction" to pass the state CDL exam and drive test.

To the OP...

You might try Swift...terminals in Gary, IN...Columbus, OH...and Jonestown, PA (near Hershey/Carlisle)...

I know there are many "bad reports" on this and every forum about Swift but they will get you started...after that first year you can make your future decisions to staying or going to some other company. The Columbus terminal has a great reputation.

Don't take every bad report on these forums as "gospel"...there is no way of knowing what actually happened to the individual as to why he/she are down on the company. There are just as many "satisfied customers" happy with what their initial training company offered and followed through on.

 

if you dont have the money to pay for school don't sign up to be a trucking companies slave dog.They will own and work you like, well, another sheep being led to the slaughterhouse.... If your that freaking broke have your state unemployment office pay for it..

 

Also check out Rhoel.

 

I just went thru USA Trucks training, and now have been OTR for 2 weeks. I had 2 trainers. First one was ok, was very good at teaching me things I needed to know safety wise. Second trainer was awesome, and would recommend him to anyone. I still talk to him almost every day, and any questions I have, he's there to answer. I know there are some bad trainers to. I heard of some that were bad, but was lucky not to get those. That was only 1 out of 30 people who upgraded when I did. You're always gonna have someone complain. Some are bs'ing, and some really got mistreated. Yeah I don't get $.49/mi. but I get to learn a career, and then take it where I wanna go. I was one of the luckier ones, and got an '09 ProStar. It was well taken care of, and runs out good. PM me if you have any questions, or need to know anything.

 

I don't know if the above quote is true today, but it was not so when I placed my backside in a drivers seat for the first time. I started with Schneider in 1996 via their trainee program and they made no such stipulation as a condition of my training. Everything was free, including meals, and I was free to leave without being required to pay anything back (in fact I did and I wasn't.)

Again, I don't know what the situation is today, but I have heard drivers make the same claim as the above quote for the entire time I've been driving (including while I was driving for Schneider.) I've tried telling them about my experience but all I get is a blank look and then they reiterate the same claim (one wonders whether Goebbels was right.)

One more thing, Schneider also teaches Southern drivers -- that includes me -- how to drive on the ice and snow as a part of your training. The training is only one day but it was enough for me to recover quickly from the first jack knife I experienced (under pretty bad circumstances, very scary but the training came back right away, and it worked.)

Schneider actually puts you on an ice covered parking lot in a rig and jack knifes it several different ways, allowing you to recover the rig and learn what you need to do for each type of jack knife you will face, and to get back control of your steers if you lose that too.

Trainers . . . In my case I had a trainer who I did get along with on a personal basis -- even stayed in his home -- but he was an ex Marine who seemed to take the title "recruit" a bit too seriously (I can't tell you how many hours I spent with my hands gripping the steering wheel while his [screaming] mouth was one inch away from my ear.)

On the good side, he was so demanding that I came out of the experience a fairly competent driver, even if I was new. I credit that man with giving me information that saved my life on several occasions over the course of my career.

On the bad side the experience left me scared to death of the truck for almost a year after training, which might not have been a bad thing, now that I think about it; however, respect for your rig is one thing, fear is probably not an optimal situation.

True and true -- the industry is awash in B.S., much of it spawned and nourished by the companies themselves. Bad attitudes are also rampant, though in all fairness it is tough to keep a good attitude when you think about what has happened to this industry even since the 1990s. Take everything with a grain of salt and remember when things go downhill to take a deep breath and try to keep things in perspective.

One last thing, do your job, its what they pay you for. Do your job well, not for them but for you, it will create in you the kind of character that will succeed in life no matter what you do; however, don't make the mistake of being "loyal" to a company -- to them you are a commodity, and of no more import than a new box of pencils.

 

Don't let all the bad post you read on here sway you, because there are just as many happy drivers as there are unhappy ones. When you deal with the amount of drivers these large companies have they will never be able to make everyone happy. If you are looking for a company that will offer free schooling, my suggestion to you is to do some research on the company and when you do make a decision stick with that company for at least a year and then you will have an easier time moving to a better company. Good luck.

 

sounds like that schneider training is good
i went thru the 3 week swift school in 95.i needed the job and was determined to handle the pressure and have no accidents and ran hard for two and a half years.
they deducted that training weekly and i was not concerned with paying it off.
sounds like they get a better deal now. i had to pay half the motel 6 and share a room with a huge dude while at the school.